AVENGERS: END GAME

May 20th, 2019 by Karen Burg with Set Decorator Leslie Pope SDSA


Main Photo
Interior ship... “The challenge here was to create a lived-in look to convey that our characters had been marooned for a long time,” notes Set Decorator Leslie Pope SDSA International, as she again generously takes us behind the scenes of the AVENGERS! Editor's note: Part 1: AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR can be found in our Film Decor section as well! Robert Downey Jr as


Set Decorator
Leslie Pope SDSA

Production Designer
Charles Wood

Marvel Studios

In the aftermath of catastrophic destruction, having been soundly defeated by the evil demigod Thanos, who decimated the planet, randomly wiping out half of the world’s population—including many of their fellow Avengers—the remaining Avengers are faced with their biggest challenge yet, finding the resolve within themselves in the midst of their grief to come together to find a way to defeat Thanos once and for all.  –Marvel Studios  
Once again, we are tiptoeing through the Marvel Universe, sharing details but not spoilers of the colossal conclusion to the Avengers chronicles!
 
As she did for AVENGERS: INFINITY WARS, Set Decorator Leslie Pope SDSA International gives us insights and peeks into the settings for this final chapter, in which she, Production Designer Charles Wood and their teams took us both forward and back into this wide-ranging universe. 
 
The still state-of-the-art Avengers Compound became the center of the film, the physical space for the coming together of the remaining team, enhanced by newly discovered technology. We visit Tony Stark’s lakefront house...and myriad new sets...and revisit more deeply his father’s lab and other settings from the past... 

We mustn’t say more!
See the film, read Leslie's fascinating notes, peruse the fabulous photo gallery above...
Enjoy!
Karen Burg, Editor
 

 
Notes from Set Decorator Leslie Pope SDSA International...
 
“AVENGERS: ENDGAME is the culmination of many, many story lines and therefore we revisited a lot of territory from other MARVEL films. Sometimes we refabricated entire sets or pieces of sets from other films (from BLACK PANTHER, IRON MAN, ANTMAN) sometimes we extrapolated from the other films and created new sets (BLACK PANTHER, IRON MAN, ANTMAN, THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER). We also revisited many sets created for AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR but time has passed and we had to modify them.”
 
Avengers Compound...
“A gigantic set built in an old Convention Center near the Atlanta Airport, this set is seen in both INFINITY WAR and ENDGAME, and thus: stood, was wrapped & stored, and then rebuilt over a couple of years. Everything from Set Dec had to be carefully inventoried, packed and stored so we could re-erect the set quickly. We wanted to convey that the compound had several floors and myriad uses. So a key room in the compound, with its very distinctive ceiling and wall lighting patterns, was dressed several ways—as offices, a TV lounge, a laboratory, a conference room, etc. We also used the re-stagings, here and on other sets, to show the passage of time.”
 
Battlefield...
“As is customary in many action films, including our previous one, a gigantic battlefield and aftermath had to be created. Again, Charles was determined to have the sets grounded in the physical world. So my crew and I became best friends with scrap dealers, metal and pipe purveyors and recyclers all over the South.” 

LCW Props LA/ATL

Destroyed sets, Flooded sets...
The destroyed sets were created on stage. The furniture, pipes, electrical conduit, light fixtures, circuit breaker boxes, etc. were usually purchased new and then destroyed in place or run over with large machinery to give them that bent and twisted look that we so desired. This was a lot of fun for the Set Dressers, who were charged with destroying all kinds of life-sized toys. It was bumper cars every day!
 
Tokyo aftermath...
“One of the totally new and exciting settings, Tokyo aftermath, was dressed on an existing street in Atlanta and an abandoned storefront on that street. 
I had been pulling my hair out trying to find a buyer in Tokyo who could round up all the items I kept seeing in research photos...Lanterns, light fixtures, electric meters, recycling bins, etc and etc...but without success. My Atlanta buyer, Charlotte Lee, reached out in desperation to her Japanese friend here in Georgia and he said, “Oh that’s what my sister does.” Voila. We had our buyer. She procured the Japanese items we needed and more. She was invaluable. So was Charlotte. We also had many items manufactured in the Prop shop at the studio in Georgia, enhancing the involved detailing for these sets.” 
 
...For photos depicting this and more, see gallery above!




 
* Check Film Decor for our coverage of CAPTAIN MARVEL...BLACK PANTHER...GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 2...SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING...IRONMAN...and AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR!
Convenient links in the list below...

 



Photo 3
Avengers Compound, exterior... “We saw this from the air and on the ground. At ground level, shot in Georgia, Set Dec dressed a lobby, an exterior seating area, courtyards, and provided streetlights.” Film Frame ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 4
Avengers Compound, atrium courtyard... Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff [Scarlett Johansson] is haunted by the loss of so many of her fellow Avengers, her family. The atmospheric scene reflects her mood...outside looking within. Pope quietly notes, “The passage of time is shown in leaf color and changing furnishings...” Film Frame ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 5
Avengers Compound, lounge... Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers [Brie Larson] joins the team at the beginning of the film. Thor [Chris Hemsworth] is bemused by her attitude and appreciates it. Note the geometric lines in the lighting and shelving. The books and bar elements, and some of the furnishings, are changed to reflect the different time frames. The background changes help the audience quickly define the “When”. Left: Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff [Scarlett Johansson] Film Frame ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 6
Avengers Compound, lounge... Bruce Banner [Mark Ruffalo] observes from another section of the lounge. The glass wall behind him leads to the key workshop... Ruffalo says, “...It makes science seem cool for kids. It’s amazing the impact that these movies have had culturally. They’re the good guys, and they fight for what’s good. They use science, and they use reason and they are nerds. It’s been great to turn young people on to the idea of science.” Film Frame ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 7
Avengers Compound, workshop... Hawkeye/Clint Barton [Jeremy Renner] is skeptical but willing... Film Frame ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 8
Avengers Compound, workshop... “We wanted to convey that the multidisciplinary compound had several floors and myriad uses, as well as the passage of time,, Pope explains. “So this room in the Avengers Compound, with its very distinctive ceiling and wall lighting patterns, was dressed several ways—as offices, a TV lounge, a laboratory, a conference room, and more...” Image ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 9
Avengers Compound, lounge... The remaining Avengers are gathering support to attempt to find and thwart the evil demigod Thanos... “We lost, all of us. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost part of ourselves. This is the fight of our lives.” —Steve Rogers/Captain America L to R: Hawkeye/Clint Barton [Jeremy Renner], War Machine/James Rhodey [Don Cheadle], Iron Man/Tony Stark [Robert Downey Jr], Captain America/Steve Rogers [Chris Evans], Nebula [Karen Gillan], Rocket [voiced by Bradley Cooper], Ant-Man/Scott Lang [Paul Rudd], Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff [Scarlett Johansson]. Film Frame ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 10
Avengers Compound, workshop... Another version, this time revealing the clean room chamber in the background... Image ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 11
Avengers Compound, workshop Clean Room chamber... “The Production Designer wanted a very clean, very spare yet equipment-filled room. So this area of the Compound is dressed similarly to research photos we had of the International Space Station. Most of the equipment was found in salvage yards in Los Angeles, shipped to Georgia, modified as needed and installed by the Set Dressers. We used components from many eras to show that the room had existed for many years and been modified as needed...” Image ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 12
Dr. Pym’s 1970’s Laboratory at Camp Lehigh... “The challenge here was to create a laboratory showing Dr. Pym’s several areas of expertise...Engineering, Biochemistry, Myrmecology, etc...with some equipment that was of the period and some that was state-of-the-art/Pym-designed/not recognizable...” Image ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 13
Dr. Pym’s 1970’s Laboratory at Camp Lehigh... This is the lab where & when the Ant-Man concept was conceived and first developed... Image ©Marvel Studios 2019

Photo 14
Dr. Pym’s 1970’s Laboratory at Camp Lehigh... Pope reveals, “Salvage companies from all over the country were used to find the 1970’s computers and other equipment. Shipping, shipping, shipping!” Image ©Marvel Studios 2019



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