The Core
Paramount Pictures

The creation of the ‘Geode Field’ required an assembly-line approach, not too unlike a factory.

The script and design concept called for a 160 x 200 foot scenic platform that was to be comprised of the crippled Virgil ship surrounded by a field of Amethyst Crystals ranging from 3 to 300 feet in height. The crystals had to be transparent to translucent, self-supporting and transportable.

In the space of three months a team of 40 sculptors/technicians created and installed a few thousand scenic crystals which survived a Main Unit film crew twice. About 60 percent of the set had to be moved outside of the studio building for a two week span, during which a Second Unit film crew tested the sets limits.

The construction of the crystals required a multifaceted approach to realize the 3-D proportions. A vacu-form system was developed to create the glassy fractured texture of the crystal surface. Each of the 12-sided forms was hand built uniquely for each of the crystal types and sizes.