ANDREW MERRISON NFTS Production Design MA Ongoing Portfolio Jan 2018 - Present
For pre-NFTS work, please see my NFTS MA Production Design Application Portfolio: https://issuu.com/andrewmerrison/docs/nfts_application_portfolio_0705.2
CONTENTS Stratum Deep Graduation Fiction Film
Project Description Plans and Elevations Stills and Rhino Model
The Tiger’s Bride Fantasy Paper Project Project Description Plans and Elevations Gate Detail and Rhino Model Composite Painted Visuals Physical Model Black Ice Gorefest, DFX Horror Short Set Build Project Description Plans and Elevations Concept visuals and Physical Model Set Build and Lighting Photos
1,2 3 4
4,5 6,7 8,9 10,11 12,13
14,15 16,17 18,19 20,21
Keepers of the House Ongoing Film Architecture Paper Project
Project Description Plans and Elevations Early Visual and Rhino Model
22,23 24,25 26,27
A Game of Tric Trac Team Take One Painting Set Build
Project Description Plans and Elevations, Painting to Still
28,29 30,31
Blood Simple NFTS Application Project
Project Description Plans and Elevations Visuals, Sketches and References White Card Model
32,33 34 - 36 38,39 40
PROJECT DESCRIPTION A film set in five parts: train; coal-face; tunnel; intersection; and lift shaft. A film on the theme of grief, following a miner’s journey as he fought to survive after a mine collapse post- pit closure in 1986. Throughout the project, I had to work quickly to understand the narrative that was still being developed to ensure the sets were built on time for filming, including extensive research of coal mines and experimentation with plaster and paint finishes. It was a great opportunity to apply myself logistically and creatively to a series of complex environments, which had to stand up to comparison with the shots filmed on location in a real coal mine location.
STRATUM DEEP - Dir. Lian Meng Rose, DoP. Nathalie Pitters Graduate Fiction Film: June 2019
PROJECT DESCRIPTION ‘The mist lifted sufficiently to reveal before me an acreage of half-derelict façades of sheer red brick, the vast man-trap, the megalomaniac citadel of his palazzo’ A dark retelling of the classic, Beauty and the Beast, the design explores the layers of history present in the gutted Renaissance Palace, uncovering a tradition of man’s greed, entitlement and demise. The journey culminates in a new Garden of Eden erupting as a jungle in the fascist courtyard within.
THE TIGER’S BRIDE - Angela Carter Fantasy Paper Project: May 2018 - Nov 2018
Gateway detail and Rhino Model work
Full Archway model, Rhino
Establishing Shot Visual
Interior Courtyard Scene, Photoshop over model
Top view of Model; process photos
PROJECT DESCRIPTION ‘The shot develops to reveal the crushed remains of a late 19th century sailing ship standing before them. The hull of which sticks out of the ice. A makeshift door slams in the wind.’ A tight and claustrophobic space amongst the depleted stores of an old frozen ship, the design enables exterior and interior environments to root the narrative and actors in a physical space, whilst engaging the potential of set extension and DFX work. I designed and built much of the set, with the help of some hardworking volunteers in construction and drafting, and support from some key professionals; painter Tom Kingsley, and plasterer Steve Lowe.
BLACK ICE - Gorefest Production Design and Set Build Dec 2018 - Jan 2019
Charcoal Concept Visuals, Model Photos
Construction Photos, DoP (Daniel Morgan) Shots
PROJECT DESCRIPTION ‘It was not just a factory, it was a work of art, a temple of fullness and emptiness, a hungry void ... The machinery was still now, and only the mill-race was moving ’ Set over a period of 150 years, the Hacienda’s sugar mill is nestled in a secluded Andean gorge at the end of a steep mountain donkey run. Including stables, and a flowing river, the set is designed to provide a controllable environment to match with filming on location, the gateway providing a transition point. The Set draws on the dynamic stylistic features of Venezuelan Architecture from the period and matching it with European influences of the Industrial era.
THE KEEPERS OF THE HOUSE - Film Architecture Period Paper Based Project: Dec 2018 -
Early Concept and final Establishing Shot Visual
Basic Rhino Model
PROJECT DESCRIPTION The painting by Johannes Antoine Balthasar Stroebel (1871) provided my seven coursemates and I with a great opportunity to it a set into the parameters of a pre-existing aesthetic. From visual and historic research, through construction and into costume and set dressing, the process of designing the set enabled us to learn a great deal about the processes involved in the Art Department.
A GAME OF TRIC TRAC - Take One Painting Group Set Build: Feb 2018 - Apr 2018
A Game of Tric Trac - Take One Painting Plans and Elevations Scale 1/4’’ : 1’ - 0’’ Painting by Johannes Stroebel
Painting, Group Rendered Model, Final Still
PROJECT DESCRIPTION Distinctly Regrettable Eventualities is a 3D comedy action game for PC played with a gamepad. At its heart, DRE is a game of chaotic plate-spinning where the player must make snap decisions over acceptable losses, and they win if they can survive the 15 minute play-time. Set in an Art Deco Mansion, the gameplay environment takes the form of a Dollhouse cutthrough with heightened art deco features.
Preliminary Layout Sketches
Rhino6 Model Front and Back
Gameplay Layout Model
Study/Office Space Rhino Model Render
Dining Room and Kitchen Rhino Model Render
PROJECT DESCRIPTION With the Blood Simple script as our starting point, and with no prior experience designing for film, this was my response to Marty and Abby’s Austin home. Exploring their fractured marriage and the themes of abuse and surveillance within the film, the house plan follows a clearly regimented layout, divided into different spaces for the two owners whilst engaging with an opulent 80s and postmodern interior.
BLOOD SIMPLE - NFTS Application Project Untutored paper based project: July 2017 - Aug 2017
Blood Simple: Marty’s House Set Design NFTS Selection Workshop
House Set White Card Model
For pre-NFTS work, please see my NFTS MA Production Design Application Portfolio: https://issuu.com/andrewmerrison/docs/nfts_application_portfolio_0705.2