Falling Skies (2011) concept art by Rob McCallum |
The sci-fi show Falling Skies is starting it's fourth season in June, and has been nominated for several awards including Emmy, Saturn and Critic' Choice awards. Chicago Sun-Times critic Thomas Conner called it "...a trustworthy family drama but with aliens." I love the show although the first season got a "maybe watch" from me. Earlier this month the trailer for season four dropped and it looks insane.
Looking back to the first season we can see where some of the key designs took shape. Most prominently are the creatures attach to children to "harness" them and turn them into slaves for the aliens. One of the talented designers working on the show was Rob McCallum.
Robert McCallum is a professional concept and storyboard artist who's worked on Hollywood movies like Pacific Rim (2013), Total Recall(2012)and The Thing(2011).
Click to enlarge the images.
Rob did an interview years ago with Three If By Space where he talked about the design of the alien harness.
"There had been a harness designed for the pilot but they wanted to change that and make it look a bit more alien. I did a bunch of designs then, my last one, I did my own take on how it could look more organic in places with metal etc in it. We had been going for a bone look and I incorporated that into the 'jellyfish' idea with stuff in the soft jelly and made a metal spine down the back.
"Rob liked this and then gave me some visual reference for sea creatures and it went from there. Not much more was done to it and then it was submitted to Spielberg for approval and we got the OK not long after. I was pleased to say the least."
"Rob liked this and then gave me some visual reference for sea creatures and it went from there. Not much more was done to it and then it was submitted to Spielberg for approval and we got the OK not long after. I was pleased to say the least."
Here's what the harness looked like on the show.
Here's the concept art by Rob.
Now here are some other designs that he created for the Alien ships and base which went in a different direction on the show.
The season premiere is on Sunday, June 22 AT 10/9C on TNT.
See more of Rob McCallum's work on the film at www.mccallumart.com
Click on the links if you want to see more of Rob McCallum's work and Falling Skies on my blog.
What do you think of the concept art? If you've seen Falling Skies what did you think?
Official Falling Skies Synopsis
"Falling Skies opens in the aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. The few remaining survivors have banded together. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people while engaging in a campaign against the occupying alien force, whose purpose remains a mystery."
Created by Robert Rodat
Cinematography by Christopher Faloona and Nate Goodman
Production design by Rob Gray
Starring Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Drew Roy, Connor Jessup, Jessy Schram, Maxim Knight, Seychelle Gabriel, Peter Shinkoda, Mpho Koaho, Colin Cunningham, Will Patton, Doug Jones, Sarah Carter
Official Site: www.fallingskies.com
Original airdate: June 19, 2011
© Copyright 2011 DreamWorks Television, TNT Original Production, Invasion Productions. All rights reserved
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