IndieWire invited the production designers from the Oscar-nominated films to choose and analyze a pivotal scene that best showcases their craft. Here are the four who were able to participate: Judy Becker (“The Brutalist”), Suzie Davies (“Conclave”), Patrice Vermette (“Dune: Part Two”), and Nathan Crowley (“Wicked”).
Brady Corbet’s post-Holocaust drama, “The Brutalist,” pits Oscar-nominated Adrien Brody as visionary architect László Tóth against Oscar-nominated Guy Pearce as industrialist Harrison Van Buren. Becker channeled Tóth to create furniture, a library, and a towering building symbolizing his lived history and struggle. She was already familiar with the minimalist architectural style of Brutalism, which emphasized function over form with its large blocks of concrete and steel. Her work was the perfect match for the film‘s wide, rectangular VistaVision format.
For Edward Berger’s conspiracy thriller, “Conclave,” which concerns the politically-charged selection of a new pope, Davies recreated the Vatican interiors at Cinecittà Studios, especially the sequestered conclave inside the Sistine Chapel. This conveyed an atmosphere of light and dark, traditional and modern, and male and female. Then there’s the hermetically sealed, posh prison approach to the fictional Casa Santa Marta Vatican apartments, where the cardinals reside.
Oscar-winning production designer Patrice Vermette (“Dune”) takes a deeper dive into the many cultures explored in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two.” This includes the mysterious, hidden world of the nomadic Fremen, which is slowly being buried. The Cistern of Souls is where the Fremen collect water from the dead to sustain them in preparation for their dream of a green Arrakis. For Giedi Prime, septic tanks became the visual metaphor associated with the Hardonnen and their morals of a sewer.
Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” which tells the origin story of Elphaba (Oscar-nominated Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Oscar-nominated Ariana Grande), production designer Crowley mapped out Oz using models, illustrations, and visual references to create each environment, eventually arriving at a stunning tapestry of Americana. This includes the rainbow-colored Munchkinland, the exotic Shiz University, where Elphaba and Galinda first meet, and the Chicago-inspired Emerald City, where they travel to meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).
‘The Brutalist’: The Library Transformation
“The transformation of the library are some of the most important scenes in ‘The Brutalist.’ This is when we realize that László is a genuinely creative, talented artist, and it is a turning point in that sense. The scripted description of the library was very brief, with just one interesting detail — during installation, the new shelves opened up, like a flower. While waiting for official prep to start, I researched all kinds of private libraries and shelving, to ascertain what would look modern and transformative,” Becker said.
“In November 2022, we went on a pre-scout to Hungary and looked at the Hungarian mansion that became Harrison Van Buren’s estate. The only room that seemed appropriate was an all-glass winter garden/conservatory. It was a slightly odd shape — a square with a little rounded extension; the only wall that wasn’t glass was an open entrance. We knew it could be great for this set. It was private. It was separated from most of the house. But it had its challenges — the walls were very high, maybe 20 feet, entirely of glass.
“I’d always pictured it as a traditional men’s library with leather chairs and heavy curtains. But I thought it would be more fun if it was Art Deco style. In the model, we created a version of the old library with a little backdrop of the Art Deco version. And then, we switched it over to the new iteration with the opening shelves. And Brady came in and shone a flashlight through it so we could see how it would be lit with the new glass, and it was really nice.
“When it came to actually building the library, the hardest part was finding wood that was of uniform color and that looked expensive and that was the right color, because it took a lot of wood to make those cabinets, and it had to look excellent and get across a modernist, functionalist sensibility. The furniture was very much influenced by Bauhaus design (including the tubular steel cantilevered chair). I deliberately did that because I thought that at this point in László’s life, when he’s pretty much depleted of everything after having spent years in a concentration camp, he would have returned to his early training in the Bauhaus, and that would have been all that was really left of his creativity at that point in his life.”
‘Conclave’: Inside Casa Santa Marta
“The gentle hum of air-conditioning, the small buzz of the neon lights within the hermetically sealed corridors and suites that the cardinals inhabited was one of my initial inspirations for the Casa Santa Marta scenes. The whole film is a juxtaposition of elements. The wide open space of the glorious Sistine Chapel, wonderful ornate cloisters and marble staircases needed a flip side to them. The Casa Santa Marta gave Edward and I the opportunity to bring a more contemporary, modern Italian vibe to the proceedings. A space where we could symbolize the hidden, secret processes of a Conclave,” Davies said.
“Lower ceilings devoid of decor, just the solid marble panels with shadow gap details rather than elaborate moldings around the rooms give an austere uncomfortable, almost pressurized environment that increased the tension and feeling of isolation the cardinals could feel when ‘locked’ in their rooms. A ‘posh’ prison if you like … albeit with modern accoutrements. Italia furnishings always look so elegant, therefore, the chairs, sofas, and beds elevate the rooms a little compared to the stark surroundings.
“A sharp contrast between the cardinals’ meticulously designed red robes whilst going about their daily routines of making a coffee, brushing their teeth, and riding the elevator also adds an interesting balance. In vision, lighting was of utmost importance, too. Working closely with our amazing cinematographer, Stéphane Fontaine, who had the unusual challenge of lighting this set mainly with practical and prop lighting. For the majority of the film, Casa Santa Marta is in ‘lockdown.’ Stéphane expertly managed to create this sense of restriction by only allowing slithers of natural light through the closed shutters on the windows, creating a cage-like gobo. The humming fluorescent lights in the extra-long corridors add to the tension and intrigue.
In collaboration with other departments, we decided on a restrained palette, allowing the color red to be a running thread throughout. The brilliant [Oscar-nominated] costume designer Lisy Christl set the red tone with her amazing work, and we complemented this wherever possible with our color and textile choices. This allowed the characters to be front and center — a thread of red, running within the environments at all times.”
‘Dune: Part Two’: The Entrance in Sietch Tabr
“With 100 percent original sets, ‘Dune: Part Two’ gave us the opportunity to discover the Imperial aesthetics of the planet Kaitan, the Harkonnen world of Giedi Prime, and dig into the Fremen culture of the Sietches,” Vermette said.
“I strongly believe that for any design to be believable, it should be anchored to the reality it sits in and, therefore, tell a story. Design for purely aesthetic reasons should not exist. It must support the narrative and be in conversation with the natural elements and cultures to which it belongs.
“The Fremen culture is very ancient. It is based on survival and tinted by religious tales of a better world to come. Through centuries, they have fought to adapt against the harsh natural elements and struggled against the colonial entities coming to their home planet to exploit its natural resources. It was important to create a Fremen culture that would be believable by underlining their reality.
Well hidden beyond a series of natural rock canyon passages, we find Sietch Tabr. Travelling through narrow stone carved corridors we finally reach a temple like a great hall. We notice that this space is partially engulfed by huge sand banks coming from the exterior through every small opening, slowly drowning their world. Something hard to compete with.
The Fremen settings also feature hieroglyphic frescoes. This comes from the need to communicate their stories to the next generations but also to act as a proof of their existence in the event they would no longer be.”
‘Wicked’: The Throne Room
“The Wizard’s Throne Room wasn’t merely a reception hall for the great Oz; it was a meticulously crafted environment designed to intimidate and control his subjects. We envisioned a massive, puppeteered, mechanical head dominating the space: a practical automaton that would realistically interact with the characters [built by the special effects team supervised by Oscar-nominated Paul Corbould],” Crowley said.
“However, this throne room couldn’t be purely fantastical. It needed to reflect the whimsical yet grounded reality of the Wizard’s world, a peculiar blend of Oz’s magic and his own modernist sensibilities. Imagine a soaring cathedral reaching towards a vast skylight but re-imagined with layers of architectural rings that gradually ascend, creating a dizzying illusion of immense vertical distance and distorted perspective.
“To further enhance the complexity, we envisioned this fully expressive and functional mechanical head as the centerpiece, emerging from layers of cascading curtains: a living string sculpture that would breathe life and movement into the giant visage. This ‘man behind the curtain’ effect was crucial — the Wizard, after all, was ultimately a mere carnival illusionist at heart, incapable of wielding true magic.
“The scene progresses as the Wizard recognizes Elphaba and reveals himself as a kind and gentle soul who desires to help her find a place where she truly belongs. The throne room subtly hints at his true motives yet allows the audience to be captivated by the Wizard’s charm. This is a yearning Elphaba so desperately craves that she initially overlooks the clues hinting at his true nature.”
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