SET CONSTRUCTION

The first set begins to come together. Visit the
PREPRODUCTION folder to see how it got to this stage.

I enjoy building sets. I like laying out the architecture of a room and blocking out the action. As a set comes together I start to see and feel the movie for the first time. I don't work from detailed drawings. I will make a scaled drawing to determine the size of the set but it is quite vague when it comes to the specifics. As I build I will often expand on my initial concepts. Once the basic layout is settled upon I will start to fill the set with the necessary hero props that the characters will interact with. This will lead to a second wave of changes as I continue to refine my ideas. Inevitably the storyboards will need to be updated to take the new arrangement into consideration. Once I am happy with the layout, I start to fill in the rest of the space with all the details that make it looked lived in. In the case of BROKEN this will include things like dirty floors, cob webs, scattered newspapers, a broken clock, warning signs, etc... I don't obsess over my sets. I try never to build more than I have to. I often read about the incredible detail that film makers put into their sets; building things that no one will ever see. Some say it adds to the reality, that even though you don't see it, you can feel that the entire space exists. I don't happen to believe any of that. I try to build only what needs to be built and no more. Anything beyond that for me feels like a waste of time, effort and money.