The set changed everything.  Making the decision to build the set for See No Evil in Studio A at Genesis (as opposed to shooting on location) created a domino effect on several aspects of production.  First and foremost, building the set allows us to create the location we want–look, feel, layout, etc.  Secondly, it allows us to control everything from day and night lighting to sound design to temperature. 

Thirdly–and this will likely have the biggest impact on the final product–is that it allows us to streamline the actual production of the film.  For example, we will manage all of our lighting from our overhead grid, thus freeing our camera to roam throughout the house and enabling us to move quickly from one setup to the next.  Had we attempted to shoot this on location, all of our lighting would have been from light stands that would take up space and have to be moved for every single setup.  This would have eaten up a lot of time on our short production schedule.  

The set is also being designed with “wild” walls–moveable walls that permit our camera to be placed stylistically instead of being placed within the room we have available on location.  All of these components together will grant us the freedom to be creative and tell our story in a way that will give the appearance of a more generously budgeted project.

Obviously, having a studio and having the resources we do makes this doable.  The rendering above utilizes our 3D animation software to help us previsualize the set, its spacing, and its placement beneath our grid.  This will prove invaluable to our lighting director for determining our needs well in advance.

We harp on it regularly, but See No Evil is a very calculated project–designed to maximize resources, budget, personnel, and risks.  This is the very same model we intend to apply to all Emergent projects now and in the future.