Posts: 39 From: Reims, France Registered: May 2009
posted 12-11-2019 07:26 AM
A lot of recent productions, such as "First Man," "For All Mankind," and "X-Men: Dark Phoenix," feature scenes in the Apollo era or early shuttle program Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR), and it looks very realistic every time, with a lot of attention to the smallest details.
Is there a generic MOCR film set in some studio, or do the production team build a new set for each movie/tv series?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42981 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-11-2019 08:19 AM
The sets are different, though some of the components are sometimes provided by a common source.
"First Man" was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia. The film recreated the look of the Mission Operations Control Room from its use during Gemini (Mission Control is voice-only for the Apollo 11 scenes).
"For All Mankind" was filmed in Los Angeles on the Sony Pictures lot. The MOCR was created there to resemble its Apollo program use, as discussed in this "making-of" video:
"X-Men: Dark Phoenix" was shot in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) at MELS Studios.
The Cosmosphere's SpaceWorks division provided the consoles for both "First Man" and "For All Mankind." They are refurbished backroom consoles that were once part of the real Mission Control in Houston.
p51 Member
Posts: 1642 From: Olympia, WA Registered: Sep 2011
posted 12-11-2019 05:53 PM
Studio space is expensive. You can't just keep a MOCR set sitting around for someday needing it.
The only set that has been contemplated to keep around, I've heard from a friend in Hollywood, is a White House one. For a while, many productions used the "West Wing" TV series set for their own presidential scenes and a studio apparently contemplated buying it and then setting it aside for future productions, but in the end, it wouldn't be worth it.
Believe it or not, it's cheaper to build a MOCR or any other set anew each time you need one.
posted 12-11-2019 07:26 AM
advertisement