Behind the Artistic Design of ‘Mank’

At the 93rd Academy Awards, "Mank" indisputably claimed the crown for Best Production Design, thanks to its sophisticated and classic artistic style. Let's delve into the film "Mank," the pinnacle winner of the Oscars for its outstanding art design, and explore how it recreated the classic world of Hollywood's golden era.

Image description
Exterior set of a studio lot

"Mank" narrates the collaborative efforts of Herman Mankiewicz, a renowned Hollywood screenwriter and director of Orson Welles, in making the film "Citizen Kane." The movie not only portrays Mankiewicz's struggles within and outside the scriptwriting process and his collaboration and clashes with the director but also showcases the film shoot in 1930s Los Angeles and the societal dynamics of the era of major film studios.

Image description
Herman Mankiewicz with confidante Marion Davies

The film delves into the prototype for "Citizen Kane" – media tycoon William Randolph Hearst – who wielded immense influence, orchestrating public opinion through money, deceit, and media manipulation alongside studio executives. These elements served as the social issues inspiring Herman Mankiewicz's script for "Citizen Kane."

Image description
First encounter between Herman Mankiewicz and Marion Davies

Art Director Donald Graham Burt commenced location scouting in July 2019, following initial discussions with director David Fincher about the movie's concept. Pre-production preparation lasted roughly 12 weeks before formal filming, requiring efficient confirmation of on-site shooting and set construction plans that aligned with David Fincher's directorial style.

Image description

"Mank" aimed to recreate the film style of the 1930s in its overall artistic conception authentically while maintaining the simplified aesthetics and historical credibility of that era's film production. This simplification paradoxically generates more complex visual effects. The movie was shot in black and white to evoke memories of 1930s cinema, even utilizing techniques like shooting daytime scenes to mimic nighttime external settings.

Image description
▲ Marion Davies' house on the studio lot
Image description

Physical adjustments were made to refine architectural textures and achieve brighter output. Reportedly, the art department extensively used black-and-white cameras during production to refine the ideal grayscale and contrast.

Creating a historically accurate film like "Mank" required extensive and meticulous preliminary artistic research. Every image, graphic, and text appearing in the film underwent extensive referencing of primary documents and information from film libraries. These minute details contributed to conceptualizing the movie's props and decor elements, ensuring even the spacing between words adhered to historical accuracy.

Image description
Design of the election vote tally board

Given the depreciation of many props from that era, acquired items required refurbishing. Moreover, significant transformations have occurred in the filming locations since then, leading to differences in decorative materials and craftsmanship.


The film features numerous environments that capture the era's essence and serve the script's visual narrative and contrasts. These include settings like the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, Glendale Train Station, Bullocks Wilshire Building, Cicada, and streets near Los Feliz, somewhat arranged according to historical events. For instance, the first Oscars ceremony occurred at the Biltmore banquet hall. At the same time, Hollywood celebrities departed from the Glendale Train Station en route to Hearst's San Simeon estate, both appearing sequentially in the film.

Image description
Interior set of Paramount's washroom

The film primarily highlights two major studios, MGM and Paramount. Paramount's men's restroom and MGM's editing room were constructed in studios. Additionally, RKO Pictures' Welles office was recreated. Exterior studio shots were captured at the actual MGM and Paramount studios, with surrounding streets and alleys decorated and digitally processed in post-production. Paramount's front gate, however, was set-built at its studio lot to offer a more representative street bend.

Image description
The interior set of Paramount's writing room and office

The studio interiors were a mix of real locations and stage settings. MGM, a leading studio of that time, maintained its distinctive Moderne Deco style in its interior writing rooms and corridors. In contrast, the Paramount office exuded a more traditional vibe with dark wooden furniture and relatively dated writing rooms, establishing visual and economic differences between the studios, effectively serving the story rather than aiming for complete historical accuracy.

Image description
The interior set of the election committee room
Image description
Office set of Thalberg in the studio

In the film, director Welles sends Herman Mankiewicz to the North Verde ranch in Victorville to isolate him from alcoholism and focus on scriptwriting. The shooting location was the Kemper Campbell exterior base in Victorville, preserving certain historical environmental conditions.

Image description
North Verde ranch

The production team carried out external decoration and courtyard renovations, removing contemporary installations to restore their original appearance. The indoor living areas were studio-built, incorporating a sense of sand erosion, presenting a typical Western set from that era, contrasting vividly with other interior settings in Los Angeles.

Image description
North Verde ranch

In contrast to Victorville, San Simeon represented opulence, hosting Hollywood elites and political figures of the time. All scenes were filmed in Los Angeles, combining exterior shots with set construction. The crew filmed exterior scenes at multiple locations, including Huntington Gardens, where the art department meticulously designed the groundwork.

Image description

The interior decor of San Simeon posed the most challenging scene design task. It required a fusion of various architectural styles representing San Simeon, including Spanish colonial, Gothic, and classical styles. Louis B. Mayer's birthday gathering and Hearst's final dinner settings were created by swapping set components within the same space, creating the illusion of two distinct areas within a hall.

Image description

Whether altering the inlaid wall panels, windows, and doors or showcasing indulgent tapestries, statues, paintings, and antiques, every detail aimed to appear more realistic, harboring deeper storytelling elements.

Image description
Image description

"Citizen Kane," around which the film revolves, holds a revered place in cinematic history and is equally acclaimed for its scene design. Similarly, "Mank," portraying the ecosystem of Hollywood's golden age filmmaking, deserves industry praise for its high-quality and highly artistic production design.

Most popular
Newest
comments

Share your thoughts!

Be the first to start the conversation.

2
comment
0
favorite
0
share
report