Friday 15 March 2013

HACKNEY EMPIRE

Since January 2011 when Lucas and I started developing the story together, I've been keeping a look out to find a theatre close to what we had in mind for the film.
We reached 2012 and I still couldn't find any theatre that really caught my eye.  I spent a lot of time in London and Paris, searching for the right theatre with the right character, but no luck.
I certainly did come across some gorgeous playhouses with astonishing architecture and interior design, but they were just not what I wanted. Until one day Fritzi (our producer) and I were invited by a mutual producer friend Kay Czuba to attend Alan Davies comedy show at the Hackney Empire.

The moment I entered the auditorium, my jaw dropped.  I looked at Fritzi next to me and she almost had the same amazed look on her face.  At that moment, we had no doubt that we finally found the damn place.
The stage and the auditorium is large but not huge, there is something humble, yet elegant about the interior.  The proscenium somehow reminded me of a detailed wooden puppet theatre.

So a few weeks after, we got permission to photograph the interior.  While taking pictures we were also given a tour of the theatre and had the opportunity to see the backstage and all it's equipment.

The following is  a series of images I took, and later we used them to build a low poly model of the place. The current low poly 3D interior of the theatre is done by Walter Lowe III,  a talented Chicago-based 3D modeller and musician.  The 3D renders coming soon.


and some examples of the storyboards, just enough to not spoil anything. 
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