Before working on Prime Video’s Emmy-nominated series “Fallout,” few of the artists were gamers and had even played the hit video game before. Only makeup artist Michael Harvey had in-depth knowledge, as he has been playing the game for over 20 years.
The series is based on the video game series of the same name and is set 200 years after the apocalypse. People live in underground communities, the so-called vaults. After a nuclear disaster, a young woman named Lucy (Ella Purnell) sets out to find her father and ventures into the devastated landscape. On the way, she meets Walton Goggins’ ghoul.
Thanks to executive producer Jonathan Nolan’s script and research, the creatives didn’t have to spend hours learning the video game to successfully adapt it to their work. Sitting down for “Fallout”: A conversation with Master Crafts at diversity Streaming Room, presented by Prime Video, production designer Howard Cummings explained that Nolan captured the essence of the game’s humor, violence and silliness. “The script was so close to the spirit of the game,” Cummings said.
Cummings was joined by his Emmy-nominated colleagues Harvey, editor Yoni Reiss, sound editor Sue Cahill and sound mixer Steve Buchino.
Cahill hasn’t played the game herself. But Bethesda, the gaming company behind “Fallout,” provided sounds to her team. “We were able to incorporate real sounds from the game into the show. I think you recognize them, and that gave us the opportunity to have a palette of sounds that we could build on based on the little clips we got from Bethesda,” Cahill said.
Buchino added: “The DNA of the game is in everything, but we had to flesh it out and make it much more detailed and comprehensive.”
Cummings also watched playthroughs of the game, went on YouTube and learned from fans, “who told endless stories. I was able to learn about the game and what attracted them.”
In episode 4, “The Ghouls,” Lucy and the Ghoul spend much of the episode walking through the Wasteland, an abandoned pre-war place filled with dilapidated buildings and cars from the past. All the signs of collapsed infrastructure are there.
Rather than using CGI, Nolan wanted the sets in camera, so Cummings was hired to build them. The game was used as inspiration for some of the details, right down to the amount of trash that would be strewn across the wasteland.
This helped Reiss make his editing decisions. The production design was a character in itself; Reiss wanted to give the sets room to breathe. Reiss explained, “30% of it is these characters walking through Howard’s amazing sets and figuring out what’s going on. The pacing of the episode is pretty slow. There’s not that much dialogue and it’s about Lucy walking through the Super Duper Mart.”
As for the ghoul’s appearance, the brief was simple. Harvey said, “We were to use the game and the characters in the game as a reference and never mimic or completely copy anyone from the game and put them on screen.” Goggins’ transformation process required nine pieces of silicone. The application began after five hours and was shortened to less than two hours.
Watch the conversation below.
In the second conversation, makeup artist Jake Garber, VFX supervisor Jay Worth, editor Ali Comperchio, costume designer Amy Wescott and music supervisor Trygge Toven discussed the importance of the collaborative process, especially with Nolan.
Worth’s discussions with Nolan centered on Goggins’ look. Worth said, “I remember those early meetings being about how to create this evil, gruesome, layered character that also has a little bit of intrigue and a certain appeal to it.”
Garber added, “That was a concern at the beginning, because if you hire Walton, you want Walton.” He continued that Nolan was determined that The Ghoul would not be about grotesque imagery. “We kept those parts as thin as possible so we could see Walton through them.”
Westcott was involved early on in bringing Cooper Howard to life, and working with Nolan early on allowed her to connect with him. “He’s very strict, very demanding and very meticulous, but he’s super creative and lets his creative departments have fun and do things that are unique,” Westcott said.
Nolan was also cooperative with the sound and worked with Toven on the show’s soundtrack, which featured artists such as Dinah Washington and Nat King Cole. “He’s totally enthusiastic about music and knows what he wants.”
As for securing the licenses for Cole’s hit “Orange Colored Sky,” which is set before the nuclear apocalypse, Toven said handling the inheritance was easy. “But you never know. Often the rights are missing or wandering around.”
Nolan was also collaborative in post-production, working closely with Comperchio. “He creates an environment where he expects a lot and pushes everyone to do their best, but also allows everyone to do their best.” She said: “As a director, he brings such a strong point of view. Part of that is that he allows his department heads to put so much detail and texture into the world, and he’s so strong at world-building.
Watch the video below.
