| Welcome fellow Leaguers on a journey through the movie land process of designing a movie set. In this case, our Nautilus Wheelhouse from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Below are 3 generations of designs including the final as-built Nautilus Wheelhouse movie set. After a tour of the main drawings is a chronology of the changes made at each stage of the design process. |
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Harper Goff Concept Design
This is Harper Goff's original concept drawing for the interior of the Wheelhouse. All the elements were carried forward on the Stoos design except for the ornate map table base. Also we see what appears to be a solidly shaded pole which was to become the clear Depth Tube device. The concept of the raised Helm area is indicated here by a small step. The Atomic Counter is predominately featured here and was one element that made it to the final set design in the exact place that Harper envisioned it. Below the clock is an unknown device that Freddie Stoos drew exactly as Harper did but was not created for the movie set. It would be interesting to know what use Harper had in mind for this device. Harper designed elements that were not just meant to be visual eye candy but he usually drew them with a specific use in mind. |
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Freddie Stoos Production Design
The final set design was drawn by Freddie Stoos. Notice how he indicated the large water pipe to warp around. He has it starting at the floor and running aft and then descending to the floor again. But on the final set, it exited out the aft end and the large valve was lost as well. Also notice that the small water pipe starts at a different place and then exits out the cabin wall but the movie set has it descending again to the floor. Mr. Stoos has also wisely created a Helm Guard Rail so the helmsman won't fall off the crowed platform. We see the large clock carried over from the Harper design but it was omitted on the movie set. To the right of the clock is the same gauge seen on Harper's drawing but this was apparently the inspiration for the triple gauge pod that was built near the Helm on the final set design. You can also see the Camera Obscura slot just above the aft window which didn't fit the final design. The Map Table has been changed from Harper's work but was changed again for the final set. The Helm is the same design as Harper's but as the movie set Helm was rented, it ended up looking quite different. Stoos has also created the clear Depth Tube which Harper has rendered as solid. Lastly the "vents" at the aft end are repeated from Harper's work but were not created on the actual movie set. |
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The As Built Movie Set
The final movie set differed from the production design and initial conceptual drawings in a number of ways. The actual movie set that we have come to know as the real Nautilus Wheelhouse had many new small detail additions added to give more visual interest and add to the illusion of a real working submarine. They include Emergency Tools on the walls, the Map Rollers, Oil Cans, Ballast Trim Wheel, the Triple Gauge Pod, Framed procedural instructions, A mystery gauge at the extreme forward end, Map Drawers, redesigned Map Table and a completely different ornate Helm Pedestal. The 2 water pipes have been rerouted to open up a large area where the Emergency Tools were finally mounted. Although the original Freddie Stoos Detail Plan sheets called for the side mounted Trim Indicator to be mounted on the Port side, it was eventually moved to the Starboard side as shown here. |
