Picture courtesy of Sony Pictures Television and Simon Walker
Lord of the Flies is a tangible nightmare. Based on the classic novel by William Golding, the new series is a feverish adaptation from creator Jack Thorne. There is danger everywhere on the island for the lost children, as well as visual wonder that was important to production designer Simon Walker.
Walker previously worked on acclaimed projects such as Polite Society, We Are Lady Parts, and Sweatpea. Originally, the production designer studied architecture at university, where he was reminded of how much storytelling means to him. “I always chose a film as a driving force for the design I was doing,” Walker told What’s On Netflix, “and then it all had a story in mind.”
Recently, the production designer spoke with us about his approach to Lord of the Flies, his vision for the series, and wild boars running amok.
Lord of the Flies is probably the most exterior work you’ve done on a project, right?
Definitely, definitely. Well, firstly, it was such a privilege just to go to somewhere like Malaysia to shoot it, try and get that authentic feeling. None of it was done on a soundstage. So much of what was important to me from the very beginning was making a map of the island and then using that to find architectural moments that were natural within the jungle to pinpoint little landmarks for the kids.
And then when we raced through at the end, we ran through them all. So, you don’t get the sense that the island’s too big and it’s something that is identifiable. All the journeying from Ralph’s camp to Jack’s camp, there’d be just identifying marks that you come to.
And knowing which part of the jungle tells which part of the story best too, I imagine.
Exactly. Because then there was so much language in terms of trying to find design intent in nature. It’s quite a tricky thing because with Ralph’s camp, it was so important for me to feel like that felt more community-led and it was softer in a way. It’s on this kind of idyllic beach and then the huts they built are kind of more naturally shaped in their own way. There’s something more organic about them.
And then when you contrast Jack’s camp, it was still a lovely beach and it’s a place called Palm Point, but there was this kind of big rocky backdrop to it that really, we ended up stripping quite a lot of greens from to try and just emphasize that. And then in terms of the structures, we made them more like forts. They’re more alien in the landscape.
Lord of the Flies – Season 1
When you got to the jungle in Malaysia, what was your eye immediately drawn to?
Oh, that’s a tough question because everything’s just so visually inspiring. I think the hard thing is trying to see through it and imagine it through the lens of the camera and make sure you’re getting all that depth of a jungle. It’s so overgrown. It’s so full. It’s so easy to find yourself quite enclosed. Script-wise, we had so many gorgeous locations written in there like the idyllic pond, which then we added flowers to make more idyllic.
It’s such a visual feast. Being there, you do see it through the eyes of a kid again because, especially for me, it’s alien to me to go to these kinds of places, go into jungles that you don’t get to go to without trackers. Everything felt so old and untouched, which is rare.
It’s beautiful but full of challenges too?
It’s the thing, it looks idyllic, but then the reality of it is that there was never less than 29 degrees Celsius there. I’m not sure what that is in Fahrenheit, but it’s always hot. You’re always sweating. There were leeches. There are things called raffia plants or raffia palms, which look lovely, but they have really sharp thorns on them that the guides had to strip to make sure we were all safe doing it. There’s nowhere we could go without them in case of anything.
There were wild boars that tore up some plants that we did plant. We had to reset them every time we came back. Nature is its own force and was its own contender in this whole thing, whereas with the tide itself, we just couldn’t leave the campsite as is and expect to come back to it. We had to de-rig it and put it up every time we went there.
Did you ever think a wild boar would destroy your work?
Never. Never in my wildest dreams. I kind of assumed there wouldn’t really be that many. I don’t know why I assumed there wouldn’t be that much nature happening because you don’t see it. I don’t think I ever laid eyes on a wild boar when we were there. Saw a few scorpions, but never the wild boars, though I did see their impact.
[Laughs] What does week one of production look like on Lord of the Flies?
It was quite intense. I came on a little bit late, but I think very much was chatting to Mark and figuring out the geography of it all. We knew roughly where we were going. It was a lot of hiking into jungles, like I was saying, to find these landmarks and find just trees that had something more to them where there’s just a little creepy element.
We were just trying to find things that felt intimidating or scary to give an undertone of horror throughout the whole thing. We were always aware of trying to find natural objects that just had a quality to them that made you feel quite unsettled. There’s a floating root of a tree, I think, that we ended up sourcing and had out in the ocean for occasional special shots just because it felt like a beast in itself.
Lord of the Flies – Season 1 – Episode 103 — Photo Credit: J Redza/Eleven/Sony Pictures Television
Did you revisit the book for inspiration?
I read it as a child, but I was more just focusing on the scripts because they lend themselves into those four characters. The way I’ve always designed is around character. Well, I guess lots of people do, but very character-driven. And so, trying to create environments that spoke to each of them, like I’m saying, Ralph’s camp being slightly more ideal, Jack’s camp being more harsh and with sentries, etc. And then Simon’s space being a sanctuary with a nod to religion. We had the pilot higher up as if it was Christ there.
What about the bridge?
We spent a long time trying to find the right location for that so that it can feel more threatening than it actually is. Obviously, we have to get these kids into this position to do it, but we have to make it entirely safe. And so, we ended up blue-screening. It looks like a crazy little lovely art piece in a weird way.
You can tell there’s not a lot of blue-screen or set extensions on this show.
No, the only real set extension that I can remember thinking about was that one where we just had to make it feel like a sheer drop that came and gave a bit more hype to the moment. I guess there were little moments like that where, from a safety perspective, when the pilot gets pushed, we extended it down at that point so that there was more of a drop to the sea.
How intense and in-depth was this map you worked on for the geography of the island?
It went quite deep, actually. It was quite topographical. I tried to make it as detailed as possible because it just felt so important, especially in that finale. All the episodes obviously lead up to the moment where Ralph is running away from Jack and his crew. I wanted to make sure that by the time we got there, the geography of all that made sense in many ways.
It was an interesting experience of finding locations and then feeding them into the map. We were taking aerial views of where we were and piecing them together and then trying to make sure the island is only so many kilometers wide so that it’s believable that they could have gotten to the pig run from this point. It became very important to me just to have those specifics in place.
Lord of the Flies – Season 1 – Episode 103
You’re a painter, as well. Do you paint a lot as a production designer?
Definitely. I wish I had a canvas out there with me, to be honest, but I do, because I think the way I paint is often a bit of a color exercise in many ways and working out what works and textures. I’m very textured in the way I do my abstract paintings. It’s layer upon layer. I guess that is exactly the way I design. I have a base and you add more to it and then you take some bits away and it’s a very cathartic way of doing it because then sometimes you just chuck it off to one side and start again or even take the same canvas and work again on it and then you find something new within it.
Obviously, there’s layer upon layer in the jungle in Lord of the Flies, but how much do you or don’t you want to add to or take away from spaces?
I think that was always a fear as well at times, when you’ve got something that’s so beautiful, how much you are taking away and when do you hit that right level. Especially, I remember thinking that a decent amount when we did the end of the island, when they’re on this incredibly – it’s a crazy location, it was marble-coated white – but there were lots of greenery there and I just knew I wanted to take that back quite a lot to then just reveal how barren it is at this point and where Jack thinks he could make a great den there. Wildly impractical, but it would be a great kind of spot to just see out at the ocean.
What overall effect do you hope the jungle, the locations, the rich greens have on an audience when they watch Lord of the Flies?
It’s quite almost dreamlike and you’re seeing it through the eyes of a child, so you’re in that space being mesmerized and in the wonder of it. But simultaneously, you’re also feeling this unsettling quality to the whole thing.
