New World Order Poster

The first thing I designed for this post-apocalyptic television pilot was a logo for the antagonistic organization.  I set out to make it simple enough that it would be instantly recognizable and easily adaptable for a variety of applications.  I wanted it to truly represent the “New World Order”, so I gave it what I felt were qualities that felt uniform and merciless.

A wide shot of the guillotine during the shoot

The most crucial set in the film was the execution chamber, used at the climax of the story.  In the script, it was described as including a tree-stump and axe, wielded by an executioner.  Being that the story takes place in the future, as production designer I made an alternative suggestion, and this is the result.  I designed and built this futuristic guillotine over the course of about two weeks, while simultaneously preparing all the other art department set elements.

A close-up shot of the guillotine showing the interlocking blades.

The surface of the table is actually a pair of expanded metal trap doors that drop each decapitated body down into a furnace located on a lower floor.  It was a great opportunity to brush up on my welding skills, which I admit had become a bit rusty!

A look at the back of the guillotine

The guillotine mechanism is fully functional and is comprised of three rotating blades, activated when the executioner pulls the handle toward himself.

One of my favorite parts of doing this work is getting to see the reactions of the actors and other crew members when the set elements are first revealed to them.  This one was particularly fun!  The actress you see told me she was really shaking when she had to lie inside it.   I’m glad I could make her job easier.  That’s what I strive for on every set, but not always through such gruesome means.

The guillotine construction process

I felt this particular script called for a new kind of guillotine that no one had ever seen. After some research, I was inspired by a three-bladed cigar cutter, which I adapted for use as a high volume decapitation device.

I created a rendering of what I envisioned it would look like and once the director approved it, I put together a vectorized cad file of the pieces, cut them on an automated  router table, welding a frame together, assembled the “headboard” created a head basket, put hinges on the trap doors, and finally cut the whole thing in half, so that I could get it through the slender door of the set.  There I  reassembled it and painted on the finishing touches.

The tag injector / mark branding gun

One of the other props I designed for this film was a device which the antagonist uses to brand his victom’s hand with “the mark” while simultaneously injecting a small RFID tag inside the flesh to insure that the allegiance which has been pledged is adhered to.

Since I was a little boy, I used to comb the neighborhood for hardware, spread it out on my bedroom floor and try to assemble weapons and other devices.  It was all fun and games until my mom found holes in the walls and furniture.

The peace and order enforcement van

Using the logo, I laid out some vehicle graphics, cut the vinyl and applied them to the van myself.  I’ve worked as a sign fabricator in the past, and the experience comes in handy on nearly every production.

The undressed van

Being that the van was rented, I had to devise a simple and delicate way to install a barrier between the bounty hunters and their captors.

Finding the contour of the van

I used a laser to find the inside contour of the van so that I could cut my barrier to fit the space exactly.

The dressed van

To keep it light, cost effective and quick to construct,  cardboard and aluminum sheet metal were the primary materials I used for this “captives barrier”.  I “broke” strips of the metal into angles, with which I could sandwich the cardboard, keeping it rigid.  Magnets were a convenient way to keep the whole thing in place without having to use a single screw or drop of adhesive.

© Carl Hawke and Hawke Designs, 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given by Carl Hawke, Epic Royal Entertainment and the film, ‘New World Order’ with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.