'We’ve tried hard to get away from doing visual effects'
Disney’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians has made a hit out of myths. And now season two is going even bigger, with tech giving way to proper props and sets
Disney/David Bukach
- Frances Taylor
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When it comes to shooting a teen fantasy series rooted in Greek mythology, you might assume a sweeping scene involving a chariot race would lean heavily on CGI. Not so, according to the props assistant for season two of Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians. “It’s a really fun scene because it’s all live action,” says Michelle Hendriksen. “We’ve tried really hard to get away from only doing visual effects.”
It’s an example of the scope and scale that’s been brought to making the Disney+ show. Adapted from author Rick Riordan’s young adult novels, it also goes some way to explaining how the first run reportedly cost up to $15 million per episode – a figure similar to that of The Crown and Game of Thrones.
Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2. Disney/David Bukach
As Hendriksen says, season one was “mostly” filmed indoors on what’s called The Volume – a soundstage with LED panels that create a virtual background. “I think they found that it wasn’t really worth the money,” she says. “You can only get so big in there; it’s quite a tight space. And it’s expensive.”
For season two, relying less on technical wizardry meant building sets including an amphitheatre in the wilds of Vancouver, Canada. Working chariots and detailed armour were created, along with weapons made from either hard rubber or bamboo, ensuring they’re “really safe” to use in filming. Also, as pictured, an intricate model of the chariot track (built by the show’s 85-year-old assistant art director Douglas Higgins “in his basement”) wasn’t just used in the design process, but also appears on screen in episode one.
Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 Disney/David Bukach
Not all the props used during filming are regarded as fondly, however. This season, Percy (Walker Scobell) and friends Annabeth (Leah Sava’ Jeffries) and Grover (Aryan Simhadri) seek the mythical Golden Fleece.
“It’s very heavy and very unfriendly,” notes Hendriksen of the scratchy and hefty faux fleece prop. Made from steel wool, it also hurt the actors if handled incorrectly. “This is the one prop we don’t love. It looks fantastic on camera, but if we could make this again, we would.”
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To avoid injury, the team had to magic up a softer substitute that could be used for filming frenetic sequences. That actor-friendly version was made from lametta, a tinsel-type material that, bizarrely, is comprised of shavings from Boeing airplanes. Not that we can see a difference between the two fleeces: that’s where CGI does come in. “Visual effects will take both versions and meld them together,” says Hendriksen. “So on screen, they’ll always look the same.”
Authors
Frances Taylor
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