Step inside Sal's Diner, a project designed by Virtual Production Designer, Stephanie Bonnes as part of the Specialist Placement Program supported by Vicscreen. Sal's Diner is one of many projects Stephanie has been working on whilst completing this program at Dreamscreen.
Sal's diner was a film set built on a tight budget at Dreamscreen Australia's film studio. Set in the 1950's, this no-frills American diner is a converted train carriage with an ironic aviation theme. As the production designer, it was my job to bring the look and feel to life and dress the set to tell the story.
Pictured: Stephanie Bonnes on set at Sal's Diner
"The key was in the little details that show you this place has been around for a while."
It took several weeks of online shopping, scouring op shops, and sketchy Facebook Marketplace meetups to piece together the props that would make any old kitchen look like a diner.
"When you have all the right elements, the set will come alive on its own."
On the day, it was critical to make final art assessments through the lens of the camera. The whole set evolves and comes alive on the monitor and it was fascinating to see the translation in real time.
Liaising with the director and the DOP meant the whole look and feel could be cohesive and we could make advantageous decisions together.
"Why use an LED wall?"
What you don't see in this shoot is a greenscreen. The location itself was a retro airfield - something not easily accessible to small Melbournian filmmakers. The LED wall allowed me to build in a location I couldn't otherwise have used. It also allowed us to turn the diner into a night scene without changing locations or waiting until after hours.
What isn't so obvious, though, is all the light spilling in from all the windows - it looks like natural midday. You're catching sky reflections in the glassware, cutlery, and even on the sides of the actor's faces that is accurate to the location. If that had been greenscreen, there would have been a huge amount of post-production work needed to remove all those traces.
Using the LED screens meant I walked away with near-final footage on the day.
A big thank you to the Dreamscreen crew for their knowledge and support during this production.