• About Us
  • Advertising on Awards Daily
Monday, December 11, 2023
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
Awardsdaily
  • Home
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Predictions Contests
  • Oscars Calendar 2024
  • Podcasts
  • Interviews
  • Follow us on Twitter
    • Awards Daily
    • Sasha Stone
    • Ryan Adams
    • Clarence Moye
    • Mark Johnson
  • All News
  • Home
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Predictions Contests
  • Oscars Calendar 2024
  • Podcasts
  • Interviews
  • Follow us on Twitter
    • Awards Daily
    • Sasha Stone
    • Ryan Adams
    • Clarence Moye
    • Mark Johnson
  • All News
No Result
View All Result
Awardsdaily
No Result
View All Result

Interview: Craig Lathrop on Building the Sets for ‘The Lighthouse’

by Jazz Tangcay
October 28, 2019
in Interviews
3
Interview: Craig Lathrop on Building the Sets for ‘The Lighthouse’

Credit: A24

Production designer Craig Lathrop was on vacation when he first heard about The Lighthouse. Director Robert Eggers had mentioned the film to him. It just so happened that the island he was on had a manually working lighthouse. Lathrop went to work right away. He studied lighthouses around the country. He looked at photographs and archives before getting to work on building his lighthouse and the keeper’s area.

I caught up with Lathrop to talk about building the lighthouse, the fresnel and working in black and white.

What was the key to building a lighthouse and its quarters from scratch?

I looked at every bit of information that I could find on lighthouses. We looked at hundreds and hundreds of lighthouses up and down the East Coast, West Coast and Canada. I started doing my research and digging up as many drawings and sketches that I could find. There are so many lighthouses that are no longer around. We researched at the Library of Congress because some of it isn’t online, so we had to dig it up.

That’s what I did. I didn’t physically go down there. I hired someone to go down there for me.

There was the US Lighthouse Society and they were a great resource. I actually joined the society.

I read that. That’s amazing. How did that help you?

Everyone was so kind and helpful. If they didn’t have the information, they’d send me to someone who might. It just felt like they were helping me so much that I should give them money and join.

I still get regular emails from them, but they were really lovely.

Talk about the design and inspiration of the light itself.

I got the script in November, and it happened really fast. The first thing I picked out as being a possible challenge was the lighthouse itself because it has a small base, it’s very tall and you think it’d want to tip over. The other challenge was the fresnel.

When Robert first started talking about The Lighthouse, I didn’t know much about it, but it was around The VVitch. I was on vacation in the Bahamas on this little island in Copetown, just off the Abaco Islands. They just so happened to have the last manually working lighthouse in the world. I went up there and made the lighthouse keeper go through everything with me. It was absolutely beautiful.

I started looking around to see if there were any that we could rent. There was one I found in Australia, but that was just too heavy. They weigh just over a ton, and so I couldn’t bring that.

I started thinking about the design. I designed one that had a bit of a squid shape. It was basically the same as any other fresnel lens, and I started modeling it up. I modeled it in a 3D program and I found somebody that could build it. I spoke to Dan Spinella at Artworks Florida Fresnel Lens Design. He thought I was crazy when I called to tell him I wanted to build it in the amount of time that I wanted to build it in. He said it was going to take eight months to a year to build, but I got him down closer to eight weeks.
He really came through for me.

Credit: A24

What about building the living quarters. What went into that?

It was based on research. The house itself was a little bit like the keeper’s house and a lot of homes from the early 1800s in Maine. I wanted the building to be old; that was my key objective.

We tried to make sure that it had character to show that it was older. We put in small details; I bricked in the fireplace and I put in cast iron stoves too. We had the interior and exterior set.

We had the big storm that happens halfway through. That was where the special effects team came in and did some heavy lifting. The set needed to hold water for the flooding. I built that set like a bathtub so it was watertight. That was a fun set to work on because we had to calculate how it would all go.

How did shooting in black and white factor into your design when building the Lighthouse and the sets?

When they first said black and white, I wasn’t all that worried. Jarin Blaschke, our cinematographer wanted to use a blue filter and he ended up having one custom made. A lot of still photographers use a red filter when they shoot in black and white because the red will make the redshift toward white. Any blemishes you might have on your skin, all the reds are going to white so your skin looks beautiful and smooth. A blue filter does the opposite. It shifts everything towards black, so it makes your skin look weathered and leathery. Any blemishes you have and any pores will pop. It was perfect for what we were trying to do. I had to be careful become some tones looked like charcoal. There was a shift that I wasn’t anticipating, but Jarin gave me the specs to his filter. I created a custom film in the Dolby lightroom. I took photos with my regular camera and turned them into black and white with this shift of a blue filter. As soon as you start doing that, it becomes intuitive. We just took photos and ran it through computers to see what worked and what didn’t work.

 

Tags: A24Craig Lathropproduction designerThe Lighthouse
Jazz Tangcay

Jazz Tangcay

As a Brit, I'll say anything. Some things I love; Meryl Streep, Italians and Starbucks.

Related Posts

‘Nyad’ To Open 31st Annual Hamptons International Film Festival

‘NYAD’ VFX Supervisor Jake Braver On the Subtle Visual Effects That Accentuate This Inspirational Story

by Ben Morris
December 10, 2023
0

Jake Braver, the VFX supervisor of Netlfix's NYAD, had a great deal of work to accomplish on a film that,...

Chris Messina on Playing the Most Notorious Sports Agent of All Time in Ben Affleck’s ‘Air’

Chris Messina on Playing the Most Notorious Sports Agent of All Time in Ben Affleck’s ‘Air’

by David Phillips
December 8, 2023
0

Now one quarter of a century into his film and television career, Chris Messina has continually given strong performances whether...

A Chat With Ayelet Menahemi, Director of Israel’s International Feature Selection ‘Seven Blessings’ [VIDEO]

A Chat With Ayelet Menahemi, Director of Israel’s International Feature Selection ‘Seven Blessings’ [VIDEO]

by Frank J. Avella
December 8, 2023
0

How many of us wish we could confront a family member or two and demand an apology for a past...

Sterling K. Brown: ‘American Fiction’ Scene-Stealer [VIDEO]

Sterling K. Brown: ‘American Fiction’ Scene-Stealer [VIDEO]

by Frank J. Avella
December 8, 2023
0

In Cord Jefferson’s feature debut, American Fiction, adapted from the Percival Everett novel, Erasure, Jeffrey Wright plays Monk a frustrated...

‘Society of the Snow’ Director J.A. Bayona On His International Oscar Submission [VIDEO]

‘Society of the Snow’ Director J.A. Bayona On His International Oscar Submission [VIDEO]

by Frank J. Avella
December 8, 2023
0

On October 12, 1972, a rugby team boarded Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 from Montevideo, Uruguay, headed for Santiago, Chile,...

Oscar-Nominee Paul Giamatti On How ‘The Holdovers’ Paul Potentially Echoes ‘Sideways’ Miles [VIDEO]

Oscar-Nominee Paul Giamatti On How ‘The Holdovers’ Paul Potentially Echoes ‘Sideways’ Miles [VIDEO]

by Clarence Moye
December 8, 2023
0

It's incredibly difficult to believe that Paul Giamatti, one of the most ubiquitous and beloved actors of the 21st century,...

Next Post
‘Mandalorian’ Looks to Evoke Old School ‘Star Wars’ Glory

'Mandalorian' Looks to Evoke Old School 'Star Wars' Glory

‘Nyad’ To Open 31st Annual Hamptons International Film Festival

‘NYAD’ VFX Supervisor Jake Braver On the Subtle Visual Effects That Accentuate This Inspirational Story

December 10, 2023
50th Telluride Film Festival Day Three

‘Zone of Interest,’ ‘Holdovers’ Take LA Film and Boston Film Critics’ Top Prizes

December 10, 2023
‘Barbie’ Director Greta Gerwig To Receive Director of the Year Award From Palm Springs International Film Awards

2024 Golden Globes Predictions

December 10, 2023
‘Barbie’ Director Greta Gerwig To Receive Director of the Year Award From Palm Springs International Film Awards

2024 Golden Globes Predictions

by Sasha Stone
December 10, 2023
15

Los Angeles Film Critics and Boston Film Critics are both announcing today. We will get those to you as soon...

Oscars 2024: Teaser for ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Drops

2024 Oscar Predictions — Killers of the Flower Moon Becomes the Best Picture Frontrunner

by Sasha Stone
December 8, 2023
111

Predicting the Oscars is not about finding the best — it is about finding the consensus. If you can predict...

2023 NYFCC Contest Winner!

Killers, Oppenheimer and Poor Things Dominate Chicago Film Critics Nominations

by Sasha Stone
December 8, 2023
24

The Chicago Film Critics have announced their nominations. Winners will be announced on December 12. Here is the press release:...

Oscar-Nominee Paul Giamatti On How ‘The Holdovers’ Paul Potentially Echoes ‘Sideways’ Miles [VIDEO]

Oscar-Nominee Paul Giamatti On How ‘The Holdovers’ Paul Potentially Echoes ‘Sideways’ Miles [VIDEO]

by Clarence Moye
December 8, 2023
0

It's incredibly difficult to believe that Paul Giamatti, one of the most ubiquitous and beloved actors of the 21st century,...

Oscars 2024: Visual Effects Finalists Announced

Oscars 2024: Visual Effects Finalists Announced

by Sasha Stone
December 7, 2023
33

Variety's Clayton Davis got the exclusive. 20 films in competition for Visual Effects. Most surprising is George Clooney's The Boys...

First Trailer for ‘Oppenheimer’ Has Arrived

AFI Announces Top Ten Films of 2024

by Sasha Stone
December 7, 2023
100

AFI MOTION PICTURES OF THE YEAR AMERICAN FICTION BARBIE THE HOLDOVERS KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON MAESTRO MAY DECEMBER OPPENHEIMER...

AwardsDaily Crew

  • About Us
  • Sasha Stone
  • Editor Ryan Adams
  • Editor Clarence Moye
  • Editor Mark Johnson
  • Contact Us

ADTV Crew

  • ADTV Home
  • Megan McLachlan, Editor
  • Joey Moser, Editor
  • Clarence Moye, Editor
  • Jalal Haddad, Senior Contributor
  • Shadan Larki
  • Ben Morris
  • David Phillips
  • Advertising on Awards Daily
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Oscar Podcast
  • AwardsDailyTV

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Predictions Contests
  • Oscars Calendar 2024
  • Podcasts
  • Interviews
  • Follow us on Twitter
    • Awards Daily
    • Sasha Stone
    • Ryan Adams
    • Clarence Moye
    • Mark Johnson
  • All News

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In