Francis Bacon's Study for a Bullfight no. 2 (1969)
references the Excessive Machine from Barbarella?

leading from
The Henu Barque trail through the 20th century.
and
Roger Vadim's Barbarella (1968) 
and
The Jacques Louis David's Death of Socrates route

Francis Bacon's Study for a Bullfight no. 2 (1969)

a) One might also start looking at images of the Excessive Machine from the movie Barbarella from the previous year in 1968 and wonder if there was some sort of connection being made with that in Francis Bacon's mind, which oddly is also on the Henu Barque Trail.

b) As if the villain Durand Durand's white upper garment has turned into the white area, the black part going over the rim of the shoulder fin becoms a bull horn and the machine itself with the screen behind it has turned into the bull and the section of auditorium with its crowd.

c) If that is the case, the oryx horns for the Henu Barque appear to have become the rim of the screen behind and perhaps Bacon uses this in a hoop like trail of movement through the air as the bull moves.

d) Perhaps this is interesting because it turns Francis Bacon into someone who could be fascinated with the latest oddities in scifi cinema when it came to his inspirations.


comparison between the Excessive Machine from the movie Barbarella (1960)
and Francis Bacon's Study for a Bullfight no. 2 (1969)

Prometheus: Production-Used Blueprint - Engineer Hibernation Room

leading from
  1. "An original blueprint used in the production of Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus. Led to a distant planet by ancient wall paintings, scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) join a corporate-sponsored mission to discover the source of life on Earth. But in the ruins of an alien space craft, the human explorers soon find that all is not as it seems, and a great threat lurks in its deep holds.

    This blueprint was part of a set used to visualise the designs for the Engineer hibernation chamber, where the Last Engineer (Ian Whyte) is awoken after centuries of slumber in the bowels of the massive ship. The blueprint has a number of diagrams, both concept art and plan images, detailing the sliding and rotating pilot’s chair that is used by the Engineer to launch the ship. At the bottom right hand side of the sheet is a data form detailing the scale, the set the blueprint belongs to, the set and production designers and the blueprint’s scale.

    The blueprint displays signs of production wear including light creases and folds throughout. However, in spite of this wear, the blueprint remains in overall good condition, measuring approximately 60cm x 50cm (23.75” x 19.75”) unfolded. " (Source: https://propstore.com/mobile/product/prometheus/production-used-blueprint-engineer-hibernation-room)







Prometheus: Blueprints

leading from


1) Production used blueprints for
 Shaw's (Noomi Rapace's) quarters



2) Production-Used Blueprint - Rover Transporter


3) Production-Used Blueprint - Engineer Hibernation Room




Prometheus: Production-Used Blueprint - Rover Transporter

leading from
 
  1.  An original blueprint used in the production of Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus. Led to a distant planet by ancient wall paintings, scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) join a corporate-sponsored mission to discover the source of life on Earth. But in the ruins of an alien space craft, the human explorers soon find that all is not as it seems, and a great threat lurks in its deep holds. This blueprint was part of a set used to visualise the designs for a Weyland Corp “Rover Transporter” vehicle, a flatbed version of the troop transport vehicle used for moving the smaller ATV-style rovers. The blueprint has a number of diagrams showing vertical and horizontal views of the vehicle. At the top right hand side of the sheet is a data form detailing the department the blueprint belongs to and the responsible personnel for the vehicle’s construction. A red printed stamp reads “Design Approved”.
    The blueprint displays signs of production wear including creases and some minor tears. However, in spite of this wear, the blueprint remains in overall good condition, measuring 94cm x 60 (37” x 23.75”) unfolded.
    (Original source http://www.propstore.com/product/prometheus/production-used-blueprint-rover-transporter/)








Prometheus: production used blueprints for Shaw's (Noomi Rapace's) quarters

leading from
 
  1. "An original blueprint used in the production of Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus. Led to a distant planet by ancient wall paintings, scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) join a corporate-sponsored mission to discover the source of life on Earth. But in the ruins of an alien space craft, the human explorers soon find that all is not as it seems, and a great threat lurks in its deep holds. This blueprint was part of a set used to visualise the designs for Shaw’s living quarters on board the Prometheus starship. The blueprint has a number of diagrams showing plan views and elevations of various sections of the room, including the doors, bed, galley and washing areas. At the bottom right hand side of the sheet is a data form detailing the scale, the set the blueprint belongs to, the set and production designers and the blueprint’s scale.
    The blueprint displays signs of production wear including light creases and folds throughout. However, in spite of this wear, the blueprint remains in overall good condition, measuring approximately 116cm x 92cm (45.75” x 36.25”) unfolded.
    (Original source http://www.propstore.com/product/prometheus/production-used-blueprint-shaws-noomi-rapace-quarters/)

 

Original Source: http://www.propstore.com/

Original Source: http://www.propstore.com/

Original Source: http://www.propstore.com/

Original Source: http://www.propstore.com/

Original Source: http://www.propstore.com/

 


Alien Covenant: Katherine Waterston plays Daniels

 

 
leading 
 
 
a) Waterston gets the role
 
Katherine Waterston was in a black cab in london when her agent called her and told her that she got the part. She felt as if someone had got the wrong number or there had been a mistake
 
 
b) Chief terraformist
 
The character Daniels the chief terraformist. When they get to the planet, they are pioneers setting up a new world. 
 
Once they get to the planet, she's in charge of making things grow there.
 
There's a massive section of the Covenant ship where all the little plants grown in space greenhouses, and she would be in charge of that.

c) Reluctant Hero
 
There are two things that keep her from getting killed for most of the film, and they are courage and good fortune.
 
Daniels's not a soldier, she's not a martial artist but she is a terraformist.
 
She kept trying to get the men to teach her such things such as how to use a stick like an axe, how to use tools that she would use when they get to the planet to help grow things
 
She is a classic reluctant hero. 
 
Perhaps if she were asked at the beginning of the film if she was particularly courageous or brave, she wouldn't know how to answer that question but it's only when she's tested thagt she discovers what she is capable of..

Aboard the Covenant, they have great big trucks and forklifts.

A lot of what Waterston does in the film is incorporate what Daniels would know how to use.

In the film, felt that they were making her too good at holding the guns and fighting the aliens, and so she tried to make the movements a little bit more pedestrian.


d) Mother of Ripley rumour

She was also aware of the rumour that her character was the mother of Ripley, but she thought about the episode of Fawlty Towers where John Cleese's character tells Manuel that he has to lie about something.  "Whenever anyone asks you, you say, ‘I know nothing.’” and this is what would go through her mind when asked by Journalists about the rumour.

e) Praise from Sigourney 
 
Sigourney came to see the movie, and said some like "You were good" to Waterston.  Whatever she said was nothing extraordinary but indeed it would be something that Waterston would likely hold onto for years, and when she got the job , she thought immediately of that moment

 
 
 
 So, that’s what plays on my mind whenever people ask me these spoiler questions.

  1. Covenant marks Waterston’s second blockbuster in the last six months, following a magical turn as Tina in Fantastic Beasts, but Daniels is a very different character to Beasts’ uptight ’30s wizard. “She’s the chief terraformist. So when they get to the planet, she’s in charge of making things grow there,” Waterston explains. “She’s a classic reluctant hero. I think if she were to be asked at the beginning of the film if she’s particularly courageous or brave, she wouldn’t know how to answer that question.” Instead, Daniels’ strengths are revealed to her over the course of the film. Waterston even pushed to ensure Daniels wasn’t a superhero out of the box. Instead, she uses her existing knowledge and abilities to her advantage. “We’ve got all these great big trucks and forklifts. A lot of what I try to do in the film is incorporate what she would actually know how to use. They were making me too good at holding the gun, and fighting the aliens. I tried to make the movements a little bit more pedestrian.” Following in the footsteps of a character as monumental as Ripley, meanwhile, was a task Waterston didn’t take lightly. “[Sigourney] gave such an incredible performance. It stands the test of time. It’s still so genuine and compelling and fascinating. And certainly, being a girl growing up in the ’80s, those kinds of roles were pretty exciting for young women to see.(Total Film)
  2. SFX: Who is Daniels?

    Catherine Waterston: She’s the chief terraformist on this colonising mission. Once we get there, we’re pioneers setting up a new world. So when they get to the planet, she’s in charge of making things grow there. There’s a massive section of the ship where all of the little plants grow in space greenhouses. So she’s in charge of all of that.

    SFX: How did you prepare for the role?

    Catherine Waterston: There’s two things that keep her from getting killed for most of the film, and they are courage and good fortune. She’s not a soldier. She’s not a martial artist. She’s a terraformist. So I kept trying to get the guys to teach me: how do I use this stick like an axe? How do I use the tools that I would use when we get to the planet to help grow things? They were making me too good, I thought, at holding the gun, and fighting the aliens. I tried to make the movements a little bit more pedestrian.

    SFX: Do you feel much pressure following in the footsteps of sigourney Weaver?
    Catherine Waterston: Only when journalists ask me that! I spend my whole day trying to not think about things like that and then you guys come in and are like, “What are you freaking out about?” [laughs] But truly, you can’t think about these things when you’re working, because the job, the task at hand, is important to me.
    SFX:
    there’s a rumour that you play a character related to ripley...
    Catherine Waterston: Yeah... I’m aware of the rumour. There’s this episode of Fawlty Towers where John Cleese tells Manuel he has to lie about something. “Whenever anyone asks you, you say, ‘I know nothing.’” So, that’s what plays on my mind whenever people ask me these spoiler questions. 
  3. Rumours suggested that Daniels would be Ripley’s mother and, whatever the truth, there are resemblances. Both are rational women transformed by circumstance into gun-toting warriors. Both are shown at some point in singlets, or clomping around in magnetic boots, and each has a problematic relationship with a synthetic colleague. The only shortfall comes in the area of the catchphrase, where Daniels’s multiple efforts (including “I got you, you son-of-a-bitch” and “Let’s kill this fucker!”) are no match for Ripley’s emphatic: “Get away from her, you bitch!
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    Most strikingly, the first note Waterston has to play in the new film is outright panic when technical problems wake her prematurely from hypersleep. The second is grief. “It’s like slamming on the brakes before anyone has the chance to buckle their seat belts. I didn’t know how I would play it or how I could get there, but that’s always the most appealing thing to me. The insecurity is exciting. Maybe I’m also curious about testing my ability.” She widens her eyes. “Seeing if it’s still there.
    Although Daniels is treading in Ripley’s footsteps, or, given that Covenant is set 20-odd years before Alien, forging the path that Ripley will follow, Waterston didn’t talk to Weaver about the part. But the two women have a distant connection. When Waterston was starting out as an actor, she got her first lead role in a play at The Flea, a New York theatre co-founded by Weaver’s husband, Jim Simpson. “Sigourney came to see it and said something like: ‘You were good.’ Nothing extraordinary. But when someone like her says that, you hang on to it for years. When I got this job, I thought immediately of that moment.
    Waterston is big on the idea of all actors as an extended clan, perhaps unsurprisingly for someone whose siblings are in the business, and whose father is Sam Waterston, the veteran from The Killing Fields, Crimes and Misdemeanors and the TV hit Law and Order. Her mother is the former model Lynn Louisa Woodruff. “Acting is a community where you come in and out of each other’s lives. I’m slightly envious of the golden age of Hollywood. It must have been frustrating to be owned by the studio, but it was also like being in a company, working with the same people, and that appeals to me.
    Working On Alien: Covenant, she was reunited with Carmen Ejogo (Fantastic Beasts) and Michael Fassbender, with whom she shared some fraught scenes in Steve Jobs, as well as her old chum Billy Crudup. At one point during our conversation, she leaps up and yanks open the door in response to voices outside. “Billy Crudup, will you shut the fuck up?” she hollers down the hallway. “I’m trying to focus!
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    Crudup sidles into view. “What you doing for dinner tonight,” he purrs. “You want to join us? Me and Danny McBride? You should be so lucky!” What larks. Of course, it’s entirely possible that she could have put on a more vivid display of her need to cultivate actorly intimacy than bounding out of the room to accost a colleague. Possible, yes, but not likely.
    She first saw Crudup when she was 15 in a Broadway production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, which she now credits with confirming in her mind her acting ambitions. “It was the thing that clicked me over to that next level of curiosity.” Clicked? “You know when you’re going up at the start of the rollercoaster and it’s going click-click-click towards the summit? I’d had the initial idea of wanting to act but I didn’t know how I could do it.(https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/may/11/alien-covenants-katherine-waterston-we-live-in-hypersexualised-yet-totally-prudish-times)
  4. DenOfGeek: The night before, Waterston had asked anyone in the audience with a hip flask of tequila to come forward and share it with her, to quell the frightfulness of seeing Ridley Scott’s latest blood-soaked space horror for the first time. In the interests of keeping things light and pre-coffee friendly, that’s where I opted to start...

    DenOfGeek: Did you have any luck finding some tequila at the premiere yesterday?

    Katherine Waterston:
    I really thought that there were gonna be some proud alcoholics in the audience that would raise their hand when I asked that. I was really disappointed. But I found some vodka.

    DenOfGeek: Oh, okay. Did it help?

    Katherine Waterston:
    Um, yeah, it probably did a little. Ridley gave it to me. He turned to me as the lights went down and went, "Vodka?" It was great.

    DenOfGeek: Are you not normally a watcher of scary films, then?

    Katherine Waterston:
    No, yeah, I can’t tolerate them. I’m a real chicken.

    DenOfGeek: How was it, seeing the film for the fist time?

    Katherine Waterston:
    Um... I think when there’s, um, CGI elements to a film, you can never really know what to expect, because they’re just, they’re visuals that you weren’t exposed to on set, do you know what I mean?

    DenOfGeek: Yeah.

    Katherine Waterston:
    And so I’ve, weirdly, one thing that I found totally mind-blowing was just the opening credits. Just when the title came up, before the credits: space, and a little ship flying through it, you know? Um, it’s nice to have moments of, err, relief from having to look at your own face. So I was really into all of that, all of the shots of spaceships flying around. Yeah.

    DenOfGeek: When you’re acting against a Xenomorph, or any other form of the alien, what do you actually have to look at?

    Katherine Waterston:
    Oh well, I was really just speaking of the spaceship scenes, because, actually, anything that... any scene that you see me in...

    DenOfGeek: Is practical stuff.

    Katherine Waterston:
    As practical as possible, yeah. Really, the only green screens I saw were sort of, like... one day, my favourite stunt... you can barely even see it in the movie, but, I kind of go swinging off the side of this ship, and for a moment, the ship is so low that I’m running on the ground, and then I get scooped back up. Do you remember?

    DenOfGeek: Of course! It’s a very cool moment.

    Katherine Waterston:
    That was my favourite stunt to shoot, because they just pulled me up really really high, and zipped me down, and I ran a few steps, and I zipped back up, and it somehow felt sort of like a Buster Keaton moment or something. It was just so silly to me, when we were shooting it, um, and really fun.

    And that was the only day, really the only moment, where I was alone, surrounded by green screen. And I didn’t need to do anything, just run, so it was still, in a sense, a practical experience, you know? I had the floor beneath me, and so, I didn’t really have to, you know, fake it.

    Katherine Waterston:
    Whenever possible, Ridley gave us stuff to work with. And it’s so much better that way.

    DenOfGeek: I would guess on Fantastic Beasts that is was a bit more green screen-y?

    Katherine Waterston:
    No, same.

    DenOfGeek: Oh, that’s cool!

    Katherine Waterston:
    Yeah, I think it might be, maybe, a bit of a thing of the past. Like, the earlier days of CGI stuff, where they were forcing actors to do everything, you know, looking out into a green abyss. But, um, I think they realised the more stuff you can give them, the better. It’s just something about the way your eye engages. I don’t know. It’s hard to see something that’s not in front of you.

    DenOfGeek: You kind of have to do the whole gamut of emotions here, as well. Was it kind of exhausting to keep up the fear and the dread and the various other things you have to go through?

    Katherine Waterston:
    Yeah, I was wondering if it was going to be difficult to keep, kind of, the anxiety level up all day. Um, I think it may have been, with another director. But because Ridley moves so quickly, the pace on set was really energised all the time, and so, that definitely helped. You know, we weren’t waiting around for the next set up for hours and then, kind of, have to conjure that anxiety again and again. It’s always the stopping and starting that can kind of make that stuff difficult to maintain.

    But there’s a great kind of scrappy focus on the set, with Ridley, because, in that way, he sort of managed to maintain the spirit of a young filmmaker. Even though, obviously, the sets give him a way – the budget’s big – but the feeling is kind of like he’s still got that kind of urgency and impatience and excitement of a young filmmaker. That definitely helped, I think, for all of us in maintaining a kind of constant level of, you know, nervousness and anxiety or whatever.

    And, in terms of the emotional stuff, I don’t know... I mean, I think it was Billy [Crudup, who plays a high-ranking crewmember named Oram] who said, "You know, we’re actors, we do feelings." It’s like, that’s what we do, so it doesn’t feel so bizarre to do that all day.


    DenOfGeek: I saw a video where you were saying that one of your previous directors was sending you taunting emails, about running?

    Katherine Waterston:
    One of my previous directors, yeah, was reminding me of other actresses who run really well. And asking if I’d been doing any running in this film. Saying things like, "Don’t screw it up!" He was like, "Daisy Ridley runs really well, how’s your run going?" [Laughs] So it did kind of make me paranoid!

    DenOfGeek: Was that Paul Thomas Anderson? That would be my guess.

    Katherine Waterston:
    Yeah. Mhmm. It was Paul.

    DenOfGeek: I would guess working with him [which Waterston did on Inherent Vice] and working with Ridley Scott is a very different experience?

    Katherine Waterston:
    Oh yeah, well they definitely have a lot of differences, for sure. Every director is different, but I think... they both seem to be doing the job they should be doing, you know? They both really seem to be energised by what they’re doing and they both seem to be very passionate about it. It’s strange, you know, you don’t always get that feeling on set. But it’s a great... it sets a good tone on set. I guess whatever the director’s energy is is kind of contagious on set, because, um, you know, it’s a hierarchy and we’re all kind of looking to the director for guidance.

    DenOfGeek: You filmed this on the opposite side of the world, in Australia and New Zealand. Did that distance from your normal life help get into the crew’s mind set at all?

    Katherine WaterstonYeah, Iceland and New Zealand are the two places that I’ve ever visited that don’t quite feel like they are on planet Earth. Do you know what I mean?


    DenOfGeek: Yeah.

    Katherine Waterston:
    Striking, extraordinary landscapes. And we began shooting in, um, New Zealand and that really set the tone. All the landscapes and the waterfalls there, and everything. I think, for the whole cast, it placed us in the environment. And I think we were sort of able to use that for the rest of the shoot.

    DenOfGeek: And, finally, is it true that you wanted an Ezra Miller Fantastic Beasts haircut for this?

    Katherine Waterston:
    Not exactly. I loved his haircut, and he didn’t, at first. He was a bit traumatised with his hair. But I thought it made him look like Ian Curtis, who I adore, and I told him and that kind of made him feel better. Um, and near the end of the shoot they were making wigs for all of us in case we had to do pickups later.

    I had just been cast in this, and I asked the hair and makeup department if I could try on his wig. And that’s kind of what got me thinking, um, of lopping it all off. But it’s also like a Joan of Arc thing, and I like the idea of doing something that was just a bit odd-looking, and maybe just mildly futuristic. Um, just a potential future trend. The micro bowl cut, or something. [Laughs] I don’t know!


    DenOfGeek: Katherine Waterston, thank you very much! (http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/katherine-waterston/49247/katherine-waterston-interview-alien-covenant) 
  5. We’re here to talk about the role you’re going to know her for next – Ridley Scott’s latest kickass lead, Daniels, in ‘Alien: Covenant’. ‘She’s a scientist,’ says Waterston. ‘It’s only when she’s tested that she discovers what she is capable of.’

    Were you nervous following in Sigourney Weaver’s footsteps in the ‘Alien’ franchise?

    ‘No. You have to force yourself to not engage with your destructive self-loathing! I was in a black cab in London when my agent called and told me I’d got the part. I always feel like someone’s got the wrong number or there’s been a mistake.’(https://www.timeout.com/london/film/katherine-waterston-i-scare-very-easily-alien-traumatised-me-for-life)
     
     

Prometheus: Juhani Nurmi gives advice on the frescos

leading from

a) Finnish film journalist and Hollywood screenwriter Juhani Nurmi was someone who was able to put himself in the position to remind Ridley that if he ever intended to revisit the world of Alien, he really should hire Giger, but by the time that Ridley got around to making Prometheus, HR Giger had become frail and was already too ill to work on the film, although Giger's own opinion was that he was brought in too late to really do anything
 
b) Around 2011, Juhani Nurmi was consulted by Giger's long time agent Leslie Barany on the mural and so he shared some of his ruminations about the Alien life cycle, and how it could be incorporated comprehensively and aesthetically as possible into a confined space
  1. Juhani Nurmi: To get back to Ridley, he's he's such a mild gentleman and true gentleman of the north, he's from Northern England, and always very calm, always very measured, very dry wit. and he he's he's he's, he's the more giant timid version of of Tony Scott, because Tony Scott is a little more like me, he's a gregarious, talkative, he's you know, gesticulating with his hands all the time, and amd much more extravert, and Ridley's the intravert, obviously, you know, Tony's not with us any more, I interviewed him a few times as well, and er, those, those, those brothers and and were incredible and, and er, in subsequent interviews I also got him to sign some of my Alien DVD covers which was beyond thrilling, but I, I did also mention, mention Giger to him and the fact that I'm friends with HR Giger, and he he he he, he, he was, he was, he was really cool about that. I just reminded him that if he ever intends to revisit the world of Alien, he really should hire Giger. 

    Jaime Praeter: Yeah

    Juhani Nurmi: But unfortunately when he did, for Prometheus, Giger was already old, frail,  and and he had had a bad stroke a few years before he he ultimately died, 

    Jaime Praeter: Mmhmm

    Juhani Nurmi: So the work that Giger did for Prometheus was not, I mean, it it was definitely not on the same level as he did as as a much younger man for for Alien, because you know Giger really dirtied his hands while working on Alien because he was hands on, on everything, as you know, 

    Jaime Praeter: Yes

    Juhani Nurmi: He built the, you know, the space jockey, he built himself you know, the suit er around Bolaji Badejo, you know, the guy who played the big chap alien.
     
    Jaime Praeter: Yes

    Juhani Nurmi: And And And yeah,and er, he's he's he's er, erm, he's an incredible incredible craftsman and and and much more, I'd say much more shy in those days when I interviewed him, (Perfect Organism podcast #32)
  2. Juhani Nurmi: As a long-time friend of the late HR Giger, I was graciously consulted by Giger's long-time agent, Leslie Barany on that mural around 2011. Gave them some ideas of mine. There was a small but loyal team of consultants. Unfortunately, Giger was already too ill to work more on that movie. He certainly couldn't have saved it from the trainwreck that it ultimately became ... but undoubtedly he would've brought it more class.

    Dominic Kulcsar:
    I suppose a wonderful question might be what ideas did you give them if you are able to share that?

    Juhani Nurmi: Ruminations about the Alien Lifecycle a la Giger / O'Bannon, and how it could be incorporated as comprehensively and aesthetically as possible into a confined space.
    (Weyland Yutani Bulletin: Facebook: 12 May 2016 at 10:51)

Alien Covenant: Back Burster by Stephane Levallois

leading from
and
 
 
 
a) Man giving birth to the baby neomorph through his back 

  1. Stephane Levallois: à trois monsieur, on pousse...Un, deux... (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1680059512027973)
 

 
 
 
b) The baby neomorphe crawling across the floor
  1. Stephane Levallois: c'est un garçon... (https://www.facebook.com) Google translation: It's a boy...


Alien Covenant: Stephane Levallois tackles the Neomorph

leading from
and


Stephane Levallois (https://www.facebook.com/ 3rd October 2015)



c)  By October 3rd, 2015, Stephane had produced a version of the Neomorph that met with Ridley's approval, and this steered the evolution of the creature's design towards a final direction
  1. Stephane Levallois: Le design du neomorph adulte validé par Ridley Scott...(https://www.facebook.com September 27, 2017) Google translate: The design of the adult neomorph validated by Ridley Scott... 
  2. Stephane Levallois: My final concept for the adult neomorph.   (Art station




Stephane Levallois; "Baby Neomorph Galop" 22nd October 2015
https://www.facebook.com


 

d) Ridley saw the Neomorph drawing and said to Stephane, "You did that?"

"Yes I did" replied Stephane

"Good but too thin" replied Ridley

  1. Stephane Levallois: "You did that?" me demande Ridley Scott..."Yes i did", i said..."Good, but too thin" me répond-il... (https://www.facebook.com/ October 25, 2017)


Alien Covenant: Development of the Neomorph by way of Australia

leading from
 
 
a) Development of the Neomorph by way of Australia

The design work for the Neomorph was taken to Australia. 
 
There was a cartoonish illustration of the Neomorph that Ridley liked but as far as Conor was concerned, it wasn't clearly evident what exactly Ridley wanted from it. Conor wasn't quite sure who had created it but he thought it might have been Carlos Huantes, but Stephane Levallois had also done some significant work . So Conor couldn't use it directly. (NB Without seeing it we can not know)

Conor had taken Colin Shulver out to Australia with him, and he was buys doing digital models while Conor himself  was busy using Photoship and taking bits of pieces off the internet. He saw that Adam Johansen was very closer to the final design with Ridley

With that, following his process, Conor had decided that they had solved and fixed it, getting the design that Ridley wanted

  1. Interviewer: How about the design for the brand new, the engineers of the, neomorph for instance

    Conor: The neomorph was a kind of design process, erm, you know, that and there was a fun drawing, you know there was a few similar things, but you know, they, I think it did work in the end, I think it sort of worked, it's a bit of a, I personally wanted to go for something a bit more deformed human. Erm, this kind of sort of much more of a creature was not something too sure about, whether I kind of, you know, I think it worked as a thing, it was good, you know, it had lots of nice qualities about it. It was trying to sort of get a more natural thing, looked like, you know, you know, has the sort of goblin shark quality about it

    Interviewer:Yeah

    Conor:  Er, that was kind of based on some designs that were floating around, ah, but there was a Carlos Huantes, ern had a designed, had done a drawing which Ridley had particularly liked, but it was a very cartoony drawing, so we couldn't really, when I asked, it wasn't really sort of clearly evident what it was you know, that er, he wanted, so initially between three of us I think and Adam Johanson, er was doing stuff in Australia, he was getting pretty closer and then, along with him and then erm, Colin Shulver who was a designer that I took out to Australia and me doing a bit of Photoshop and stealing things off the internet, we solved it and fixed it and got the design that he liked. And that was er, and that was you know, an interesting process

    Interviewer:Yeah

    Conor: As well. Getting the mouth mechanism was interesting, kind of fun, but we

    Interviewer: With that, did you look at what was done before, did you think I wanted to work it out for myself

    Conor: Well, he had, he kept referring to this one, this kind of cartoon image, which we've got here, which was this one (which one?)

    Interviewer: Wow

    Conor: So that was a Carlos, Carlos Huantes, I hope it, and then I kind of amalgamated with some other images that we got off the internet and stuff that, we came up with this drawing which he then approved that was a bit more real than that er we're getting it moving forwards and then it goes on and on from there, you know, sort of refining it, doing lots more details

    Interviewer: So is the next step from that maybe the maquette as a physical 3d form of it

    Conor:Yeah

    Interviewer: So is it


    Conor:But Adam was doing that, he was making a model Colin Shulver was doing a digital model, so we had a digital artist there, Dominic Hailstone and Colin Shulver, anderm  we, so ,we ended up with a physical model, a guy in a suit, and a digital model, and we supplied the digital models to the visual effects department,


    Interviewer: yeah (Reel Feedback podcast https://shows.acast.com/reel-feedback/episodes/605f3602db73271e7558bbd9)
 
b) Dane Hallet and Matt Hatton's decided that they certainly didn't want to create anything like the Deacon from Prometheus
  • Dane Hallet: it's, yeah, 'cause, it's really funny, I think that Matt and I both have an idea about what we want to see in an Alien film as well, so we, like for example we just, we didn't draw any Deacon drawings from Prometheus (The Podcast strikes back: The Art of Alien Covenant)


Alien: Covenant. The Neomorph.
This concept was realized by Colin Shulver, combining designs of the adult Neomorph head,
sculpted/designed by Adam Johansen and photoshop designs by Conor O'Sullivan.
Creature effects by Odd Creatures- Odd Studio & Creatures inc. 

Source: https://www.facebook.com/oddstudiopl/ June 9, 2017 ·

Alien: Covenant. The Neomorph. Our practical proof of concept and reference head. 
Ridley referenced the goblin shark for the bases of this creature and it's jaw mechanisms. 
It was also based on elements of a Carlos Huante design. 
The adult head was sculpted/co-designed by Adam Johansen & 
colour design and paint job by Damian Martin. 
Creature effects by Odd Creatures, Odd Studio and Creatures Inc.  
Source:  https://www.facebook.com/oddstudiopl/ June 15, 2017 ·



c) Adam Johansen tackles the Neomorph

Adam found the design the adult Neomorph, in particular the head, was a great challenge.

He knew there were many many artists working on the designs for this beast but nobody was quite getting there. Ridley continuously referenced a goblin shark for the mouth-jaw articulation and a sketch by Carlos Huante.

Adam sculpted many maquettes and full scaled heads, while Colin Shulver worked on the body in Zbrush, with Conor O'Sullivan compositing both elements together in Photoshop until Ridley was happy.

Damian Martin meanwhile did a paint job that Adam thought was gorgeously disgusting paint job and colour scheme to finish it off.

They then presented the finished full scale Neomorph head to Ridley on location in New Zealand, and he was thrilled. It was a satisfying moment for Adam.

Generally the design of the creatures was challenging because they were trying to give Ridley exactly what he wanted and also try to retain a Giger aesthetic


Alien:Covenant. Our adult Neomorph snapping jaw puppet.
Sculpt/design Adam Johansen, paint Damian Martin, mech Greg McKee.
Source https://www.facebook.com/oddstudiopl/ January 25th 2018




Alien: Covenant.
The Neomorph. Adult body sculpt by Colin Shulver
& Andy Hunt. Played by Goran D Kleut.
Creature effects by Odd Creatures.

(Source: https://www.facebook.com/oddstudiopl/ June 27, 2017 )

 
d) Finishing the work
 
Perhaps by March of 2017, Adam had totally finished his work on Covenant, still going through Fox storage for some pick ups.

  1. Adam Johansen: Personally, the design of the adult Neomorph, in particular the head, was most challenging. There were many, many artists working on the designs for this but nobody was quite getting there. Ridley continually referenced a goblin shark for the mouth/jaw articulation and a sketch form Carlos Haunte. I sculpted many maquettes and full scale heads while Colin Shulver worked on the body in Zbrush with Conor compositing both elements together in photoshop until Ridley was happy. Damian did a gorgeously disgusting paint job and colour scheme to finish it off. When we presented the finished full scale Neomorph head to Ridley on location in NZ he was thrilled. It was a satisfying moment. Generally, the design of most creatures was challenging because again, we were trying to give Ridley exactly what he wanted and also trying to retain a Giger aesthetic. (https://www.alien-covenant.com/news/exclusive-interview-with-alien-covenant-practical-effects-company-odd-studio--creatures-inc
  2. Adam Johansen: I enjoyed working with Conor and his crew too. Both our crews worked very well together and it resulted in one big creature crew family, with old friendships re ignited and many new friendships made among our 45 strong crew. Having such a dedicated and talented crew made it all possible and made the experience most enjoyable for me. This was the first time I’d worked with Ridley and it was a career highlight for me to work so closely with him, especially on set. Be it puppeteering or dressing blood, KY and food onto our puppets/suits/effects with him was an unbelievable experience for me. He really loves to get things in front of the camera and shoot effects/creatures practically and that was an honour to see him in action with our creations. (https://www.alien-covenant.com/news/exclusive-interview-with-alien-covenant-practical-effects-company-odd-studio--creatures-inc)

e)  Smoother elegant neomorph
 
The asset team focused on the inside out anatomy build to play up the translucency, as this was a big part and the skin shader detail. Ridley wanted a smoother and elegant look to the Neomorph, a contrast against the busy and dark shapes of the Xenomorph
  1. A new creature is introduced in this movie, the Neomorph. Can you explain in detail about his design and his creation?
    Ferran Domenech: The Neomorph is the final stage of the engineers’ Pathogen, an eerie faceless creature. The design was based on concepts created by the production art team and MPC’s art department. From early stages the Neomorph details referenced the Goblin shark, a beast with an extendible jaw and a translucent and gelatinous skin quality. The assets team focused on the inside out anatomy build to play up the translucency, as this was a big part and the skin shader detail. Ridley wanted a smoother and elegant look to the Neomorph, a contrast against the busy and dark shapes of the Xenomorph.(http://www.artofvfx.com/)
  2. The Neomorph is seen in different size. How did you handle this aspect and his rigging??
    Ferran Domenech: Because the Neomorph appears in the film from it’s birth to it’s adult form, we had to create different stages that would be able to blend shape into one another. For this, we created four different rigs, a baby Neomorph, a toddler, a teen and an adult. All capable of transforming into the next. The baby and toddler particularly had special controls to animate the length and shape of the joints so the transformation could be done in non-uniform way, with burst of growth with one limb expanding before the other. (http://www.artofvfx.com/)
    The adult Neomorph was designed to be very flexible and double jointed so it could get into extremely contorted poses. Ridley Scott was inspired by the work of Alessandro Bavari’s ‘Metachaos’ film. He was invited to join the production where he created sketch poses for the Neo, very dramatic extreme profiles where the knees would raise higher than the head. This created a challenge where the hips and elbows would pinch and lose mass. To help with this, Asset Supervisor Dan Zelcs, introduced a set of very specific corrective blendshapes to help the problem areas.
    The anatomy of the Neomorph’s mouth was designed to match a goblin shark with a hinging inner jaw full of teeth that could swing forward while staying connected to the face by flexible gums. The Neomorph had a softer outer skin than the Xeno, so he would have wrinkles and excess skin that would ride and slide over the muscles when crouching, but would smooth out and become tough when standing on it’s hind legs. The rig had dynamic skin built into the base setup that could be augmented by the tech animation department using cloth simulation when extra detail was required. (http://www.artofvfx.com/)
  3. Did you receive specific indications and references for his animation??
    Ferran Domenech: Aside from the inner jaw matching the goblin shark, the Neomorph was inspired by motion studies by actor and contortionist, Javier Botet, as well as animal references of bats and birds. The Neomorph had a nervous personality, always rhythmically breathing and barely containing it’s rage. Led by Animation Supervisors Philip Morris and Alexandre Ronco, the team did tests to develop the look and key poses. Running like a greyhound, slower cantering like a baboon, later creating character test keyframe animation clips of the Neo attacking, climbing, changing from run to walk. Through this exploratory animation process and review with the director, the character and motion language of the Neomorph took shape. (http://www.artofvfx.com/)
  4. How does his skin’s look affects the lighting work??
    Ferran Domenech: Due to the multiple layers of subsurface on the skin and the fact that the Neomorph was not hollow but had bones inside, we had to adjust the lighting and lookdev depending on the strength of the HDRI dome, relative light distance to the character and specially strength of backlighting and rim lights.
    To find a particular look that Ridley was after, CG supervisor Manuel Mantero, had to to build alternative lookdev for some shots where the Neomorph was standing very close to camera. In some other cases we had explosions and bright sparks close to the Neomorph. When projecting the plate into the environment’s geometry for lighting purposes, these bright lights would affect the subsurface in a way that we didn’t like. To overcome this, we adjusted the skin shader to maintain the visibility of the intricate layering of the skin. (http://www.artofvfx.com/)
  5. How was simulated his presence on-set especially in its small size?? Ferran Domenech: On set, the SFX department had different models and latex puppets for the three smaller stages of the Neomorph, they became a great reference for our CG Neomorph, particularly for size, shadows, light and reflection of the set. As Ridley wanted to adjust the Medbay scene to make the Neomorph more speedy and reactive to the actress, the practical photography shots of the Neomorph puppet became the go-to reference to QC the realism on our final comps. (http://www.artofvfx.com/)(http://www.artofvfx.com/)
  6. MPC’s artists also used real world references to bring the Neomorph to life, such as the goblin shark, praying mantis and the contorted and extreme motion studies given by actor Javier Botet, which were used to inspire the movement of the Neomorph’s hands and stomach.  On top of this already difficult build, this new creature had to go through 4 stages of development from baby to toddler to teen to adult and each stage had to blend seamlessly together. So in essence MPC had to create 5 different aliens: An improved version of the original Xenomorph and 4 versions of the new Neomorph. ( "Exclusive ‘Alien: Covenant’ Concept Art Reveals Ridley Scott’s Second Stab at the Xenomorph" by Adam Chitwood, June 1, 2017)