Gallows Hill – Fort Salem

From Motherland: Fort Salem, Season 1.

On the scripted page, there’s a powerful layering of imagery and a blurring visual boundaries during the Gallows Hill scene. What we think is real is only pretend and what we discover to be real in this world is fantasy in our own.

With show runner Eliot Laurence and director Steven Adelson, the art department was determined to give this scene the visual impact it demanded. In order to achieve this, we drew on theatre imagery from the 18th century, specifically the street spectacles of France and Italy. This was a world of flickering floor lights and painted canvas, where great crimes and great deeds were both on the playbill. The “hand pained” curtain and backdrop were in fact created digitally by the brilliant Jonathan Stamp and then printed onto commercial sign canvas.

 

Top Secret Military Outpost – In three easy steps

6 days from initial scout until filming. We try not to make a habit of this, but we can bring it when we need to.

Siberia Start
Step One – Find a spot with some potential
563 Ext Military Outpost Reference Illustration 181108 PB
Step Two – Imagine what it could look like
Siberia 02
Step Three – Get 10 tonnes of crushed ice and some very capable film professionals

Supergirl properties copyright Warner Bros. Television & DC Entertainment

Smooth Surface Form Studies

As Bruce Mau says: “Begin Anywhere”.

I’ve noticed that often scriptwriters/producers’ offices are filled with figures and objects that are used for working out senarios and dialogue. Building on this, I created my own series of objects to have on hand as visual story telling idea generators.


Copyright Peter Bodnarus