Alien: Dressing the Nostromo

Leading from 

Alien: Nostromo

and

Roger Christian

 

 

(Still in development)

 

 

a) Dressing the Nostromo

They said to him "what do you need?",

 

Roger's responded "I need the prop team that I had on Star Wars because I trained them all right. We don't have time to train them now." 

 

So they Joe Dipple and his team who had worked on Star Wars and they came down.

 

Roger hired a specialist prop maker who had done this work before Roger did but he had the same engineering and sculpturing abilities

Roger Shaw who also worked on Star Wars also came aboard.

 

Roger got his small team around him and he started getting to them to dress the sets, and Roger didn't have to start from scratch explaining to anyone how to do it.

They ran miles of PVC tubing down the Nostromo corridors, and then he went to Nick Allder and go two people, Dennis Lowe and Guy Hudson to build panels and switches because  Roger realised that he was going to need hundres of these to out into the panels on the side.

They said okay, "we'll do you three we'll do a 2001 like, a really gritty one and then a kind of middle one"  

 

Roger chose the very gritty one and they all hung their heads because it had the most work done to it because they had put so many bits and pieces on it. They just got to work like an assembly plant building those.

 

1. Roger Christian: And so I just got to work with an army, and I said, they said "what do you need?", I said "I need the prop team that I had on Star Wars because I trained them all right. We don't have time to train them now." Again it was a short prep period so they hired Joe Dipple and his team, they came down, I hired a specialist prop maker who kind of done it before I did, but he had the same engineering and sculpturing abilities, Roger Shaw, he came aboard, I got a small team around me and started them dressing so i didn't have to explain to Joe again how to do it.  (Effectively Speaking podcast episode 50)
2. Roger Christian: We ran miles of PVC tubing down the, down the Nostromo corridors, and then with Nick Allder's guy, I went to him and I got two, two people, Dennis Lowe and Guy Hudson to build panels of switches, 'cause I said I'm going to need hundreds of these to put into the panels on the side, so they said "okay we'll do you three, we'll do a 2001 like, a really gritty one and then a kind of middle one. Of course, I chose the really gritty one and the all hung their heads because it had the most work because they had so many bits and pieces on it, they just got to work like an assembly plant building those and then, and then of course they say they (gap) (Effectively Speaking podcast episode 50)
   
   
    

 

 

 

b) Planning The Bridge Set
 

The next order came to Roger was "We're putting you in charge of the bridge because that's where we're shooting first"

 

So he left one of the dressing gangs to continue the corridors and so he went to start the bridge set. 

 

This made sense as the story begins there after the crew wake up from hypersleep. 

 

This would give the actors a chance to bond together as a crew. 

 

This set was very large, built up above the floor on a four-foot rostrum.

He first went alone and spent time looking at the set still under construction, and tried to imagine it dressed, and what they would need.

Ridley had asked Michael Seymour to lower the entire bridge several times during the construction of the set because he wanted to have a claustrophobic feeling to the scenes. 

 

When production stalled after Jon Finch was taken ill during filming and had to be replaced by John Hurt.

Although this process drove Michael Seymour and construction head Bill Welch mad because of the worlk involved, it was really the only way to see how it looked. 

 

 

1. Roger Christian: A turning point I left one dressing gang to continue the corridors, and went to start the bridge set. The bridge scenes were chosen to be first up on the schedule when filming began. It made sense as the story begins there after the crew wake from hypersleep. It would give the actors a chance to bond together as a crew. This really was a huge set, built up above the floor on a four-foot rostrum. I first went alone and spent time looking at the set still under construction, and tried to imagine it dressed, and what we would need. Ridley had asked Michael Seymour to lower the entire ceiling of the bridge several times during the construction of the set; he wanted that claustrophobic feeling to the scenes. Though this process drove Michael Seymour and construction head Bill Welch mad because of the work involved, it was really the only way to see how it looked. (Cinema Alchemist, published 19 April 2016)
   

 

 

 

 

c) Lowering the bridge ceiling

 

By lowering the ceiling down he could get it in the Cinemascope frame all the time, Roger thought that it looked like a giant aircraft cockpit, crammed and suffocateing. 

 

There were also overhead switches and controls just above in reach, and once they began dressing it that way, it began to look so real to him. 

 

Filming the widescreen format with a ratio of two to one meant that you saw a wider view of the scene but less height.

Gordon Carroll who was about 6ft 5in tall, complained about the height as he had to stoop, as did Michael Seymour, who was also tall. 

 

Both had to bend to walk in it and Michael’s problem was he had to absorb the cost of changing the set so many times and the time it took from an already too-tight schedule, but the only way to really see how it worked was trial and error.

 

 

1. Roger Christian: By lowering the ceiling down he could get it in the CinemaScope frame all the time, so it really looked like a giant airplane cockpit: crammed and suffocating. Filming the widescreen format with a ratio of two to one meant that you saw a wider view of the scene but less height. Most filmmakers who do epic-scale movies prefer this format as it fills the cinema screens with a much larger image, a huge landscape. Gordon Carroll, who was about 6ft 5in tall, complained about the height as he had to stoop, as did Michael, who is also tall. Both had to bend to walk in it and Michael’s problem was he had to absorb the cost of changing the set so many times and the time it took from an already too-tight schedule, but the only way to really see how it worked was trial and error. (Cinema Alchemist, published 19 April 2016) 
   

 

 

the Nostromo bridge

 

 

 

d) Analyzing the requirements of the bridge

Roger analyzed in detail what he though would be required for the bridge and called a very important meeting on the unfinished set with his dressing team Nicky Allder and his crew, Guy Hudson, Roger Nichols, Dennis Lowe, Roger Shaw, Ian Whittaker, and the various electricians— to go through what he saw that they needed to plan for.

Roger told Nick that they would need to have pilot and crew seats and he would have to make them functional on sliders and adapt them for each crew member.

They needed harnesses, and these had to look like real flight-deck restraints. Roger suggested that they find discarded seats and harnesses from fighter jets, as these would already look the part. 

 

Even if they got one or two in it would be great reference to begin with. 

 

He also suggested they buy in scrap from large jetliner cockpits, and from any military aircraft if they could find them. 

 

These could then be adapted by Nicky’s team and made practical.

As the Nostromo crew fought the turbulence descending to the alien planet, the audience would see the crewmembers fighting to control the ship as it bucked and jerked around. 

 

Each crewmember had a flight position and particular requirements as the Nostromo descended down to the alien planet and landed, so they needed six sets of flight controls. 

 

 

1. Roger Christian: Having analyzed in detail what I thought would be required for the bridge, I called a very important meeting on the unfinished set with my dressing team— Nick Allder and his crew, Guy Hudson, Roger Nichols, Dennis Lowe, Roger Shaw, Ian Whittaker, and the electricians— to go through what I saw we needed to plan for. I told Nick we would need to have pilot and crew seats and he would have to make them functional on sliders and adapt them for each crew member. We needed harnesses, and they had to look like real flight-deck restraints. I suggested we find discarded seats and harnesses from fighter jets, as these would already look the part. Even if we got one or two in it would be great reference to begin with. I also suggested they buy in scrap from large jetliner cockpits, and from any military aircraft if they could find them. These could then be adapted by Nick’s team and made practical. As they fought the turbulence descending to the alien planet we would see the crewmembers fighting to control the ship as it bucked and jerked around. Each crewmember had a flight position and particular requirements as the Nostromo descended down to the alien planet and landed, so we needed six sets of flight controls. (Cinema Alchemist, published 19 April 2016) 
   

 

 

e) Television monitors

 

They needed television monitors in each cockpit face, and playback of computer-style elements to read on them when we turned over the cameras. 

 

That was another department, but Roger had to organize it. 

 

They reckoned that with the small monitors available they could run playback for all the monitors synced together.

Nicky knew of small Trinitron monitors and they could build the consoles around them so they sunk into the control panels. 

 

Each control station had to have a sea of switches and levers and controls, emergency lights, helmets, and equipment. 

 

 

1. Roger Christian: We needed television monitors in each cockpit face, and playback of computer-style elements to read on them when we turned over the cameras. That was another department, but I had to organize it. We reckoned that with the small monitors available they could run playback for all the monitors synced together. Nick knew of small Trinitron monitors and we could build the consoles around them so they sunk into the control panels. Each control station had to have a sea of switches and levers and controls, emergency lights, helmets, and equipment. .(Cinema Alchemist, published 19 April 2016) 
   

 

Photo of the navigation table
(Image posted by Mykel Solo at https://www.facebook.com/yutani.studio/ 
on May 15th 2019

 

f)  Navigational maps

 

At the back of the bridge behind the flight-control sections, was a large underlit navigation table.
 

They ordered transparent sheets of maps of the star systems from Stanfords in Covent Garden, to lay on the table in the mess room.

 

They needed navigation instruments as well, as Roger worked out that even if they had a computer controlled ship, they always had backups and old fashioned maps in case the systems failed. 

 

Again Roger was thinking about ship movies with the captain working out sea routes and adapted the ideas to space to keep a familiarity.

1. Roger Christian: At the back of the bridge behind the flight-control sections, was a large underlit navigation table. Stanfords, the huge map store in Covent Garden, had transparent sheets of maps of the star systems so we ordered some of those to lay on the table. We needed navigation instruments as well, and I figured that even if they had a computer controlled ship, they always had backups and old fashioned maps in case the systems failed. Again I related to ship movies with the captain working out sea routes and adapted the ideas to space to keep a familiarity.(Cinema Alchemist, published 19 April 2016) 
   

Stanfords in Covent Garden

 

 

g) The power of Buddhism over conflict

g.i) Problem with an assistant

 

Everyone was happy with the plans that they had cemented at the meeting, except the assistant who seemed to still be threatened by Roger. 

As they began assembling everything that they would need for the bridge dressing, the corridors and the medical room for the Nostromo, whatever was occurring with the assistant came to a head.

 

g.ii) Decision to sack the assistant

 

Roger's situation was that he was appointed primarily by Ridley to get the interiors of Alien working and ready for shooting, and so he needed his team behind him all the way, not challenging what he was doing at every turn but to go with his experience and ability to do what the director wanted.

 

His attitude was affecting Roger's schedule to get the sets ready and his was unacceptable.

 

Driving home late one night, tired and frustrated, Roger made the decision that the assistant would have to go.

 

g.iii) Trying something different

 

That evening, he tried something that his girlfriend suggested as a Nichiring Shoshu Buddhist.

 

He often practised the mantras early in the morning before leaving as he found that they focused his energy and mind for the day.

 

Before eating that night, she had him focus on a solution and do an hour of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo mantra before her Gohonzon.

 

He did this, concentrating on shifting the block, trying to change the negative energy to positive. 

 

g.iv) The Apology

 

On the following morning, Roger drove in to Shepperton, prepared to have the assistant replaced.

 

He had the blessings of Garth Thomas and Ivor Powell who were aware of the problem and had given him permission to do whatever was needed.

The assistant came to see Roger that morning, he walked into his office and say down.

He said "Look,I have come to apologize. I realize I have been totally out of order these last weeks, and I have come to apologize to you. I realise you know what you are doing, you are far more experienced than me, so I would like to knuckle under and learn."

 

g.v) Roger's response

 

Roger was as it were gobsmacked if there was a word for it. 

 

He thought that this mantra had really worked.

 

With that he kept a calm demeanor, he knew that he himself wasn't the threat, but he told the assistant that that he had been very obstructive in the recent weeks.

 

With that Roger accepted the apology, discussed what exactly he needed the assistant to go and do leaving it at that.

 

Of course he would see how he did after that if he was true to his worked then he would stay and help, because at that time they needed all the help that they could get.

 

1. Roger Christian : Everyone was happy with the plans we cemented at the meeting, except the assistant, who seemed to still be threatened by me. As we began assembling everything we would need for the bridge dressing, and the corridors and medical room for the Nostromo, things with him came to a head. His attitude was affecting my schedule to get the sets ready, and this I could not accept any more. Driving home late one night, tired and frustrated, I made a decision that he would have to go.
   That evening I tried something that my girlfriend Patricia suggested, as she was a Nichiring Shoshu Buddhist. I often practised the mantras early in the morning before leaving as I found they focused my energy and mind for the day. Before eating that night she had me focus on a solution and do an hour of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo mantra before her Gohonzon. I did this, concentrating on shifting this block, trying to change the negative energy to positive.
   
   I drove in the next morning to Shepperton prepared to have the assistant replaced. I had the blessings of Garth Thomas and Ivor, who were aware of the problem and had given me permission to do whatever was needed. The assistant came to see me in the morning. He walked into my office and sat down.
   
   "Look," he said, "I have come to apologize. I realize I have been totally out of order these last weeks, and I have come to apologize to you. I realise you know what you are doing, you are far more experienced than me, so I would like to knuckle under and learn."
   
   I was... 'gobsmacked' I think is the right word. Inside I was thinking this mantra had really worked.  I kept a calm demeanor and said that he had been very obstructive these weeks and I was not a threat to him, I was there appointed primarily by Ridley to get the interiors of Alien working and ready for shooting. So I needed my team behind me all the way, not challenging what I was doing at every turn, and this was not arrogance or ego, just experience and an ability to understand exactly what the director wanted. So I accepted his apology and discussed what exactly I needed him to go do, and left it at that. I would see how he did and if he was true to his word then he would stay and help, and goodness knows we needed all the help we could get..(Cinema Alchemist, published 19 April 2016)