We’re so obsessed with the set pieces in Out of This World, we just can’t stop talking about them! Designing Nebby’s spaceship and the Space Case diner wasn’t just about making sets that looked retro or classic, it was about building a world that reflected our protagonists’ stories and journey. Today we are talking with our very own alien spaceship world builder, Production Designer Vanessa Plaza Lazo, on her approach to creating the perfect props and set decoration for our characters, and why we should pay a little extra attention to production design in our favorite films.

Vanessa, it’s a pleasure to talk with you today! You pulled off something we haven’t quite seen before in films—an aquatic-inspired spaceship filled with eclectic souvenirs from across the galaxy. What was your inspiration for the spaceship and set dressing it?

Vanessa: I consider the main spaceship design a collaboration between Christy Gray and myself, since she was the one who started it and I took over the lead after, where I made some additions to it. It was very interesting and fun for me to get a deep understanding of Nebby to be able to dress the ship. I had several conversations with Elia [the director] for this, where we agreed that every single element on the ship should reflect the idea of a united planet earth identity and Nebby’s connection to it. It is true that there are multiple different cultures around the world and all of them are represented in different ways, but at the same time, we are based on some of the same principles. We are humans and we are all ruled by emotions. That’s why I focused on bringing those emotions in the ship through different types of elements, not just old images, but also objects that could represent that idea: Faun, Greek and Egyptian face sculpture pieces, old tribe masks, helmets, unusual glasses. I tried to wear Nebby’s space boots and think of what they would be attracted to, to actually make them want to take those items as a souvenir. Nebby is a being connected with water and light, so I thought light and colors are another way to express emotions. Bringing different elements where light could be projected in different shapes and colors could also be something to represent not just those human emotions but also evolution in terms of how they developed different ways to project them. In Nebby’s ship you’ll find a young alien’s desire to meet humans and the way humans are perceived by aliens.

You also designed the Space Case diner, a diner at the intersection of space and time. How did you approach it?

Vanessa: The idea of time and space is always very subjective, so I used it as a mirror to represent the diner as the human version of Nebby’s bedroom. The diner shows humanity’s pop culture perception of aliens with a touch of Bebe’s and Ariana’s feel.

So much about these characters’ lives can be felt immediately just by looking at the spaceship and diner sets. In Out of This World and other productions you’ve worked on, what is your artistic approach to fusing narrative into props and locations to tell a story without words?

Vanessa: It’s all about the characters' back story and getting into their shoes to feel the world these characters live in. When I read a script there is just so much I can pick up from them, maybe some space descriptions and character actions. So after a script breakdown, I go deeper into the character’s back story--the story not being told in the script. That’s when the real treasure chest gets opened. It is important to really get to know the characters: their manners, their beliefs, likes, hobbies, fears, life experiences, etc. With all that information we start telling a story through the set and all the detailed set dressing.

What advice would you give to a younger person trying to break into production design in Hollywood? 

Vanessa: Be very persistent and dedicated. Always find new inspiration sources and upgrade your skills constantly.

Who has been your most influential artistic inspiration in your career? 

Vanessa: I believe the artistic world is so broad and the stories we get to tell could be about anything that it’s really hard to stick to one influential path. You can find inspiration in architecture, fine arts, literature, people’s stories, etc., especially when it comes to designing. But when it comes to growing as a professional, I would say that family and close friends are always an inspirational source to be a better person everyday and always give my 200% to keep taking my career to another level. 

Now that you’ve helped build an alien spaceship, do you believe in aliens? 

Vanessa: I believed in them before building a spaceship, so now I just feel a little closer to actually getting to meet one.

Check out some art and artists that inspired the film’s mood board!

Nebby's Spaceship Mockup

When imagining Nebby’s home, our team wanted to give our spaceship an Out of This World twist. Here are some other iconic space ships from films we love!

Discovery One - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Mothership - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

The Ship - Arrival (2016)

Fhloston Paradise - The Fifth Element (1997)

The Endurance - Interstellar (2014)

What’s in the zeitgeist!

How Elliot Page Coming Out Inspires Trans Actors Like Me

Salty

Photographer Captures Viral Shot of the Northern Lights Behind an Erupting Volcano

MY MODERN MET

Willow Sees Right Through the Imposters on New Single “Transparent Soul”

Flood Magazine

We knew it would take a unique technical approach to light the aquatic spaceship featured in Out of This World in a way that would speak to the fluid character of Nebby the Alien, who can control light, so we enlisted the expertise of an outsider. (In other words, someone like us.)

Tyler Elich, who comes from the world of lighting design for live experiences – recent projects include the world tours of Bob Dylan, Janet Jackson, and Eddie Izzard – worked hand-in-hand with the film's lighting department and took practical lighting for the film to the next level, with the help of Vada Briceno on set. So today we're speaking with Tyler about his artistic and technical approach to lighting our spaceship and the power of light in film.

Hi Tyler! Thanks so much for chatting with us. You’re a lighting design expert coming from the live events space, a role we don’t usually see on film sets. Having worked on some of the biggest conventions and concerts, what parts of your background did you bring to this shoot to make it truly unique?  

Tyler: I am a bit of an outsider in the film industry, but I have always been extremely interested in getting into filmmaking. I work a lot on broadcast and streaming as well, but working on film was surprisingly different and took me through a bit of a learning curve. For Out of This World, it was super important to me and the creative team that I bring new ways of lighting for camera that I know work really well in the live and broadcast worlds, but are not usually used in the film world. We wanted to give the film a real world look that can’t be achieved with CGI or other techniques. It was really exciting to bring in high end lighting consoles and fixtures that are normally intended for concert touring and use them to create something completely unique for this film!   

Our spaceship does feel a little bit like a concert. What was your artistic and technical approach to using light to bring the spaceship to life?

Tyler: When researching films related to this project I noticed that a lot of the lighting is simplistic, maybe just a few wash fixtures hung around the room to light everything evenly. I wanted to use lots of individual fixtures to highlight key areas of the set and make certain items pop and other items recede to help tell our story. I was excited to bring in John Marovitch, a super creative out of the box thinker, who helped design some funky set pieces, like the “Pixel Tube Bed” and “Mylar Roll Wall”. Both of these effects were created by John and I just throwing around “wouldn't it be cool if…” ideas until we landed on some super cool, never before done, out of the box designs.

What do you wish more people understood about lighting design?

Tyler: My favorite thing about lighting is how much it can affect someone’s mood without them even realizing it. By just making some subtle changes to color temperature, angle and intensity, I can make you feel warm and loved, cold and uncomfortable, or tense. Just making small changes to lighting in your home or office can have a HUGE effect on your mood and how you interact with others. When I walk into an office with fluorescent lights it drives me absolutely crazy, I have to leave.

Looking back, what advice would you give to your younger self or a younger person trying to break into your field?

Tyler: If you find a passion for lighting and storytelling at a young age, like I did, stick with it. You can totally make a career out of it, despite others telling you to “get a real job”. For someone trying to break into the field, ask TONS of questions when you are on a new set or project. Don’t be afraid to show what you don’t know. I would much rather work with someone new who has a passion to learn then someone who’s an industry veteran. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to well established people, like me, and ask questions or even ask to come to a live set and learn. I got started by taking any job in lighting that came my way, no matter how tedious, and I learned so much from so many amazing people.

And, of course, do you believe in aliens?

Tyler: Absolutely! Growing up I was (and still am) obsessed with Star Trek and that grew my fascination for anything space related. My biggest dream is to one day go to space myself, and hopefully meet some real life aliens!!

You can borrow our spaceship anytime! Any additional thoughts about your time on set?

Tyler: Working with the creative team on Out of This World has been an amazing experience I will remember forever. From the first time I read the script I knew I was hooked on such an amazing story, and I am so grateful that the team took the chance on bringing in an industry outsider. I learned so much and I am super excited to work on my next film, whatever that may be...

Check out some art and artists that inspired the film’s mood board!

Did you know that Nebby can see people’s auras? HALO Auragraphic’s aura photography reads the human energy field through a specialized photographic process taken on analog film! What energy and color does your aura give off to the universe?

What’s in the zeitgeist!

You Can Now Explore the CIA’s ‘Entire’ Collection of UFO Documents Online

Smithsonian Magazine

Sci-Fi Themed Restaurant Captures the Charm of 1950s Drive-In Theaters

MY MODERN MET

'We've already survived an apocalypse" Indigenous Writers Are Changing SciFi

The New York Times

Director Elia Petridis (L), and AD Bashir Taylor by Michael Arcell

Greetings...

"...to the inhabitants of the universe from the third planet Earth of the star Sun."

That's an actual greeting to aliens spoken in the Oriya language, burned onto the Golden Record, and sent out into space for the Voyager mission with the aspiration to make contact with extraterrestrial life. It also serves to dress a scene in the short film I just finished directing, called Out Of This World. It was a challenging, thrilling production and the team and I are very proud of what we got in the can. We can't wait to share it with you all later this year. So join me, because it's time to strap in and hold on tight as we traverse the highlights of the project across time and space through the vessel of this newsletter.

At its heart, this is a story about instant friendship. It’s about that feeling you get when you meet someone unforgettable you know you were destined to meet, how they form your own personality, and how you both quickly become a bonded pair. Friends like that, especially early in life, make you feel seen, heard, included, and unafraid to represent your true self. So the film exhibits those traits of inclusion and representation on its sleeve as well. I wanted to make an unusual love story. I wanted to make an alien space opera action adventure musical comedy. Who says you can't have it all?

Bex Taylor-Klaus by Natasha Wilson

Ariana DiLorenzo by Natasha Wilson

There's an incredible crew on this journey on the production side, and a very talented team on the agency side. On the bridge between the two sits Marlene Lacasse, holding "Story By" credit on this space opera, and hugely influential in how this crew of tastemakers came together. Marlene serves as the film's creative director on the marketing campaign as well as the creative producer of this sizable production, playing an instrumental part in building a world for audiences to discover.

Actor and non-binary icon Bex Taylor-Klaus (The Killing, 13 Reasons Why, Deputy) was granted the challenge of bringing the sympathetic, complex, and endearing character of Nebby The Alien to life. Our DP and force of nature Kelsey Talton (Bridge of Spies, Ghost in the Shell) was tasked with expressing Nebby’s power to wield light, and was charged with the job of coupling Nebby's emotional arc with the reactions of light in the room. Power couple Elias Martian and Orchid Satellite put their signature look and applied some real costume design ingenuity to create the outfits in our world, marrying Nebby's gender neutral fashion taste with striking character makeup by Ally McGillicuddy. Together they brought this Alien protagonist from across the galaxy to life through an incredible burst of imagination and tenderness. Holding us up on our foundations, we counted on the experience of Producer Kris Wynne, the other half or this film's production team, seeing us through to safe port every step of the way. And accomplishing no easy feat was our 1st AD, Bashir Taylor, with his ability to make sure we made our days and nights without missing a step

And, oh yeah, there's music. What's a film by Elia Petridis if not to loudly remind you that music is a universal language? In addition to her layered role as the other best friend in this film, Ariana and the Rose is also responsible for the film's musical inspiration through her track "Lonely Star", a track whose stems renowned composer Ruy Folguera took apart to turn the short single into a long running cinematic score and musical number.

It's all here! If you'd like to feel childlike, as opposed to childish, please stay tuned for fresh doses of the innocence, warmth, nostalgia, and kitsch to come.

For love,
is love,
is music,
is love,
is film,
is love,
is people,
is love,
is you.

Check out some art and artists that inspired the film’s mood board!

Hey, making an alien space opera action adventure musical comedy isn’t easy! Through time and space, these artists inspired our vision and made the film’s journey possible.

Artificial Americana by Victoria Zeoli; The “Kitchen Satellite” by Luigi Colani; Projector Work by Dana Trippe; "The Lady Who Fell to Earth" by Tim Walker

What’s in the zeitgeist!

"Space Diner" campaign for Sara Giunti SS20

Nima Benati Photography

Mysterious sightings over U.S. Navy warships in California

TODAY

When the media is anti-trans, it’s actually out of touch with young people

GAY TIMES

After 5 exciting shoot days – including 3 intense night shoots – that’s a wrap on principal photography for Out of This World!

We’ve only just made liftoff, so watch this space as we work on bringing our film to life during post production. Venture with us behind the scenes for journal entries from cast and crew members, festival updates, creative inspo, and news on all the cool things that are happening in the world of immersive entertainment.

Buckle up. We’ll see you out there among the stars soon for your next mission. Until we make contact again. ✨🛸

P.S. The mothership wants to make contact with you, so join the conversation at our basecamp on TikTok and Instagram.