![]() ![]() “After they’re docked on there, we could attach our separate Ranger ships and shoot shots with the Rangers, Landers and Endurance altogether, which we dubbed the ‘full stack’ whenever it had the complete set of ships on there.”Īs noted, New Deal Studios followed production designs for the miniature Ranger and Lander craft. “So for shots of Cooper docking his Ranger ship with the Endurance we had to remove our miniature Rangers and be able to shoot the background plates of the Endurance without them,” notes Hunter. “We molded those details and replicated them through 12 different pods that make up the Endurance.”įor filming, the Endurance was fitted with separate motion control mounts since the spacecraft would also have Lander and Ranger crafted docked to it. “We built it with a steel armature and then rapid prototyped the details,” explains Hunter. “We assembled that study model and we would go through different iterations of that with different details and different paint.”įrom that study model, the studio then went into building a shooting model at 1/15th scale – ending up with a miniature that was 14 feet across. “From those 3D models we rapid prototyped surfaces and shapes for the engines and for the pods and airlocks and details,” says Hunter. New Deal Studios built a study model of the Endurance that was four feet across and based on 3D models worked up in MODO and Rhino. Click here to download and study a large version of this image. He wanted the ships to be based on existing NASA details and textures, but applied to these different shapes.” New Deal Studios’ damaged Endurance miniature is readied for filming. “The movie takes place in the near future and Chris wanted it to feel familiar. “We took Nathan’s basic shape and we worked also with concept artist Steve Burg on the details on the surface,” outlines Hunter. New Deal Studios would be handling close and medium shots of the long-range spacecraft, in particular, and were therefore called upon to flesh out initial designs done by Nathan Crowley’s team. Model buildingĪlthough the Ranger and Lander crafts were built full-size by production, the Endurance – outside of interior sets – would only be realized on screen via miniature and digital effects. Here, New Deal was tasked with constructing miniature versions of the film’s spacecrafts that would be intercut with full scale props devised by production designer Nathan Crowley and digital models produced by Double Negative, overseen by overall visual effects supervisor Paul Franklin and Dneg’s Andrew Lockley. That same approach was taken on Interstellar. On each occasion, Nolan had sought out miniatures as a means of creating shots with the most visceral feeling as possible, then often combining them with full practical builds and digital visual effects. Indeed, New Deal Studios is no stranger to Nolan’s style, having previously crafted a miniature Batmobile and garbage truck for The Dark Knight, created planes for The Dark Knight Rises and then destroyed the hospital fortress in Inception. ![]() He doesn’t do it to be hard, he does it to get a good shot.” I’ve never worked on one of Chris’ shows where he doesn’t throw some almost insurmountable challenge at you. “Of course,” says Hunter, “we did it with a special rig and that shot turned out to be incredible. Nolan’s wish to replicate space shots achieved in principal photography, where an exterior camera was literally bolted to the side of the spacecraft, was one he felt should also be achieved in the visual effects world. ‘Yes, but you need to attach the model to the camera.’ ‘But the model explodes,’ noted Hunter, concerned that an expensive VistaVision camera might become no more. ‘You need to attach the camera to the model,’ commented Interstellar director Christopher Nolan to Ian Hunter, the visual effects supervisor from New Deal Studios responsible for overseeing the film’s miniature effects, including the current scene Nolan had been reviewing of the spaceship Endurance being badly damaged after a docking accident. ![]()
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