For
Director of Photography Adam Kane, filming "Ravager" in and around Los
Angeles was something to be reckoned with. Kane entered the project with
a full understanding that director James Deck's style revolved around moving
camera shots.
"Jim
and I talked for a long time about how we could do some of the shots he
wanted," Kane recalls. "We agreed that the only possible way to achieve
them was to build a huge, practical working set of the Armstrong on a sound
stage. Although the construction of such a set is a process usually reserved
for productions with mega-buck budgets, producers Isaacs, McGinnis and
Patrick also recognized the film's visual needs.
"The
costs were daunting," states Isaacs. "But we knew going in they would be.
The ship constitutes the film's main set, perhaps 75 percent of the picture.
It was an absolute necessity. Besides, my partners and I don't believe
in skimping when it comes to a picture's 'look.' The creation of great
visual reality is what filmmaking's all about. We also believe in giving
our picture-makers what they feel they need to make the picture work."
Accordingly,
the entire schematic layout of the sub-orbital transport was designed and
painstakingly constructed under the supervision of Production Designer
Ron Mason and Art Director Rich Thomas in such a way that the actors and
crew could move through the entire ship without interrupting camera movement.
The result is an extraordinary interior set, one which fully satisfied
director Deck's penchant for moving shots -- and one in which the filmmakers,
cast and crew remain justifiably proud.
Although
the story mainly takes place in a desolate hellhole crash-landing site
on earth, the need to establish Armstrong's liftoff, the craft's malfunction,
and its descent to earth under emergency conditions, provide to be another
significant challenge.
"Just
a few years ago such shots would have pushed the budget in to a realm that
would have made the production impossible," states producer Isaacs. "But
now, thanks to advancements in computer generated imaging, it's just very
expensive."
360
entertainment turned to New Jersey-based Corbitt Design, a company headed
by Pat Corbitt which has been on the vanguard of designing computer graphics
from the beginning. "Pat did some remarkable shots for us on 'Within the
Rock,'" Isaacs states. "We knew if anyone could give us what we needed
for 'Ravager,' it was Corbitt Design."
Corbitt
Design has, in fact, been doing computer generated graphics (CGI) for 30
years. "In the beginning," Pat Corbitt explains, "we opted to stay in television
because the image is smaller, thus requiring less resolution than film.
At that time, big-screen imaging required faster, far more expensive machines
to render the required designs. It was just too costly. Advancements in
computer technology and equipment now allow us to do imaging faster, better
and at a fraction of the cost of what it was even a few years ago."
