Alien Romulus: Dane Hallett works on the space cocoon

 leading from

Alien: Romulus

a) Mineral cocoon

He started off just with the idea that it was an asteroid and then in his mind because the Nostromo with its a mineral refinery in tow, there would be minerals.

He would think of it as ore shrapnel and then he expected the audience to imagine that there be a mineral buildup on the on the creature as it's floating around, hypothetically.

Then he tried some really mineral like ones again, and he created multitudes of meteorite inspired space cocoons

At some point Fede agreed with it, saying words near enough to the affect of “oh that's cool we'll just go with that” 

Dane didn’t notice anything specific but he thought in response “that's fine, that's good “ 

b) Hive material cocoon

And then a couple weeks while he was working on something else , Fede calls him , he also emails him and gets back to him and says “No, I want to change it. I want it to be like the creature made a cocoon for itself, and that cocoon material should mimic what is in Aliens.” or even says something to the extent of  “listen um I've had an idea man I want to see what it would look like if the alien uh kind of did a little bit like what it does in the hive and create that Hive information you know the ribs and the spines and all that shit“ 

Because the audience has seen the hive and what they do. 

Dane responded “Yes, okay, fair enough.”

c) Sculpting the cocoon

Dane was drawing but couldn't quite get it right and he did a couple versions of it and then became very concerned and so he just went in his garage and sculpted one up .

What he actually did was got a NECA Alien boiled it in a pot much to his wife's chagrin right, So it was like jelly . 

He took it and then just bound it with elastic bands and clong wrap.

He shrunk it like right down and sculpted over the top of it, because then the dimensions were perfect.

He could play with the shape of that and infer that the creature was in there or that he made it, but also the audience didn’t quite know was that the material that the cocoon as seen in the film was made from was like a part of an Alien hive

So he did that and then he cut up an old phone cord and wrapped it around it for detail and that was it was in 

d) Fede’s approval

Fede loved it so Dane photographed it and then painted it up.it was very rough when he sculpted it but then in Photoshop he painted it up and made it look nice.

Dane was relieved because it was very stressed put by it and that meant he would be sick to his stomach trying to get it right

Whe  he agreed to the job he was on two other jobs at the same time and his hand was shaking because it was as if he was thinking “oh fuck how can I manage the time? number one and number two how can I bring my best when I'm distracted?” 

1. Aaron Percival: The bone ribs were an interesting choice as well.

   Dane Hallett: Yes. I think, from memory, I hope I am not conflating memories here, but the Xenomorph cocoon started off as the ore shrapnel from the Nostromo. It was like it glommed onto the Xenomorph, and that is how that came to be. Finally, Fede agreed with that, and then weeks later came back and went, “No, I want to change it. I want it to be like the creature made a cocoon for itself, and that cocoon material should mimic what is in Aliens.” Because you have seen the hive and what they do. And I was like, “Yes, okay, fair enough.”

   And so that also translated into one of the final versions of the wall opening. Basically, keep it Aliens, because we know what it looks like when they make a cocoon or a wall kind of organic structure, we know that. And the way I was imagining that the cocoon existed was that it was not like he hunkered down and then it grew on top of him. I always sort of saw it as he is pulling secreted resin and building it as it is going, in whatever its form. It creates that cocoon, and then that cocoon grows rigid and it cracks out of it.

   I had this footage of when frogs moult, or when frogs need to hibernate. The mucus on the skin looks really tough, but they can separate it. So they rub their skin and pull it, pull it down until finally they can turn themselves into a little mochi snack. And I thought, “Yes, man, that would be sick if that is how the Alien does it as well.” 
   
   
   Adam Zeller: And speaking of that other cocoon, or the chrysalis as it is sometimes called at the beginning of the film, one of our Patreon supporters, Thomas Kane, asked about it. My understanding is that you boiled a NECA Alien figure and wrapped wire around it to get inspiration for the hardened cocoon Big Chap that was found at the beginning of the movie. My question is, how did you get the idea to do that when designing Big Chap’s cocoon, and do you always have such a creative approach when designing things for other films?
   
   
   Dane Hallett: Only when I am messing up badly. It forces you to be a bit more creative. It was taking me a long time to do such a basic shape to get it right. So I was disappointed in myself. I didn’t melt it down, but I boiled it so that it was jelly, so that I could get the proportions right and I could jam it all in together. And then I could trust the lighting fully if I hit it with a strong light. Oh, the whole creature fits into this space and there is no negative space. And so that is how I did that.(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/website/interviews/dane-hallett/4/)

2. interviewer: let's talk about the uh meteorite the comet 

   
   

   Dane: mmhmm

   
   

   interviewer: the resin cocoon type thing 

   
   

   Dane:yeah yeah 

   
   

   interviewer: uh what what was the notes you were given about that and and and what was it that you what was the the design that you sort of put together and the the choices you made let's let's talk about that 

   
   

   dane: yeah man so I started off just with um it was an asteroid right and in my mind uh because it was a mineral Refinery there was minerals you know and you you could imagine that there be a mineral buildup on the on the creature as it's floating around you know hypothetically and uh so I tried some really minerally ones again I I'll share the drawings when the time comes but like I did heaps of like classic meteorite kind of styled things and (20:00) at some point Fede was like “oh that's cool we'll just go with that” and it was nothing really specific I was like oh that's fine that's good and then um a couple weeks later like we're doing other stuff and he calls me oh and he emails me and gets back to me and goes “listen um I've had an idea man I want to see what it would look like if the alien uh kind of did a little bit like what it does in the hive and create that hive information you know the ribs and the spines and all that shit“ and uh I said “okay man um let me have a crack at it” and I was I was drawing I couldn't quite get it right I did a couple versions of it and then I got the shits and I just went in my garage and sculpted one up and then um, oh what I did was actually actually I got this NECA guy this exact one right here I boiled it in a pot much to my wife's chagrin right, I boiled it, in a pot . So it was like jelly I got it and then I just bound it with um elastic bands and “gladderup” and shrunk it down to its like it's tiny is it's still very fucked, you can see uh and I shrunk it like right down and sculpt it over the top of it, ‘cause then the dimensions were perfect you know um and I could I could play with the shape of that and um you know infer that the creature was in there or that he made it but also you don't quite know was that a part of some kind of a hive from somewhere else or like what what was that so um yes I did that and then I I cut up an old phone cord and wrapped it around it for for uh detail and then uh and that was it it was in and yeah he loved it so I photographed it and then painted don't get me wrong man it's rough as guts when I sculpt it but then I I in Photoshop I paint it up and make it look nice and and that was it that's how that got in I was relieved because you know like it was it's it's it's really stressful when you. for me personally like on alien Covenant and on alien and there's a couple other franchises I've managed to play with that I'm very excited about but I like I remember just feeling sick to my stomach like because obviously you guys are going to be hard on the designs the world's going to be hard on the designs but I'm a fan man I'm the same I got the same opinions you know like when I, those other films when I watch them I've got the exact same reaction so like now now the axe hangs above my head you know like when I if I think I'm going to see something shitty I'm going to be like “oh that was me oh my God “ so uh yeah man I um I I I was sick to my stomach uh just trying to get it right . I remember when I agreed to the job I was on two other jobs at the same time and my hand was shaking cuz I was like “oh fuck how can I manage the time? number one and number two how can I bring my best when I'm distracted?” I was on like some dum, some Disney project and something else yeah anyway 

   
   

   Interviewer: um okay 

   
   

   Dane:yeah I guess that that's kind of interesting that I had my little prop there I guess 

   
   

   Interviewer: yeah no that I I think people would find that interesting to be honest so what was the direction from Fede that the xenomorph had encased itself or was that by accident or 

   
   

   dane: ultimately yeah so originally it was that mineral thing like and that was the conversation like oh it's like this mineral buildup so that's the route that I went those were the drawings they're very organic very mineral you know uh but then by the time I had done that one he goes “no I want to know what it would look like if it had the ability to do the secretive resin” you know and I was imagining that that's exactly what it's doing to you know um encase itself in something protective , 

   
   

   Interviewer: no I mean I I guess that that makes sense doesn't it to the the perfect organism should be able to survive the vacuum of space and if it can't it can sort of generate something which allows it to 

   
   

   Dane: yeah

   
   

   Interviewer: a prolonged period of time so 

   
   

   dane: yeah I think yeah I feel like that was the outlook, yeah that's yep 

   
   

   Interviewer: yeah what um did you so go going from the the asteroid the looking at the pictures of and the sort of designs of the Cocoon um that I mean that was pretty much all you wasn't it what ended up on screen by the looks of it from what I can see 

   
   

   Dane:Yeah man

   
   

   Interviewer: from the little clay uh model that you 

   
   

   Dane: Yeah 

   
   

   Interviewer: you sort of put together I mean it's literally all on on the screen isn't it in the end 

   
   

   Dane: yeah yeah um obviously you know Legacy again they they took that design and they actually made it and so someone has to take those drawings and then resculpt them you know like if I was more of a 3D guy I guess I would probably do that myself but I I work a little faster so I can I can generate many more iterations for a director. I think that's why they like it uh I can do many more iterations of many ideas uh and then they can lock into one or take parts of all of them and give them to someone else so the Legacy guys had to model that in 3D and then um physically make it so I mean you know you saw in the drawings that I put out there like I like I try to go over everything that's required to to make it part of that is ego because like you want to you want to have that level influence over something (25:00) but the other part of it is personally again I like to take the guess work out of the drawings I mean if you're a good artist you could be really gestural and you could do 50 different versions and uh someone could take that and do their interpretation of it but uh I I can be a little more anal about what I do and uh I get a little hung up on the details sometimes and luckily for me if I can do it fast enough no one complains you know so that's how

   
   

    Interviewer: yeah 

   
   

   Dane: but yeah it was it was essentially what I drew they they made it and uh looked sick I was right there when they were when they were shooting that when Trevor had to come out of it . it was awesome man 

   (Mr H’s Reviews https://youtu.be/9bgYP2J9blA?is=JXilrqfy8aHjZCnZ))