Set Design
Ghost Stories by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman
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Director: Gary Whitaker
Assistant director: Rachel Clements
Cast: James Hogg, Maria Busurca, Kristina Brändén Whitaker, Bradley Gardner
Illusion and Mentalist Consultant: Anthony Charles Head
Set Design: Anthony Charles Head, Diblik Rabia Leon, Ger Olde Monnikhof
Light Design: Max Mittle
Sound design: Karl Wassholm
Costume and Props Design: Betty Wallingford
Stage Manager: Viktoria Tilly, Rachel Clements
Technicians: Diblik Rabia Leon, Sofie Arnkil
Trailer: Anna Hulth
Project description: A professor who does not believe in paranormal phenomena, skeptical Professor Phillip Goodman, receives a file containing details of three unexplained cases of hauntings, which he decides to investigate and embarks on a terrifying journey.
Professor Goodman has recorded interviews with three people who claim to have had a supernatural experience. The stories are told by a night watchman, a teenage driver and a businessman expecting his first child. Each story told has a sense of guilt for the acts committed prior to the unexplained hauntings. These stories eventually come together, with an unexpected twist, where it becomes clear that Professor Goodman is a participant in the stories and not simply a narrator.
Work description: In this production, the design team consisted of three people, one illusionist and mentalist who directed the necessary set design elements to create false perspectives that concealed the entire system of special effects that the production had. The other set designer was in charge of spatial design and the construction systems. And my role was to designated the aesthetic that the elements had to follow, including the painting and stage decoration.
The aesthetics sought in the staging should be realistic. The places where the actions occurred had to adhere to the descriptions that the characters made when they were telling their paranormal story. Both the scenic painting and the decoration maintained an aesthetic that was recognized by the collective imagination, regardless of the age and/or cultural background of the audience.
The podium for the professor character, who investigated paranormal situations, was custom-made and was a mix between a university podium and the one usually used by politicians in their press conferences.
I focused on recreating a security cabin in an abandoned factory, with few elements and with colors and materials associated with such spaces.
I also painted the factory doors, which had to look like metal and had locks.
Another of the scenic elements was the changing table, which contained tricky moving elements. The character belonged to a wealth English social status, so I decided to maintain a classic aesthetic, with discreet decoration and basic colors.
The same scene had a french door that was part of the room, from where a spirit came into.
The other scenic element was to create the feeling of being in an English hospital room, considering the characteristic colors of hospitals and the basic elements.
Trailer Ghost Stories: https://youtu.be/az9Jq_FawwE?si=HsjZVzuflPX-T7fm
More information: https://www.gest.se/ghoststories
Inspiration, Sketches & Process
Sketches VS Real Set Design
