HOW DID WE TRAVEL TO MARS FOR
While the mid-century movie set versions of Mars require a touch more imagination than modern cinema, it is clear the methods of producing the planet, absent any real frame of reference for it, was imaginative and ingenious. In 2022 we have ample photos, video, and other reference resources to create an accurate depiction of other worlds. This set is an homage to those early filmmakers.
Robinson Crusoe on Mars is a 1964
I noticed sets of these early sci-fi movies utilized (generally) just two or three layers:
A foreground such as a matte painting or large set piece (spaceship, cliff, etc)
A mid-ground (surrounding the actors), and a background (typically hand-painted)
I learned the technique of matte-painting on glass is a very precise art. The deep background utilized well-placed printed images against the Cyc providing the third layer of depth.
Robinson Crusoe (1964)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Destination Moon (1950)
Star Trek (1967)
Robinson Crusoe (1964)
Barbarella (1968)
The key to pulling off a period-correct set was in the fine details. The brushstrokes had to be just visible enough. The props had to look home-made. The set pieces had to be somewhat obtuse in their placement. These visual details add to the heightened sense this character inhabits a very specific world in his mind.
Many of my mentors were unfamiliar with the use of Matte Paintings due to the antiquity of the technique. I felt it was an important inclusion because it was such a common element in older films.
In preliminary renderings I drew simple figures to represent size and scale of existing rentals. From here I created an approximate layout.
Three paint samples were created for the rocks. After laying dirt on stage, we used watered down paint to give it a deeper red hue. Finally, using lava rocks, we added a contrasting black for extra texture on the red planet.
THE FINER DETAILS
The character is obsessed with mid-century science fiction. His self-produced podcast is an homage TO the early days of sci-fi radio programs. This project required an immense amount of creativity to adhere to the character and the era of cinema he mentally transports himself. Hours of watching movies early sci-fi (Robinson Crusoe, Forbidden Planet, Conquest of Space, etc) from the 1950’s and 60’s influenced the final product.