Lunar Landscape

Hi this is my first post so I hope I'm doing it all right!

I've really gotten into production design for film recently and have taken on a big project:
To build a 1:1 scale model of a 'chunk' of the Moon's lunar landscape to be built in a studio and to be used on a short film. The studio is approximately 300 square meters or 1000 square feet and the background will be a green screen for VFX work in post.

Any tips, tricks or help would be greatly appreciated. Currently I'm looking at the possibility of either using grey building sands and rocks vs. high density styrofoam painted and then modelled.

I know it sounds like a huge project and the film shoots March 25-28th so time is running out, but this and the construction of two authentic space suits are my full time work for these next 3 months but any help you can provide would mean so much!

I've attached what I've been using as my main inspiration!

Thanks!

If you require a contoured landscape you can lay quite simple / basic shapes onto the floor and then cover with carpet, which will soften the objects underneath.
Cement powder works well with sand and gravel for the surface material.

Before starting I'd recommend laying heavy duty polythene sheet into the studio floor which is easier to brush than a concrete.

Also, with that amount of material you should wear dust masks so as not to breathe in the dust that will be kicked up.

Good look with this.:thumbsup

Well yes, combination of sand and cement powder is great for that.
Btw. have you ever heard for HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon"? They used granite powder for their movie set.
Personally, I wouldn't use sand only, because you can't make clear footprint in it, so any powder will do fine (not grains, but powder).
Good luck with your project, keep us informed.

Watch this from 1:30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2cGwUnOL7E

This thread is going to need pic's

darthvader073 said:

Well yes, combination of sand and cement powder is great for that.
Btw. have you ever heard for HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon"? They used granite powder for their movie set.
Personally, I wouldn't use sand only, because you can't make clear footprint in it, so any powder will do fine (not grains, but powder).
Good luck with your project, keep us informed.

Watch this from 1:30
From The Earth To The Moon - Featurette (Part 5) - YouTube

Click to expand...

I just watched the video and have ordered the series off Amazon, its amazing what they managed to achieve there. Shouldn't think its impossible to scale down to a smaller studio, I always have the option of upgrading to a 2000 sqft studio or even a warehouse but then the cost of materials etc just increase.

Parting Moon Shots from NASA's GRAIL mission - YouTube shows some interesting views of the moon surface, the only other help online I've been able to find is for small school science projects and dont really apply.

From a VFX pov. Id also opt shooting with a black backdrop vs greenscreen.
Granted the VFX work will be a bit more work with some manual roto stuff, but you will get much better colors, no green-spill/ligh polution, and will also not have to worry about reflections on bits of clothing/equipment used.