Chapter 1
The architecture of emotion
Chapter 2
Time travel and future building
Chapter 3
The secret language of color and texture
Chapter 4
Practical magic vs. digital green screens
YOUR GOAL
Master of Building worlds out of thin air
Ch 4 · Practical magic vs. digital green screens
andy Real Sets vs Green Screens
We grew a whole field of corn for the scene, *(No green screen!)* To build a world that is actually seen. *(Oh, yeah!)*
andy Production designer Nathan Crowley placed massive projectors outside spacecraft windows to display high-resolution animations of black holes and
Fun Fact
Minas Tirith scale: The Minas Tirith model for *The Lord of the Rings* was 30 feet wide and had to be housed in an aircraft hangar.
Glossary
practical effects (noun)
Special effects produced physically on a film set without computer-generated imagery. Director Christopher Nolan utilized these techniques to construct a rotating hallway set for his 2010 film Inception.
Special effects produced physically on a film set without computer-generated imagery. Director Christopher Nolan utilized these techniques to construct a rotating hallway set for his 2010 film Inception.
Quiz
Which of these films won the Academy Award for Best Production Design for its massive, sand-swept physical sets in 2022?
Quiz
For the 2014 sci-fi film Interstellar, how did production designer Nathan Crowley show the actors the cosmic vistas outside their spacecraft?
Quiz
What powered the giant steel rings that rotated the 100-foot hotel corridor set in the film Inception?
Quiz
What was the main benefit of using projected animations instead of green screens on the set of Interstellar?
Quiz
What nickname did the crew of The Lord of the Rings give to the massive, highly detailed physical models built for the films?
Quiz
How high did production designer Patrice Vermette build the physical walls of the Arrakeen palace for the 2021 film Dune?
Quiz
Where did the production crew have to store the 30-foot-wide physical model of Minas Tirith built for The Lord of the Rings?