The production design of NTTD – Mark Tildesley

I thought Dennis Gassner’s work was stellar in the two previous films. I had some rather large reservations that he wouldn’t be returning for NTTD. However, they were ill-founded, it’s clear that Mark Tildesley has outdone himself.

We haven’t really had a chance yet to speak about his work as the film has mostly been shot at Pinewood. But just look at these shots:

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Not to sleep on Gassner, as Tildesley seems to be homaging his work on Blade Runner 2049 with Rami Malek’s lair. Though are echoes of Tildesley’s own sets he designed for High-Rise there to.

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Comments

  • Posts: 4,044
    The set recreation of Cuba looks impressive
  • Posts: 6,709
    Are those water light reflections on the wall behind Craig? Is there any pool there? That set may even be more impressive.

    Tildesley has really done an amazing work.
  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    Posts: 4,520
    Very happy that since QOS (exept Skyfall) there return to the more sets / open minded about idea of older movies. But with Spectre there not use long enough. Skyfall sets have there moments and look like NTTD take those moments too and doing a mix of both.

    On my 21 inch pc screen Cuba sets and overall cinematopgraphy looks better then on a mobile phone. I must take more distence for Cinematopgraphy of trailer already. What possible mean i should choose another row or two in the cinema. Very CR/QOS thrilling.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,217
    Univex wrote: »
    Are those water light reflections on the wall behind Craig? Is there any pool there? That set may even be more impressive.

    Tildesley has really done an amazing work.

    I imagine that's a trick similar to what Deakins did in Blade Runner 2049. There may or may not be a water source visible in the frame, but the effect on the ceiling is caused (if they do it practically) by having pools of water just out of frame; these pools are then utilised by Sandgren, who then presumably had key lights directed on to the water source at the appropriate angle, and thus the reflections of the ripples are presented on the ceiling.
  • Posts: 16,169
    The set design looks amazing. I only now just realized Gassner wasn't back.
    I think the new guy may be a keeper.
  • MinionMinion Don't Hassle the Bond
    Posts: 1,165
    It actually reminds me a lot of those Aston Martin villain lair concept sketches that have been floating around for awhile.

    aston-martin-automotive-galleries-and-lairs-revealed-at-pebble-beach01-jpg.jpg?itok=ZSZMvzGt


  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    edited December 2019 Posts: 4,341
    Tweet from Will Htay, who is involved in NTTD as concept designer. He posted this idea around 12 October last year, so very much in time before production on Bond 25 began (?). The trapezoidal shape of the building is rather reminiscient of the above interior design from Mark Tildesley. I wonder whether we can expect a building shaped like this.



    Comment:
    htaydesign #inktober #inktober2018 I was in Porto last weekend with my wife and friends so not much drawing going on. But we did visit the Casa da Musica, lovely building designed by the architect Rem Koolhaas. This isn’t it by the way, just inspired by it. Very Bond/Ken Adam
  • zebrafish wrote: »
    Tweet from Will Htay, who is involved in NTTD as production designer. He posted this idea around 12 October last year, so very much in time before production on Bond 25 began (?). The trapezoidal shape of the building is rather reminiscient of the above interior design from Mark Tildesley. I wonder whether we can expect a building shaped like this.



    Comment:
    htaydesign #inktober #inktober2018 I was in Porto last weekend with my wife and friends so not much drawing going on. But we did visit the Casa da Musica, lovely building designed by the architect Rem Koolhaas. This isn’t it by the way, just inspired by it. Very Bond/Ken Adam

    Very interesting.

    The design that Tildesley has used is almost the inverse - essentially turning it upside-down so it's more of a triangle.

    I'm really into the brutalist quality to it. Very much like the work in High-Rise which had a similar vibe.

    This film convinced me that Mark Tildesely was a good choice - glad to see that he has more than lived up to expectations.

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  • edited December 2019 Posts: 4,409


    Mark Tildesley speaks very briefly about Danny Boyle's Bond 25 at around 20:00 minutes. He explains that Boyle had a disagreement with Barbara Broccoli. Eventually when Cary Fukunaga was hired, Tildesley went to meet with him as part of a 'handover' expecting to leave the project. However, Fukunaga invited him to stay.

    Which I'm sure we can all agree was the right decision!
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    Cary is a smart guy.
  • edited July 2020 Posts: 4,409

    I know people are mentioning Ken Adam a lot in relation to the production design of Safin's lair, but to me it looks more industrial, oily and greasy. Adam had more slickness and shiny surfaces. It looks like could be a Ken Adam set that was built in 1965 but has since been left the rust.

    In fact, it reminds me of the architecture of my usual morning commute through St Pancreas station. I mean the platofrms underground that go through to City Thameslink and Blackfriars. Any Londoners agree?

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    I don't know the source, but I believe it's been reported that Fukunaga and Tildesley were inspired by Tadao Ando's architecture for the the inspiration of Safin's base. Which is very interesting, as a quick Google search reveals that his style has certainly on show in the set design that we have seen so far.

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    There is a Japanese influence running through the film..from the lair to the Noh mask. Which I feel is clearly coming from the Director, who himself is Japanese on his father's side.
  • edited July 2020 Posts: 928
    We've also seen photos with "Restricted Area" written on the walls in Russian, so there's more than a hint of Soviet-era brutalism in that architcture as well. I guess the bare concrete style is now so popular in infrastructure as it keeps things cheap and minimalist.

    I'm no fan, but if designed properly it can look very powerful.
  • Matera007_Matera007_ Underneath a mango tree
    Posts: 8
    I’m definitely feeling a moonraker/thunderball vibe with NTTD.
  • Matera007_ wrote: »
    I’m definitely feeling a moonraker/thunderball vibe with NTTD.

    I agree, there are so many things about NTTD (production design not the least) that harken back to the big spectacle, big stakes films like Dr. No, Thunderball, the Lewis Gilbert trilogy, and DAD. And not so much the more down-to-earth films like FRWL, the John Glen era, and Craig's first three.
  • Junglist_1985Junglist_1985 Los Angeles
    Posts: 1,033
    Matera007_ wrote: »
    I’m definitely feeling a moonraker/thunderball vibe with NTTD.

    I agree, there are so many things about NTTD (production design not the least) that harken back to the big spectacle, big stakes films like Dr. No, Thunderball, the Lewis Gilbert trilogy, and DAD. And not so much the more down-to-earth films like FRWL, the John Glen era, and Craig's first three.

    Yes! Fukunaga even said he was inspired by a certain aesthetic from You Only Live Twice. I’m guessing there’s quite a bit of inspiration from both the YOLT movie and novel. It’s certainly a big spectacle/stakes film, but looks to be a serious and emotional one too. I’ve been saying for a while that it kind of seems like a blend of DN/YOLT and CR/QOS.
  • Matera007_ wrote: »
    I’m definitely feeling a moonraker/thunderball vibe with NTTD.

    I agree, there are so many things about NTTD (production design not the least) that harken back to the big spectacle, big stakes films like Dr. No, Thunderball, the Lewis Gilbert trilogy, and DAD. And not so much the more down-to-earth films like FRWL, the John Glen era, and Craig's first three.

    Yes! Fukunaga even said he was inspired by a certain aesthetic from You Only Live Twice. I’m guessing there’s quite a bit of inspiration from both the YOLT movie and novel. It’s certainly a big spectacle/stakes film, but looks to be a serious and emotional one too. I’ve been saying for a while that it kind of seems like a blend of DN/YOLT and CR/QOS.

    My first impression watching the first trailer was that it looked like Skyfall (probably due to the bridge jump reminding me of Bond falling from the train), but over time I definitely see more DN/YOLT/CR influence.
  • Mark Tildesley's sets were perfect in this film. Especially, Safin's base and the Cuba hideout. I found this concept art online:

    9X2sQlx_d.webp?maxwidth=760&fidelity=grand
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,585
    Nothing thrills me more than seeing them channel Ken Adam. Such a shame they didn't make a game for this, so we could explore these amazing sets ourselves.
  • Posts: 6,709
    I hope they keep Tildesley on board for the next one!
  • RoadphillRoadphill United Kingdom
    Posts: 984
    He did some great work, for sure. The brutalist style isn't for everyone, but I liked it. It's probably the best production design since Ken Adam
  • ContrabandContraband Sweden
    Posts: 3,022
    Mark Tildesley's sets were perfect in this film. Especially, Safin's base and the Cuba hideout. I found this concept art online:

    9X2sQlx_d.webp?maxwidth=760&fidelity=grand

    Source as in link?
  • Hi all,

    This seems to be the best place to put this?

    This week marks the 60th anniversary of the start of Principal shooting on Dr No at Palisades Airport in Kingston, Jamaica, on 16 January 1962.

    After my plans for an epic 2020 European related Bond adventure were delayed, I was stoked that some of my late 2021 plans were able to go ahead and I shot into Jamaica, the spiritual home of James Bond and more pointedly the home-away-from-home for Bond creator Ian Fleming. Jamaica is after all where Fleming wrote all of his published James Bond thrillers as well as presumably his originally unpublished Bond TV series treatments; some of which were reworked into his For Your Eyes Only collection of short stories, another 2 have subsequently made their way into Anthony Horowitz’s Bond novels and apparently, another 3 exist.

    Jamaica is referenced across Fleming’s Bond book series and five Bond stories had events taking place in Jamaica. The film versions of Dr No (1962) and Live and Let Die (1973) featured Bond in Jamaica as well as of course most recently Cary Fukunaga’s No Time To Die (2021).

    With this preamble and some time to kill, I managed to visit some Jamaican locations with connections to Ian Fleming and Bond. These places included the “secret” location of James Bond’s retirement home as featured in No Time To Die also sometimes referred to as – the James Bond Villa.

    James Bond’s return to Jamaica is some kind of homecoming, not only bringing Daniel Craig’s chapter of Bond to an end but full circle back to Bond’s cinematic introduction in Terence Young’s Dr. No which was mainly set in Jamaica. Jamaica’s role is also a homage to Ian Fleming, his love of Jamaica and the creation of Bond, as well as a nod to previous Bond story elements from the books and film, as the other Daniel Craig era films have done.

    The full report with photos and video can be found here: http://www.theestablishingshot.com/2022/01/i-visit-location-of-james-bonds-no-time.html
  • LucknFateLucknFate 007 In New York
    Posts: 1,649
    Great report and details. You could probably create a new thread for this article since it was personal enough and quite detailed, surely worthy of discussion.
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