Words by Melvin Galapon
LONDON – To mark the release of Wes Anderson’s latest feature film Isle of Dogs an exhibition opened on March 23rd in London at the Store X exhibition space on The Strand. The film was shot in East London at 3 Mills Studio, with a team of 670 people and shot over 445 days. 240 sets and 1067 puppets were used to create the 144, 000 still frames that make up the 100-minute duration of the film.
This is the second animated feature from Anderson following on quite a few years after the success of his Roald Dahl adaptation of Fantastic Mr. Fox in 2009. His last live-action feature Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014 received high praise from the creative community for it’s Art Direction and Graphic Design from Annie Atkins who goes into detail about the complexities behind the scenes of an Anderson project here (https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/annie-atkins-grand-budapest-hotel).
One of the amazing things about this exhibition was being able to see the behind the scenes nuts and bolts of how everything was built, right down to the instructions handwritten on each panel board.
The meticulous attention to detail of each character and scene was just incredible to see. They even recreated a life-size version of one of the sets as a noodle bar, which is one of the first things you see allowing visitors to order Ramen by acclaimed chef Akira Shimizu (of Soho’s Engawa restaurant) and Saki giving them a small insight into the Japanese setting for the film.
About the author
Melvin is a Graphic Artist hailing from a small town in the Northwest of England. A graduate from Central St. Martin’s, he has worked with the likes of Nike, Nokia, Wallpaper* and Creative Review to name but a few.
He has been featured in various magazines & books worldwide and has exhibited in London, Singapore, Tokyo, Bangkok, LA & Sweden.
Melvin is currently based in London where along with his love of Music, Science Fiction & Geometry he spends his time working on a prolific mix of Portraits, Type, Installations, Pattern & Video work with a strong curiosity in experimentation and an openness for interesting personal/brand/client collaborations. He is also Creative Director of clothing label A-Ok, where he oversees all aspects of the brand, from Branding to Production.
Visit his website: http://www.mynameismelvin.co.uk
