Batman, The Doom Comes to Gotham.
A Warner Brothers DTV project based on a graphic novel of the same name.
I did background and prop design on this movie.
Sam Liu and Chris Berkley were the directors/creative producers.
It was an unusual project in so much as it is set in the 1920's.
As a student of history this was a big treat!
Antarctica.
A major prop that I designed was the ship used by the Cobblepot Expedition. The storyboard initially has it being a sailing ship, I was able to convince Sam and Chris to switch it to a steam ship in order to contrast it to Bruce Wayne’s ship.
The Argo:
Bruce Wayne’s ship: The Argo. I designed and built this ship inside and out in Sketch Up and finished the final BGs in Photoshop. The exterior of the ship is based on Ernest Shackleton’s ship The Endurance.
Argo interiors.
I also designed the two interiors of the Argo.
The second was a room where all the shit hits the fan.
Here is the radio, the ad hoc laboratory, and the meat locker where they imprison Grendon (aka Mr. Freeze.) Later, Dick Grayson fights Killer Croc here as Croc breaks Grendon out of the meat locker.
The Queen Mansion:
A main location was the gothic Mansion of Oliver Queen.
Bruce Wayne and his party of adventurers are invited to stay for a few night when he first returns from Antarctica.
These locations were built in Sketch Up and finished in Photoshop.
These 3 BGs are the living room.
Note the repeating architectural elements: the windows, bookshelves, columns, etc. Theses are all the same and make the viewer feel that these rooms are all in the same house.
Fun!
Guest Room: Bruce Wayne is ensconced here.
Dining Room: The trophies are Sketch Up models and are place holders. For the final BG they were drawn over by a character designer.
Living Room
Hallway: Oliver Queen’s study is the door at the end.
Kirk Langstrom Apartment:
These are the interiors of Kirk Langstrom's (AKA Man Bat) apartment. A mysterious combination of science and magic and poverty.
They are a combination of Sketch Up and Photoshop.
Gotham City Streets & Rooftops:
These are some Gotham City streets I designed and built.
They are a combination of Sketch Up and Photoshop.
Limbo World:
Limbo World was the site of the show down between Batman and The Doom.
It was another dimension, a hell of sorts.
I did 2 rough ideas of Limbo world, both of them a fusion of architecture/human design and human organic elements. The human organs are cancerous, corrupt, and dying. I drew over photos of cancers.
Sam and Chris liked some elements of this approach, but ultimately wanted something less organic
Freight Train:
One of the big props I designed and built in Sketch Up was a freight train.
Batman fights Killer Croc on the top of the freight cars and ultimately knocks Croc off and escapes.
