ScALES

(2017)

Directed by Shadah Amin
Image Nation, Imaginarium

Set Decorator: The story takes place far into the future, long after an apocalyptic event has destroyed all vegetation, animals and sources of food. The surviving heroes were forced to rebuild, using scavenged items and ancient techniques, and survive in an unforgiving, mountainous terrain near the sea. The plot is based around a village of bedouins,  whose only source of food comes from the creatures in the ocean. Mermaids. 

While filming on location in beautiful Musandam, Oman, we took advantage of the historically traditional locations and built around existing mud huts, mosques and structures. One of our sets, 'Hunter's Fort' was located on a beach and was mainly made out of wood and palm branches. All materials used on the build are found in the region and have been effectively used by locals in the past. We also acquired a beautiful, wooden Dhow boat and equipped it with oars.
A second location required a 'Village Square', to be built between two existing mud huts. The houses were decorated as a 'Salting House' and a fully functioning 'Steam Room'. One of the last, most iconic sets in the Village Square was the 'Slaughter House'.

A lot of the hand props I purchased were antiques from the region, these included knives and machetes, traditional weighing scales, water and coffee jugs, etc. Our boys in the Props department created spears and harpoons for our hunters, which were often also used as dressing. The sets were really brought to life by our DOP, Joao Ribeiro, who used the locations to his artistic advantage.

War Machine

(2016)
Directed By David Michôd
Netflix, Plan B Entertainment, twofour54

Petty Cash Buyer: A satire of America's war with Afghanistan focusing on the people running the campaign. As the only Petty Cash of the UAE crew, it was my responsibility to source and buy items for a military camp, a “Beer Garden” where the soldiers relaxed, and a very busy street on which we had to dress over 100 existing shop fronts to resemble 2005 Jalalabad.