Alien: The Mother computer room

 

Leading from

Alien:Nostromo

and

Alien: Building the Refinery: Initial directions

a)  The Mother room

When Ridley Scott saw Ron’s big cross-shaped structure, an early version of the Nostromo, he said, "Oh! It looks like a cathedral!" 

So Ridley designed "Mother" like a vault—like those niches in churches where you place all the candles. 

 

Ridley had decided that this was the womb.

 

Thus one was supposed to feel happy in there, and this is why he called it Mother 

 

1. Ron Cobb: Ridley Scott quand il  vu mon grand truc en croix, il a dit "Oh ! On dirait une cathédrale!", il a alors fair "Motthr" comme un caveau, comme ces niches dan églises où l'on met toutes les bougies. Voilà, c'était ça Motther, de lumiêres comme s'il y avait des bougies..."L'idée est bonne mai à l'ècran... Ça ressemble un peu à du Star Trek (
   Translation: Ron Cobb: When Ridley Scott saw my big cross-shaped structure, he said, "Oh! It looks like a cathedral!" So he designed "Mother" like a vault—like those niches in churches where you place all the candles. That was the idea behind Mother: lights that looked as if they were candles...”

    ' "(Aaarg !

    magazine

    

   no.6, 2014)
2. Ridley Scott: It's the womb. You feel happy in there cos' it's a womb. That's why I called it Mother (p68, Alien: The Archive)

1. 
   
   
   

Ron’s big cross-shaped structure,

b) Fairy lights like votive candles burning.

Back in those days, he would see how it was a man with a black and decker drill, drilling something near enough four thousand holes in the wall into which he slotted what seemed lke Christmas tree fairy lights

 

And the idea was that Mother’s lights that looked as if they were like votive candles burning

To Ron Cobb, the Idea is good but on the screen, but it looked a bit like Star Trek!  

He thought always the same story about these, that one responds ..." Oh it must be important because it's blinking!”

1. Ridley Scott: Today you'd just do it digitally. In those days it was a guy with a black and decker drill drilling something like four thousand holes in the wall into which he slotted Christmas tree fairy lights. (p68, Alien: The Archive)
2. Ron Cobb: Idea is good but on the screen. It looks a bit like Star Trek!  "Which, it's always the same story you know ..." 0h it must be important because it's blinking! "We must still recognize that it did not blink everything blinkblink- what would have been worse ! "(Aaarg ! no.6, )

c) The wall panels 

The lights were covered over with transparent panels with letraset text

This "Mother" computer room panel was acquired and customized by the production for use as set dressing in the film Alien. 

The panel is made of clear acrylic with applied information labels. 

This style panel is seen in front of the white wall panels as added detail. 

The panel measures 14.5" x 13" .

1. This "Mother" computer room panel was acquired and customized by the production for use as set dressing in the film Alien. The panel is made of clear acrylic with applied information labels. This style panel is seen in front of the white wall panels as added detail. The panel measures 14.5" x 13" . (https://www.icollector.com/Alien-Mother-Computer-Room-Display-Panel_i23631607) 

 

d) Derek Van Lint's work on the set

Derek Van Lint noted that the colour tone was goverened by the bulbs they were using in there.

They were well down in colour temperature, somewhere around 2000°K

 

He came in through the cieling with something like a 1000-watt lamp diffused through tracing paper and with half-MTA gelatine to keep it kind of yellow, so that it looked like the room was lit by the actual small bulbs

 

Derek put very little additional light in there, but they did put the image from a 16mm projector into the faces of Skerritt and Sigourney Weaver while they were in there, in order to simulate the reflection from the television monitor. 

 

It was a piece of film with a few numbers on it and a lot of black and splashes of varnish

1. Derek Van Lint: In the communications room of the spaceship, where Tom Skerritt talks to Mother, there were I forget how many thousands of little bulbs covering the walls, and the actual color tone was governed by the bulbs we were using in there.  They were well down in color temperature - somewhere around 2000°K. I came in through the cieling with something like a 1000-watt lamp diffused through tracing paper and with half-MTA gelatine to keep it kind of yellow, so that it looked like the room was lit by the actual small bulbs. I put very little additional light in there, but we did put the image from a 16mm projector into the faces of Skerritt and Sigourney Weaver while they were in there, in order to simulate the reflection from the television monitor. It was a piece of film with a few numbers on it and a lot of black and splashes of varnish (American Cinematographer, August 1979, p812)