| MCM Expo Moon Panel |
| Written by Ben Mortimer |
 If you read our report on the MCM Expo in London yesterday you’ll know that we were impressed by the presentation for the forthcoming feature Moon.
The film won’t be released until July, so to avoid spoiling it for the audience director, Duncan Jones, wisely kept the topic of the presentation to a discussion of the production process. To assist with this he was joined on stage by Gavin Rothery, the films visual effects supervisor.
We haven’t seen the film yet, but one of the most striking things about the trailer is how reminiscent it is of classic science fiction movies. Every shot reminds us of movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien. In previous interviews Jones has cited these films as influences. At the presentation he elaborated on that, revealing that the soundstage they used to film the interior shots of the space station was the same one Ridley Scott had used when filming the ‘Nostromo’ scenes in Alien.
 The pair went on to tell us that the exterior shots were achieved using traditional model work, and that Bill Pearson, who had worked as the supervising model maker on both Alien and Outland had been brought on to work as their supervising propmaker. Pearson wasn’t the only veteran crew member involved with the film. Because of the writer’s strike all the other feature films in production at Shepperton at the same time as Moon went on hiatus. This allowed Jones to work with people who would have otherwise been employed on much larger projects.
During the presentation we were also treated to some behind the scenes footage.
The first part of the video was a walkthrough of a computer generated model of the interior of the space station. This was used as a guide when it came to building the real set. It was also used to plan many of the shots in the film, allowing the team to keep costs down.
We also saw an effects test, featuring a computer generated prop next to its real-life equivalent. This prompted Gavin Rothery to point out that the visual effects were intended to blend in seamlessly with the practical effects, and from the footage we saw, they achieved their goal.
In addition to this we were shown footage of the construction of the set, and some of the model work. Standard DVD extra fare, made remarkable by the live commentary, and enthusiasm from Jones and Rothery.
At the end of the talk we were directed to an area just beside the stage where a number of the models used in the production were on display. For your viewing pleasure we have included some pictures of them below (pictures courtesy of Kristi Barnett).
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| Last Updated on Sunday, 24 May 2009 15:54 |
