BLACK MIRROR
SPACE SETTING
BLACK MIRROR GOES TO SPACE – AGAIN! “BEYOND THE SEA” PRODUCTION DESIGNER UDO KRAMER TALKS SFX THROUGH MAKING A RETRO-FUTURISTIC SPACESHIP
WORDS:JACK SHEPHERD
BLACK MIRROR HAS DONE SPACE BEFORE, BUT not like this. Set in the ‘60s, “Beyond The Sea” tells the story of two astronauts, played by Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett, who embark on a long space voyage. Their mission? We never find out. However, the pair have access to onboard technology that allows them to control mechanical bodies back home on Earth.
Their second selves interact with their families and feel the breeze on their faces – and, as you would expect from a show as twisted as Black Mirror, it’s all too good to be true. With the episode’s spaceship making such a prominent appearance, SFX has exclusive behind-the-scenes imagery showcasing the vessel’s creation, while production designer Udo Kramer talks us through creating a structure that fits writer Charlie Brooker’s vision for the “retro-futuristic past”.
LOST IN SPACE
“Beyond The Sea” not only has the visual aesthetic of the ’60s but uses many of the filmmaking techniques directors used at the time. “The goal was to really get into the heads of the filmmakers from back then,” Kramer says. “We didn’t want it to be a period movie from today’s perspective looking back, but more like an undiscovered movie that somebody shot at that time. Stanley Kubrick is, of course, the master, but they were trying to craft a version of the future from their knowledge. This should look like it’s from 1969.”