Monday, July 29, 2013

Pacific Rim Concept Art

"That was one of the first words I said to the entire team at ILM. I said, 'This movie needs to be theatrical, operatic, romantic.' We used a lot of words not usually associated with high-tech blockbusters ... We went for a very, very, very, very saturated color palette for the battle for Hong Kong. I kept asking John to tap into his inner Mexican and be able to saturate the greens and the purples and the pinks and the oranges.  I would say 'Give me a Hokusai wave' ... we use the waves and weather in the movie very operatically.  I think the results are really beautiful and very artistically free and powerful, not something you would associate with a big sci-fi action movie.  The water dynamics in this movie are technically beautiful, but also artistically incredibly expressive. We agreed on making the water become almost another character. We would time the water very precisely. I'd say 'Get out of the wave [on this frame]."
 
-Guillermo del Toro (Variety) 2013-

If you've had the chance to experience Pacific Rim (2013) you've seen first hand the kind of grand, artistic effort that was put into the colossally beautiful Pacific Rim.  And speaking of water, water colors and art work, concept art plays a big role in film-making.
 

I don't normally spend this much time on any one film, but I've been thoroughly fascinated by the rebirth of the kaiju and mech concept through director Guillermo del Toro's summer film.  I'm riveted.

In keeping with our ongoing fascination with all thing Pacific Rim I have included a selection of the very best concept art that was created for the film.  For a more intensive look at the world of the concept artist and concept art in cinema be sure to check out the exquisite site, The Film Sketcher, by Maurice Mitchell.  You'll also find exclusive interviews with the artists.

 
I have an order in for Pacific Rim: Man, Machines And Monsters which will highlight the concept art of the Pacific Rim world as well as feature designs, film stills and other kaiju and mech madness.  This is the first film-connected book that I've purchased since the now long out-of-print Final Fantasy: The Making Of Spirits Within (2001).  I came close to purchasing The Art Of District 9 (2010) and Prometheus: The Art Of The Film (2012), but have yet to pull the trigger.  So you can see the impact visually Pacific Rim had on me personally.  It left a significant sizable impression.

 
I'm doing my very best to get Pacific Rim out of my system.  For those concerned about me over the weekend you should know I refrained from seeing the film for a third time. No worries I am still okay - I think.






































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5 comments:

  1. le0pard13July 29, 2013 at 5:33 PM

    Gorgeous! Thanks for posting these, G.

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  2. CannonJuly 29, 2013 at 9:05 PM

    It’s a pleasure to see someone geeking out over this movie the way its own director geeked out in all manner and forms over the source material. As for myself, I thoroughly loved Pacific Rim. It’s my favorite of the summer (alongside the underrated The Wolverine). In fact, it's probably my favorite summer film in a number of years. It had such a Star Wars sense of earnest heroism and world building enthusiasm—that same sense of fun. I also thought the neural handshake 'Drift' was a far cleverer and more thematically poignant story device than most have given credit for: Mako Mori’s "chasing the rabbit" flashback was a deeply effective moment for me. I bought the hardback comic book (Tales from Year Zero) a week before seeing the film. So, yeah, I share your geekdom. Thanks for the cool artwork.

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  3. le0pard13July 29, 2013 at 10:21 PM

    Cannon: Yay, for someone else who found enjoyment with The Wolverine as well as PR.

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  4. SFFJuly 30, 2013 at 8:39 AM

    Cheers Michael.

    Cannon-

    First let me tell you that I thoroughly enjoy your commentaries at other sites.

    Second, thank you for getting my complete geek overload!

    You really added to the spirit of the week here with your brief comment. I loved your analogy to the Star Wars sense of "earnest heroism and world building enthusiasm." EXACTLY. It really captured the spirit of those types of films.

    I know del Toro was going for that, but what we want and what we achieve aren't always the same and I think del Toro was mostly successful because I absolutely tapped into that energy and that joy. Pacific Rim is that - a joy!

    Finally, you and I completely conencted with that "chasing the rabbit" sequence. I wrote about it in my review of the film and in the post I Remember That: Kaiju Dreams, but you are precisely right, it was a "deeply effective" and affecting moment!

    I have yet to buy the Tales From Year Zero but was thinking about it. You will see in my final Pacific Rim post it's about the only thing I haven't purchased.

    Thanks for sharing your inner geek here. I'm clearly not alone.

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  5. SFFJuly 30, 2013 at 8:41 AM

    Oh, and guys, really looking forward to The Wolverine.

    I see the somewhat unenthusiastic praise for it, but it looks tremendous and that faint praise is sometimes misleading.

    I liked the the first Wolverine film quite a bit.

    This one looks even better. I can't wait to see it.

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