CINEMAXIMUS
Motion picture Project Management
Castledown Street
Sydney  2001

Project:  Movie Set Backgrounds
Client:    Studiostyle Productions (Aust) Pty Ltd
Project Specification
Our client is producing a major historical drama set in Melbourne during the early 1940's. They require several background images taken from scale models of typical buildings of the time. As the models will be photographed from one side only, facades will be sufficient. The facades, while not models of actual buildings, will be typical for the time, and attention to style, texture, and finish will be important. A total of twelve facades will be required, and set designers will be required to work as a team.

The Director of the film has provided a guide to set designers, and we quote her description here verbatim:   

"Melbourne during the war was not the clean airy city it is today. American serviceman on leave were in all kinds of action, and the local underworld figures were keen to take their money by fair means or foul. Most of it was foul, ... providing the central theme for this movie."

"I have in mind four locations, and each have three building or background types. Firstly, we have the commercial sector: established, monied, clean and maintained. Banks, legal chambers, posh hotels, things of that nature, typically Collins Street. Next we have the factory or industrial settings - built for function not for style, and many of them show signs of neglect. Moving on, we have the warehouses, not real pleasant sights. Near the old docks area, I imagine lots of rusty corrugated iron and broken windows. Last of all, the back alleys, and here are all the signs of ruin, boarded-up windows, makeshift arrangements, and an atmosphere of despair."

"I am keen to evoke lots of feelings with these settings - Collins Street for example will be one of security, 'all's well with the world'; the factories one of work, routine and monotony; the wharves area one of danger and uncertainty; and of course the back alleys, one of suspense and fear."

Typical Location (circa 1940)

Building Type

Facade

Typical Material

Collins Street

Commercial

Bank, Legal Chambers, Hotel 

ornate brickwork, granite/bluestone , sandstone

Fitzroy

Factories

three different settings

cement sheet, brickwork, timber weatherboard

Port Melbourne

Warehouses

three different settings

corrugated iron, stone, timber doorways

Montague

Slums

three different settings

corrugated iron, split timber palings, boarded shopfront

Designers are encouraged to discuss design concepts and clarify any questions as they develop their ideas.
Contact: Merv Edmunds, Project Manager
merv@plasform.com.au