Movies - TV
What The Sandman Looked Like Before The Visual Effects
By JESSICA FISHER
Dream’s palace
VFX Supervisor Ian Markiewicz drew inspiration from sculptor Kris Kuksi when designing Dream’s palace. The team combined different elements and shapes for the design, with Markiewicz describing it as “a dream mosaic” that not only featured human elements of dreams but of every being that can dream.
Throne room
Shooting at real locations was a priority, as it contributed physical and spatial references for the cast and crew, meaning very few scenes of “The Sandman” were filmed in a full-green box. Dream’s throne room was filmed on-location at Guildford Cathedral in the UK and was “heavily augmented” for the final look in the show.
Matthew
Markiewicz noted that Matthew was one of the more exciting designs the team tackled, intending to create a realistic raven with a human mind and the ability to speak. According to Markiewicz, about 95 percent of Matthew’s shots are full-CGI, but live birds were used as references for the CGI team to work with during their creation process.
Lucifer’s palace
Lucifer’s palace was modeled after St. Peter’s square at the Vatican as the iconography made sense for a fallen angel, but Markiewicz noted that it’s not meant to be a statement about Catholicism. With this in mind, the VFX team adjusted the height of the balcony, changed the sculptures, and added small details to create a hellish version of the location.
Threshold of Desire
The Threshold of Desire set was created for “The Sandman” and was carved out of foam blocks by production designer Gary Steele. Since Desire’s home isn’t well defined in the comics, Steele created something reminiscent of Roger Dean’s architecture that looked like a hollowed-out human heart for a luxurious and sensual setting.