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CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
ALIEN
PRODUCTION DESIGN - CONCEPT ART - 3D MODELING - RENDERINGS
ALIEN
PROCESS OF CHARACTER DESIGN FOR ALIEN; EARLY STAGES, GROWTH STAGES, ADULT ALIEN - CONCEPT DESIGN AND SKTCHES.
THE HUNGER GAMES
WORLD DESIGN - CONCEPT ART - PRODUCTION DESIGN CONCEPT - 3D MODELING
ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS AND WORLD BUILDING
THE MIDDLE EASTERN HUNGER GAMES IMAGINED BY MONA MEKKAWI, A MIX OF BUILT SETS AND VIRTUAL PRODUCTION - A CONTRAST BETWEEN HISTORY AND THE FUTURE.
THE GREAT GATSBY
CONCEPT
I CONNECT TO EVENTS IN THE GREAT GATSBY THROUGH THE CHARACTER OF GATSBY AND THROUGH HIS IDEA OF THE AMERICAN DREAM – AND, IN PARTICULAR, THROUGH HOW THE AMERICAN DREAM COULD BE SO FRAGILE. ONE DAY YOU OWN EVERYTHING, AND THE NEXT DAY EVERYTHING BELONGS TO SOMEONE ELSE. THE AMERICAN DREAM CAN BE AS BRUTAL AS IT IS TRANSFORMATIVE. IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU’RE GOING UP OR SPIRALING DOWNWARD.
WE MEET JAY GATSBY WHEN HE’S “UP,” AND WE WATCH HIM FALL. BOTH HIS DREAM OF A LIFE WITH DAISY AND HIS DREAM OF A LIFE ATOP THE AMERICAN PYRAMID FAIL. AND HE FAILS DUE TO VIOLENCE. SO THIS STORY TO ME IS ABOUT HOW GATSBY’S GOLDEN DREAMS BECOME MIXED WITH BLOOD. I MAKE SURE TO REMEMBER THAT HE HAS BUILT HIS EMPIRE ON BLOOD AND MURDERS. AND HE INTENDED TO BUILD A FAMILY ON THOSE SAME CRIMES.
- SO I’VE CHOSEN TO DESIGN A VERY LARGE BUILT SET WHICH HAS THREE KEY ELEMENTS:
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A LOGGIA WITH STATUARY
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A WINTER GARDEN
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THE BEDROOM.
- I’VE USED THE BILTMORE ESTATE IN NORTH CAROLINA AS MY INSPIRATION AND MY JUMPING OFF POINT, AND I’VE PLACED MY BUILT SET WITHIN THE FAMOUS RESIDENCE, BUT I’VE MOVED ELEMENTS AROUND TO SUIT MY STORYTELLING NEEDS. -
A COMBINATION BETWEEN GOTHIC AND ART DECO (PAST VS FUTURE IN 1920)
THE GOTHIC CEILING OF THE WINTER GARDEN IS INSPIRED OF THE EXACT WINTER GARDEN IN BILTMORE MANSION WHICH IS THE MANSION I PICKED FOR MY DESIGN. IT LOOKS LIKE A SPIDER! WHEN SHE STAYS LONGER THE CHARMING OF THE BEGINNINGS FADE AWAY, SHE WILL REALIZE IT LOOKS LIKE A SPIDER/ SPIDER NET, AND GATSBY WANT TO CATCH HER IN HIS WEBS, AND SHE PICKS THE FIRST EXCUSE TO LEAVE IT AND LEAVE HIM!
IN POETIC TERMS, I SEE THE THREE, INTERCONNECTING SPACES IN MY SET AS A WEB OF ATTRACTION, SPUN BY GATSBY IN ORDER TO SEDUCE AND TO KEEP DAISY.
THE LOGGIA.
RENDERING OF THE LOGGIA.
TIME: SUNSET.
BUILT SET
THE LOGGIA:
THE CHARACTERS ENTER THE SET VIA A MASSIVE HALLWAY WITH A RHYTHM OF WINDOWS AND GROTTO-LIKE NICHES, WHICH CONTAIN CLASSICAL STATUARY – LIKE A ROW OF HOSTESSES, WELCOMING THE ONLY GUEST THEY’VE BEEN ARRANGED FOR: DAISY. LIKE GATSBY, I SEE THEM AS “WAITING” FOR HER. ON THE AFTERNOON IN WHICH SHE FIRST VISITS THE MANSION, IT SEEMS TO GATSBY THAT HER EVERY FOOTSTEP NOURISHES HIS HOME WITH LIFE. AND THE SPACE DOES BRIM WITH LIFE: THE AIR FLOWS IN FROM THE OPEN WINDOW, THE WATER SHIMMERS AT THE END OF IT, AND THERE ARE ENDLESS FLOWERS AND A VIEW OF THE OCEAN BEYOND. WHEN THE LIGHT SHIFTS TO SUNSET, SO DOES EVERYTHING IN THE PALE MARBLE SPACE. EVEN DAISY HERSELF – IN HER CHAMPAGNE SILK DRESS – BECOMES ONE WITH THE ROOM AND WITH NATURE
THE WINTER GARDEN
THE WINTER GARDEN:
AT THE END OF THE LOGGIA, ALSO WAITING FOR DAISY, IS THE VAULTED, MARBLE SPACE I CALL THE WINTER GARDEN. ITS GOTHIC CEILING IS DIRECTLY INSPIRED BY THE CEILING OF THE WINTER GARDEN ON THE FIRST FLOOR AT BILTMORE. I CHOSE IT BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE A SPIDER, CROUCHED ABOVE THE POOL BELOW IT. MY NOTION IS THAT AS THE CHARMS OF THE ROOM BEGIN TO FADE AWAY FOR DAISY, SHE WILL COME TO REALIZE THAT THE SPACE LOOKS LIKE A SPIDER AND THAT GATSBY DOES INDEED WANT TO CATCH HER IN HIS WEB OF LOVE AND MONEY AND THWARTED ROMANCE. AND, AS WE KNOW, SHE NEVER RETURNS TO THE ROOM AFTER SHE RETURNS TO LONG ISLAND FROM THE PLAZA HOTEL. (AND TO CONTINUE THIS SPIDER METAPHOR, I CONNECT DAISY HERSELF TO A SPIDER, A BLACK WIDOW, AT THE END OF THE STORY. I ENVISION AN OVERHEAD SHOT OF THE POOL FILLING WITH GATSBY’S BLOOD – AS IF DAISY HAD KILLED HIM (AS WELL AS MYRTLE) AFTER THEIR MATING!)
BEDROOM
THE BEDROOM:
TO THE RIGHT OF THE WINTER GARDEN SPACE, I’VE PLACED A COZY BEDROOM WITH TWO STEPS LEADING TO A PLATFORM ON WHICH THE BED RESTS. THE DECORATIVE MODE OF THE ROOM DRAWS FROM ART DECO. THERE IS A GLASS CEILING AT THE TOP OF THIS ROOM, TOO; AND THERE ARE TWO LARGE, LEADED-GLASS WINDOWS WHICH ALSO RECALL THE INTERSECTING LINES OF A SPIDER WEB. EVERYTHING IN THIS CHAMBER IS CHAMPAGNE AND BLUSH PINK. AS THE AFTERNOON OF THEIR FIRST MEETING WEARS ON, THE CHAMPAGNE COLORS BECOME MORE AND MORE “ROSÉ” – AS IF THE LIQUID WERE BECOMING MIXED WITH BLOOD! DAISY IS ALWAYS WATCHING HER REFLECTION IN THE REFLECTIVE SURFACES OF THIS WEB. GATSBY, I THINK, HAS MADE ALL THE COLOR CHOICES FOR HER, BASED ON A MEMORY OF THEIR FIRST DANCE WHEN SHE WORE A GOWN OF CHAMPAGNE SILK.
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