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Houses and exteriors: from sketches to final sets - Toystore - 2: the Outside view








Originally, I've planned this set differently orientated. Vehicles supposed to traffic from wall to wall, across the studio. That's how I've tested the arrangement into 3D model, so I was determined to execute that plan. But one can see some things more clearly in physical space, so eventually I rotated everything for 90 degrees. That way, I could move much better between the workbenches than it'd be possible in the original orientation, and also, I had more room for traffic movement.



This shot on images above right had to come immediately after the shots from the window's insides (left). Camera had to move, therefore I needed space for the machine to achieve that, so there was no space for sidewalk. And I didn't need it, so it was simple. But, I had to re-arrange the window's contents for the frontal-view display. This supposed to be the second appeareance of that same window (that's according to animatic's edit), and this appeareance had to ewoke the time of the Advent, with Christmas decorations in it (however different than they should be in it's final appeareance). After that came the time to construct the sidewalk, with all of the "accessories"- the semaphore posts, the hidrant and the parking meter.


The Toystore Window set, in it's final configuration. The window display is here in it's targeted first incarnation (before the second appeareance with Christmas decorations). To achieve that, I've stripped the window from said decorations.


Below: I had to improvise this incarnation of the window for it's third appeareance: It wasn't thought through in the 3D animatic, let alone scripted, but I knew I had to have it. Decorations should have stayed as in it's second incarnation, but I needed it to look as if it's closed, on the Christmas Eve. What I needed were roll shutters. So I made a screen, shutters look-a-like, from plastic chicken-mesh and chopsticks. For the shot in which the shutter is rolled down, I shot it in reversed order, cutting the rows on the top and pushing it upwards. Note that sidewalk here is covered with thin layer of fresh snow.


I had to put at least some streetlights to the set: along with window's inner lighting, I've connected Christmas lights to the pedestrian's semaphore, in a way so I can switch between red and green light.



	I thought I'll need the parking meter, but I didn't have it prepared, so I had to assemble it in a lightspeed. It was a fast schratchbuilt, from whatever pieces I had at disposal. I was in luck finding exactly two, extra-deminutive, small-sized vacuformed coffee-cup lids of a kind.
I had to have a small workshop right next to the studio, but I executed most assemblies on the spot, in the studio, more often than not. Therefore I had boxes full of selected (or not so selected) parts of all kinds. Plastic corks, rings, discs, etc; metal parts of various uses and origins, as long as they're shiny and look metallic. Some items were short in numbers, so I had to use them sparsely, and preserve them for repetitive use; some other were in unlimited supply, so I could use them in any way I choose....