A big thank you to Production Designer Felicity Abbott for taking the time to answer some questions.
Felicity recently worked on Upgrade which was directed by Leigh Whannell and is scheduled for release in Australia on June 14th and Ladies in Black directed by Bruce Beresford which is scheduled for release in Australia in October.
What other projects have you worked on?
I have extensive experience across a range of genre and period, film and television. I re-created sixties Australia in the feature BRAN NUE DAE directed by Rachel Perkins and also the award-wining My Place, the 26-period epic from Matchbox NBCUniversal.
I designed the critically acclaimed drama REDFERN NOW for Blackfella Films, the winner of the 2013 TV Week Silver Logie Award for Most Outstanding Drama and 2014 AACTA Award for Best Television Drama series. Other collaborations with Blackfella Films include MABO and DEEP WATER.
Other projects include the feature films CHASING SATELLITES, ALEX & EVE and THE LAST CONFESSION OF ALEXANDER PEARCE and the Foxtel NBCUniversal political thriller SECRET CITY.
For those people who might not know what does a production designer do?’
The production designer is responsible for creating the visual narrative or ‘look’ of a production. They work closely in collaboration with the director and cinematographer to achieve to design the ‘world’ and setting in which the story takes place. The production designer is the head of the art department and works closely with the set decorator and they in turn supervise the creative team that realise the practical detail in each set.
What can you tell us about Upgrade?
Designing UPGRADE was a revelation for me as my first experience designing this genre. I found it exhilarating and a great challenge, as every aspect of the world had to be considered. My team and I were able to design driverless vehicles, future-houses, tech, weapons, drones and nano-bots. I am ready to do more!
I’m told that Upgrade is the first science fiction movie that you have worked on. Are there any other genres that you would like to work in?
I love to create worlds and strive for excellence in design. I would love the opportunity to design a big action movie. After UPGRADE, I’m very interested to do more Sci-fi. Every project presents a unique design challenge, which is something I thrive on.
Do you have a preferred Genre that you like to work in?
As a production designer, I love to create worlds and have been fortunate enough to engage in a range of genre and period in my career to date. I would secretly love to design a big-budget action film and after the exhilarating experience of UPGRADE, I am excited to explore sci-fi further.
Why did you choose to work on Upgrade?
Have you worked with Leigh Whannell before?
I was thrilled when Leigh Whannell asked me to design UPGRADE, as it was the first time that we had worked together. I was drawn to the script and the opportunity to work with Leigh who is an accomplished writer/director and actor. He has written a dynamic narrative that sits at the interface of high and low tech, so it was immediately appealing to me as a world to bring to life. He is very generous in his collaborative approach and I’m proud of the result we achieved.
How exaggerated is your futuristic version of Melbourne to the modern-day Melbourne?
Leigh always described this world as ‘near-future’ and he clearly articulated the vision that he wanted to create. In terms of the visual style, it’s a reality that we understand from our contemporary experience, with an enhanced view of current technologies rather than a departure from life, as we know it. We see both the old and new world and the real-time impact that technology has on human life.
What can you tell us about Ladies in Black?
Does it have anything to do with the Musical of the same name?
LADIES IN BLACK is the new movie by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Black Robe, Flint). It’s a delightful story of women working together in GOODES department store, Sydney in the summer of 1959. It is adapted from the novel The Women In Black by Madeleine St John and this became a musical of the same name.
Why did you choose to work on Ladies in Black?
Working with Bruce Beresford was like a master-class in filmmaking. He is a kind and generous director and we had enormous fun making the film. Ladies In Black is a project very dear to my heart. I had a wonderful art department and we had the extraordinary task of creating the world of bustling post-war Sydney set in the fashion section of Goodes department store in the summer of 1959, which was built at Fox Studios in Sydney Australia. I love period cinema and this was an exceptional design opportunity – they don’t come along every day.
Have you worked with Bruce Beresford before?
I had worked with Bruce previously in 2016, when he directed the Benjamin Britten opera ALBERT HERRING as part of the Brisbane Festival.
What is your favorite movie?
That is a tough question – I have so many! One of my favourite New Zealand fims would be THE QUIET EARTH (1985) by Geoff Murphy. European cinema has been a significant influence on my work as a production designer and one of my favourite French films would have to be Les Enfants du Paradis (1943) by Marcel Carné. I am inspired by great production design and the extraordinary work of Alexandre Trauner, Ken Adam and Dante Ferretti. More recently Sarah Greenwood, Eve Stewart, Alex McDowell and Janet Patterson.