Beth Elen Roberts on storytelling, reuse and the concept of an “Ideal City”

You have previously said that “I dismantle, and I reconstruct”. Do you think that your practice is still as such?

Yes, I suppose it is! At the start of the concepting process, we are often given packs of references to work from by the designer and simultaneously, are encouraged to do our own research. The act of dissecting these references and ideas bit by bit, whether we’re designing architecture or props, is definitely an act of dismantling and reconstructing. It could be the material quality of one thing from a specific time period, and the shape language of another, that finally synthesises into an idea.

In fact, I think it’s true for the whole process of pre-production in the art department. You breakdown, or rather ‘dismantle’ the script and try to identify a visual language for the story. We often filter through countless variations of one thing, trying to distill the right language for it to meet the requirements of the story, as well as the director and designer’s vision. I love this process. It’s wonderful to see how ideas evolve so much from those early references or scribbles into the final set or object.

Your dissertation at the RCA Finding Place in Hiraeth resonates with the dismantle/reconstruct idea. Tell us about that body of work?

My dissertation became all about storytelling. Hiraeth is a fascinating word that resonates deeply within Welsh culture. It doesn’t have a direct translation, and rather encapsulates a feeling that you can’t quite place. For many, it’s associated with the idea of nostalgia and a longing for ‘home’, whatever home might be to you.

I wanted to explore how throughout history, themes of Hiraeth were explored in Welsh poetry and photography; how it manifests in our landscapes for example, and has continually evolved our national understanding of ‘place.’ I questioned how Hiraeth also had an integral spatial and temporal aspect; a feeling that isn’t exclusive to place in the physical realm, but also to the places that reside in memory.

It’s true that again, the themes of dismantling and reconstructing are important here. Our wonderful programme leader Graeme Brooker (Head of Programme, Interior Design MA) always encouraged us to dissect words and understand their etymology as a tool for sparking new ideas. I still use this in my work.

How much of what you do is still a learning process?

Every single job has been a new learning experience so far. It sounds like such a cliché but it’s true and I’m certain it will continue to be so!

In film and TV, we all work as freelancers and jump sporadically across a huge variety of projects and change teams constantly throughout the year. So every experience has thrown up different challenges and has taught me new things, and this largely comes from working with and meeting new people.

I love the collaborative nature of what we do. In Concept Art, we often work with designers at the very start of the filmmaking process, sometimes before production has officially started. The ideas explored in this early stage then pass through a wonderful chain of creativity throughout, from art directors to draughts people to construction to set decorators to sculptors and beyond. Everyone has their own insights and ways of working, which is an amazing resource to learn from. Sometimes I’ll look at a concept and think “there’s no way this can be built”, and in the hands of an amazing art director it can be technically drafted with immaculate precision and realised physically on a stage within a few months.

Also, the technology we use changes and improves all the time. The primary tools we use for Concept Art are 3D modelling software and Photoshop. There’s always a different, better software to learn and new ways of speeding up our workflow. I learn mostly from observing my concept peers and asking an endless torrent of questions…!

I’m currently working for a prop master on a large budget Netflix film, and having mostly worked on designing environments in the art department, once again, I’m out of my comfort zone and learning a great deal. I love it.

You were a junior concept artist on the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon. Your model of Old Valyria plays an integral part in the show. Tell us about the concept and your vision for it?

It was such a privilege to be part of this production, let alone to have had the experience as my first job in the industry.

The brief I was given was excellent. To help design the architecture for an ancient city, Old Valyria, capital of an advanced and powerful civilisation, set on a large peninsula and home to dragons! This city design would then be realised in a 6x8M architectural model and serve as an integral hero prop in the series.

Jim, the production designer, gave me a fantastic pack of references and ideas to work from, including the star fortification motif that became a critical aspect of the design. Old Valyria was said to be the height of power and influence, and the showrunners were eager for the design to reflect the society’s advanced technology and ancient magic. When seen from above, perhaps from the point of view of a dragon rider, they wanted the city’s footprint to be a spectacle.

I thoroughly enjoyed the research stage of this project, examining the concept of an “Ideal City” throughout history, where it was understood that the more unified the city plan, the more unified the society. I learned that many of the important cities of our ancient world from Babylon to Rome and to the Aztec Empire, all applied sacred geometry to their planning. This was key to developing our strategy for the city design.

The plans and foundations of many ancient cities were often based around grids or a system of concentric circles. I chose the latter for the design of Old Valyria, as it is a device that can be traced through millennia as a recurring motif for fortifying and expanding cities.

For the architecture itself, the key reference to manifest became the amazing design of Dragonstone from the original Game of Thrones series, an iconic brutalist castle.

You also worked on series two. Did this involve engaging in something different?

Yes, for the second series I was brought on as a Concept Artist in the set decoration department. The art department and set decoration work very closely throughout production, but as opposed to designing environments and architecture this time, I was working on the design and visualisation of detailed props, furniture and lighting.

The set decoration department enhances and dresses the built sets by sourcing and adapting amazing found objects, as well as designing many from scratch.

The process of concepting was very similar to the first series, in terms of research and design, however, I was lucky to work on a vast range of different objects and dressings for numerous sets this time. The characters of George R. R. Martin’s worlds are so vivid and have such distinct identities, that it was a fantastic opportunity to draw inspiration from a range of historical periods.

In the art department, our concepts have to encapsulate not only the design of the set but the atmosphere and the action, whereas in set decoration, you hone all your attention onto the detail of one specific object, its materiality, history and ergonomics.

Are there any lessons you learned as a carpentry assistant that still inform your practice today?

Definitely. It gave me a huge respect for the technical prowess of the carpentry teams in construction. Admittedly, I’m not a naturally technical person and am more intuitive, which became very clear to me during my month with the Royal Opera House carpenters! The level of precision required is unnerving. It was really fascinating to learn some joinery and the impressive potential of the material.

Do the effects and models from earlier films inspire you? If so, can you tell us which ones and why?

I was laughing only recently with a colleague about this, and it has become a running joke with my concept team. Considering the industry I’m in now, I shamefully have a huge list of iconic films that I haven’t seen yet that I’m sure will be a huge source of inspiration!

However, I did spend a lot of my childhood watching behind the scenes of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings repeatedly with my brother, who now works in animation. I was so transfixed, for example, by the miniatures used in Lord of Rings and the matte painted backgrounds of Star Wars. The rudimentary nature and yet astonishing skill of these techniques still stand the test of time. It reminds me sometimes, that even the most sophisticated computer-generated imagery (CGI) we have now can’t replicate the tactility and ingenuity exhibited in that kind of world building.

CGI is used to create so many universes on film & TV. How important do you think it is that some aspects of sets and scenes are still made by humans?

As I mentioned, I still don’t think anything can replace the reverence you feel for a tactile, real set build. It transmits so much on camera that can’t be replicated by CGI or artificial intelligence (AI). I think it’s really important to have a physical space for the actors to immerse themselves in and interact with; it not only elevates the performances, but grounds the storytelling for the audience.

I recently worked for a fantastic designer Neil Lamont, and his attention to finishes and materiality was astounding. The texture of every surface on set was so tactile and immersive that you could easily forget it was plasterwork and flattage.

I’ll also never forget walking through the Red Keep set for the first time on House of the Dragon; an awe-inspiring composite set of interwoven corridors, grand staircases and magnificent rooms, that you could very easily get lost in.

Overall, I think a balance is good. Budgets, time and physical constraints of course affect what can and can’t be built, and visual effects (VFX) is an absolutely critical tool for enhancing and expanding upon the worlds that the sets occupy.

Do you think there is a way in which tools like AI can assist your practice rather than replacing it?

This is a challenging question, and one that has been coming up repeatedly on the last few productions I’ve worked on. It’s challenging because the technology and its potential is evolving all the time. I do think there are ways that it could be used to improve the efficiency of our workflow, perhaps on the technical side at some point. However, I really don’t think it can ever replace the ingenuity of original and creative design. It recycles, struggles to be specific, and there’s no tactility in the finished product. It has an uncanny quality to it, that has no tangible trace of the artist’s hand.

The more worrying aspect about it I suppose, is how the studios themselves might harness it. The only concern I would have for now is how studio executives, as AI advances, might come to undervalue the time and energy that it takes to world-build and create high quality films and television.

Could you tell us a little about animation that has inspired you?

I had never produced an animation before the short I made to accompany my thesis project. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a great tool for exploring the narrative aspect of the site I was exploring, and establishing its atmosphere.

I grew up watching a lot of animation with my brother and I think it’s the tactility of the medium that I’m drawn to. We watched a lot of clay stop-motion, and seeing fingerprints in the plasticine or the seams of a drawn animation, added so much to my connection to the story.

You hand draw a lot of your work. How important is it to you to still create in this way?

Nearly every idea or concept starts with a notebook scribble. It’s the best way to get an idea down quickly for me, and nothing can replace this. For efficiency however, most of my concepts as they develop are realised using digital painting in Photoshop or a combination with 3D modelling. The design process requires so many changes, that it’s a great way to realise many variations of a concept quickly. It also feels like it's becoming more common that directors respond better to these more realistic visuals than the sketchier iterations. It really depends on the project and the teams you’re working with.

I was reflecting on how much I enjoyed hand drawing my thesis visuals recently, feeling like I’d lost touch a bit with drawing in my workflow. I was putting too much pressure on myself to expect a perfect sketch every time. However, a brilliant concept artist I was working with last year reminded me how valuable it was, by encouraging me to work out my ideas with quick thumbnails on a Post-It. He pointed out that if the design or composition was readable at this scale in a few loose lines and silhouettes, it could also work on a larger scale. This is now an integral part of my process!

You have already worked on so many amazing projects. What is the dream project?

I feel really lucky, I’m not sure I have a dream project at the moment. I love a creative challenge and am up for tackling anything! I do particularly love history and fantasy and there are certainly designers and directors I would love to work for at some stage. I’m a huge fan of Robert Eggers’ work, for example. His film The Lighthouse was a big inspiration for the tone of my thesis short and I’ve heard that he’s an obsessive and meticulous researcher.

The Thames Ship Lab: A Story

At the mouth of the Thames Estuary we find the new Thames Ship Lab on the Isle of Sheppey. This film, documents the design process, transforming the existing Dockyard Church into a new Maritime Archaeology lab.

• Awarded Best Film and Animation by the School of Architecture
• Nominated for the Dean's Prize 2020