Publisher Maria Harman. Editor/Art Director. Paolo Felici. Editor-in-chief Giovanni Lani. Managing Editor USA Marc Dlugof. Special Contributors: Murray Weissman & Associates; Karen Burg (SDSA - Set Decorators Society of America) Contributors: Gianluca Dentici, Lorenzo Letizia, Giulia Mafai, Daniel Paolin, Patrizia Scarzella. Graphic Design: Paolo Biagini; Translations: Tasmeen Monie, Emanuela Pettinelli. DISTRIBUTION Europe Central Books - London, U.K - USA Ubiquity Distributors New York, CANADA Disticor Distribution Services. Subscriptions [email protected]. ©2002 The Scenographer Magazine (All rights reserved). Registered in Rome no. 62/2003. Printed in Italy S L C C T u i a h L m O c e i d D B v G S G i o e B a u N i e e a o b g y r t n H F E F r n P n P o n i H A D e e T G o t o e l r B r h e l n r a C L E G f M t c d D e t E o e D P o r r r G r i e r i e s r a x a m s r N e a e t c o D n m G u t a s y r u o c r a n T s c f p s i r s i i c m o o a e S r n m n d i T P C e h o r o v r t y e o r G c d o i e l u s l i i r a g t e m n s ’ y b s y o T f G h D e u i y B m r H e o e n t h n s e i d o r r n s i x G F D i r l i y m m a s m s THE BROTHERS GRIMM S Marbaden Village set under construction - photo by D. Arcadio A Y D X H I T I R W D N O N I T E A S H R E Y V N U O G C he real and the ultra-real merged together are the trade mark of Guy Hendrix Dyas, an accomplished illustrator, who hgas become one of the most original contemporary film production designers around. Born in England, but artistically trained in Japan as an industrial designer for the Sony Corporation, this six-footer with a shock of blonde hair and the eternal leather jacket, is a veritable genius with the pencil. It was not by chance that, after living a few years in the land of the rising sun, he had the honour of being recognized as one of the best international architectural designers. His artwork is so brilliant that examples are still on display in the Wakita Museum in Tokyo, the Tanashima Gallery, and the Design Museum in London. A fact that did not escape the people of Industrial Light and Magic (the centre for special effects founded by George Lucas) who are always searching for new talent and so they persuaded Guy Hendrix Dyas to join their artistic team as an art director. Never has a better choice been made. Hendrix Dyas’s creativity is now at the disposal of Hollywood with astonishing effects. His latest completed project, Terry Gilliam’s feature on the life and adventures of The Brothers Grimm, is in competition at this year’s Venice International Film Festival. by Gianluca Dentici photographs to Dimension Films / Francois Duhamel Tell us how you got involved with Terry production designer and for a director not only from a design stand point but Gilliam and the production design of I'm sure. Terry is very down to earth, he also in terms of mood, the heavy skies, The Brothers Grimm? has endless energy and he has an damp landscapes and mist covered I met Terry right after finishing X-Men 2 incredible sense of humour, his own way horizons. These were all very important and I must have been on a shortlist of of looking at things. He's a master at atmospheric influences for both Terry production designers he wanted to meet bringing out everyone's creativity. During and I. We also tried to emulate some of for The Brothers Grimm. Terry's films the early development phase on The the incredible details that can be seen in are some of my favorites so I knew that Brothers Grimm I was in London the ink etchings and illustrations of the getting an opportunity to work with him working out of Terry's office and that's very prolific artists Gustave Dore and would be a once in a lifetime experience. when I had the most time to sketch and Arthur Rackham. Both of them have I still remember the impact of seeing do research and put on paper a lot of our illustrated throughout their careers the Brazil as a student during one of the ideas. "Grimm" fairytales and had captured the screenings at The Royal College of Art in When researching The Brothers Grimm essence of what we wanted for The London. It was being shown as part of a and the film's historical time period, Brothers Grimm. A muted color palette special film series called "Grand where did you get your influences and a strong sense of reality thrown illusions", and it's such a masterpiece of from? amongst the elements of sheer fantasy in making film that it really opened my eyes Being able to film in the Czech Republic the story. We went on numerous location to the art of production design. where the architecture is so uniquely well scouts and photographed everything, Please describe your working preserved was a definite advantage for Terry would video each location as well. s a relationship with Terry. You are both the art department and for that reason Sometimes we'd be gone for days, y D artists who draw and express when Terry and I were looking at the searching the countryside for naturally . H yourselves visually. Terry has also been various options we had for the film's interesting landscapes and structures. In y a Production Designer himself; what shoot location, Prague seemed like the the end, for practical reasons we needed u G was the design process for the film? perfect place. We were able to draw to built most of our sets back at y b Well, if I'm honest, I was a little nervous inspiration from our surroundings and Barrandov studios, but the time spent h c at first to be working with a director with preserve many of the design ideas that we looking at these existing environments t e such a vast knowledge of art & design. developed back in London. We had five helped us create extremely realistic sets. k s Not that I ever doubted my own or six enormous binders filled with Many discoveries from our scouting days n g i capabilites but I tried to benefit as much photographic reference, found their way into our final designs for s e as possible from Terry's own experience a lot of works by German painters from the film. d n as a designer. Very quickly we developed the Romantic period like Caspar David You created an entire forest on stage o i t a visual language for the film, the whole Friedrich. His "Cross on the Mountain" for the film, how did you go about c u time I felt like we were on the same page and "Tree of Crows" which were painted doing this at Barrandov studios which d o r which is a very nice experience for a around 1820 where definite inspirations, is by some standards quite small? p e n o r h T s ’ n e e u Q Marbaden Village set - photo by D. Arcadio Marbaden Village sketch by Guy H. Dyas The forest sets where a huge challenge on three stages that were next to each it added so much texture and character to forest to your exterior sets? construction wood. Each tree was set into construction standpoint we used for the art department in the sense that other, allowing them to communicate by our forest. Because of our tight It was a transition that we knew we'd the hillside, sealed in concrete which traditional building techniques, yes, the stages at Barrandov were small in leaving the doors opened between them. construction budget we weren't able to have to facilitate very early on so when allowed it to retain water and last for 6 to sometimes a certain building's comparison to what we really needed. In This trick enabled us to build an create most of our trees by using molds or we designed the "Marbaden Village" on 7 months. We ended up with a very characteristics were exaggerated to help fact we started out thinking that we extensive fake forest and to plan sculpted trees so we had to come up with the Barrandov backlot we included an convincing forest's edge, 4 layers deep of create the desired mood for key scenes would shoot our forest scenes in a real uninterrupted tracking shots from one a more cost efficient method. That's when entire portion of the forest's edge. Terry trees. and then we made sure that everything forest in the Czech countryside. I end of the first stage all the way through we discovered that we could use smaller really wanted to be able to look out from Explain how Marbaden village was always looked damp and was covered in travelled with Terry and Nicola Pecorini to the last stage.