We sat down with Arthur Fong, the Production Designer of Sony Animation’s Wish Dragon, on Netflix! We got an inside look into the crew’s research and design process, including peeks at concept art and philosophies that brought Din, Long, and their world to life. The crew worked incredibly hard in depicting a detailed Shanghai across multiple class groups, and the meticulous craft definitely shows. A big thank you to @ahsuh and our other friends at Sony for helping us with this post — we couldn’t have done it without you!! 🐉❤️ What is the role of a production designer? As a production designer, Arthur is in charge of all the visual aspects of the film and works as the director’s second in command. A large part of his job is translating the director’s vision into 2D visuals. This involves:
How do you use production design to evoke emotion? Wish Dragon centers on Din, a working class boy in Shanghai, trying to reconnect with his old friend, Li na. Knowing there would be themes of wealth, status, and humanity, Arthur knew distinctive visuals, such as Din riding his moped near a glamorous billboard, would need to comprise the film. The shikumen, for example, are almost always overshadowed by Shanghai’s towering skyscrapers that are always visible but too far off in the distance to reach. What was it like building a modern Asian world? “It was incredible.” In other animated features, we;ve seen cities like San Francisco, LA, and New York portrayed in animated format, but for Arthurm, this was a cool opportunity to explore and design a modern Shanghai. When filmmakers think of China, they often think of temples or emperors’ fortresses. There’s a history in these things, but people forget that there is history in modern day China as well. How did the team research Shanghai? The initial team , including Arthur, director Chris Appelhans, producer Aron Warner, executive producer Sophie Xiao, and head of story Rad Sechrist, visited Shanghai for a quick research trip. As the city is rapidly growing, they wanted to capture things, like the shikumen, that would disappear from the urban landscape. “It’s crazy to think in five years the places that existed in movies will be gone,” Arthur reminisces. “There are people living there and they relocate them, but you don’t know if your neighbor will still be your neighbor. You and your best friend might be separated in different locations.” How does Wish Dragon appeal to a global audience? Arthur and Chris were able to trust that the Chinese creatives would put their own experiences and details they cared about into this film. By allowing the leadership to be Asian, it was not necessary to do extensive research, because to them, it’s all intuitive. “They grew up with all this stuff,” says Arthur. What was your favorite scene to work on? “The demolished shikumen,” Arthur answered almost immediately. The setting allowed the artists to capture a changing Shanghai while also serving an important turning point in the story.
How do you take a project from script to screen? To capture a lively world with characters, Wish Dragon’s creative process was a collaborative effort among all the departments. According to Arthur, the director, Chris, asked everyone about their opinion on the authenticity of all the designs. For Wish Dragon, Arthur feels it’s important that you see a lot of yourself in a project you’re working on. The team referenced their favorite characters or sets in pieces of media they’re fond of. What does it mean to bring authenticity to Asian projects? For Arthur, Wish Dragon came as a surprise; this wasn’t a mythological hero fighting demons or another incarnation of Monkey King, but rather a modern teenager with modern problems. On writing a good culturally specific story, he advises that creatives listen and avoid gimmicky premises: “Don’t make a movie because you see what sells. You need a space to let your characters be real; as a director or writer, can you see yourself in this film and in these characters?”
Writers: Jordan (@deadswampsofsadness) | Point Person: Gaby, AIA Team
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