DARK MATTER: Season 3 Set Visit! [VIDEO]

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Camera Rolling

We walk onto set just as bells ring, announcing that the cameras are rolling, so we keep on going to the Art Department instead. The colourful walls are filled with concept drawings including some for EOS-7 escape pods which Mallozzi teases in his interview, and the “clock not clock”.

The department’s quiet calm is overtaken by two 3D printers working tirelessly to make some of the fantastic unique props that give Dark Matter its distinctive feel.

The first thing we see is the blink drive! Fans will be eager to find out how integral this is to season three. 2nd assistant art director Victor Mare shows us some of the printers’ finished products, from door bolts to engines to a mini Raza!

Victor designs then builds the objects on specialist computer software that allows him to look at every single layer of the item before printing it. “Not all the objects are solid; it would take a lot longer to print, but it would be solid inside, and heavier.”

One of the biggest objects  they’re printing is a robotic arm. “It’s 25 pieces but they’re designed to fit together perfectly.” That’s a lot of printing!

Production designer Ian Brock spoils a few of the new locations as he takes us through some of the concept art for season three.“This is a space kitchen in a factory that we’re working on right now; this is an army camp sort of thing.”

The art department is also responsible for all the graphics you see on interactive screens in the show (such as the screens on the bridge of the Raza). Graphic designer Roxanne is responsible for the physical signage we see on the show, and she decorates her own office door with her work.

The team explain how attention to detail is key: you never want to see anything that’s contemporary Earth. So Roxanne and the art department come up with the tiniest of details they put all over the sets.

We then eagerly head on to set, where we find out how the nose of the Raza comes off to allow for more shooting angles. But how do they get that travelling-through-space look? There are a couple of ways. The star field that they fly across has reflective little pieces, so when it’s hit  by light (coming from the bridge) it looks like stars. The other way is a green screen they go past for the FTL look because it has a pulsating beam.

 

After a quick stop in the engine core which houses the blink drive we enter the infamous vault!

The huge doors are striking. Ruby Rose’s evilbot may have long been removed from the massive room but the box remains and there are plenty of props and set decoration to maintain its mystery.

Apparently the vault doors couldn’t open in season one but they found a special person to rectify that. The doors are on pulleys and the on-set carpenter operates them on demand. He’s waiting on the walkie and when they call, “Doors!” he closes them and makes sure they don’t bounce shut. A lot of them have magnets, because there’s nothing worse than a bouncing space door!

As if to illustrate the point, filming starts with the assistant director shouting “Doors!” He follows this up with, “Bang! Bang! Bang!” It’s hard not to laugh at a grown man emulating kids playing cowboys, but he’s not just fooling about. For safety reasons, guns don’t actually fire and the sound of the firing is added in post production. So the AD’s “Bang!”-ing gives the actor something to react to.

Without giving anything away, we’re privileged to watch a fight scene on the Raza. Writer/producer  Ivon Bartok is also watching. He explains that the second unit (filming team) is using this set to film stunts and fight scenes while the main unit is simultaneously filming other scenes on the nearby set, with Ron Murphy directing the episode. The season premiere episode is written by  Joe Mallozzi and Paul Mullie. It’s always nice to have a producer on set to kind of make sense of it all, because there’s always a million questions to answer, especially from cast. It’s usually a lot of logic stuff, and certain cast members ask more questions, so it’s good to be around. Plus directors have a million things to do!

We then enter FIVE’s room, which is full of gadgets, and we waste no time in trying out the bed. With foam pillows and a silver bedspread it’s surprisingly comfy for space quarters. The room actually has multiple doorways: one to a bathroom, one to a sealed room. If you’ve noticed that the bedrooms are different colours (FOUR’s quarters are a bit more blue and SIX’s more yellow) it’s because they try to design the bedrooms around the characters and their personalities.

As we step onto the bridge it’s easy to see and feel why it’s the show’s most formidable set. Buttons and screens light up and display fake telemetry and, of course, the pilots’ chairs swivel – a must on a spaceship. The chairs also go up and down. When the actors are in them they have blocks to jam the mechanism so it’s the right height for each actor. Otherwise, if Jodelle sits in the same chair as Roger you can barely see her!

The huge bay window looks out onto the warehouse floor and it’s become a favourite place for extras to hang out when they have downtime. It’s also a favourite among the production team as everyone likes to play on this set and press the buttons for the first time!

 

 

Given the amount of attacks and damage the Raza has taken, is season three finally the time to remodel? Apparently not, as they explain the way they look at the Raza is like an old beat-up truck that keeps going and every time you get in it, it just somehow looks the same. Most of the exciting new stuff is on-planet or on the space station.

Whilst rehearsals continue, Hilda explains her social media role for the show. “I watch each episode  three or four times; first to just know what’s going on, then to create GIFs and then to double-check it and then to know exactly when to Tweet/post as it airs. My Friday nights are completely taken up  by Dark Matter, but it’s a lot of fun.”

They certainly seem to be engaging their fan base, aptly named the Raza Crew.

So what is the coolest job on set? Shooting zirks (special blanks), that’s what. They are shot out of a modified paintball gun, and contain zirconium so the impact creates a spark.

For this scene a special FX crew member is perched in a corridor out of shot, firing the zirks at an actor on command with precision, with stunning effect. They can also add some “zirk sparks” in post production. It’s a great example of the unusual jobs you only find on TV/film sets. And it’s an unusual workplace as we happen upon a gun that fans would recognise as Bubba.

The Man In Charge

We head back to the production offices to meet Joe Mallozzi and realise his office is like the man himself – colourful – with various intriguing items adorning his bookcase and walls, both nerdy and otherwise. After discussing some of the awesome action and wardrobe we’d just witnessed Joe was more than happy to tease us about, we sat down to discuss season three.

It’s day 11 of shooting and Mallozzi is hard at work on episode nine’s script. On top of that he writes a daily blog, which includes sneak peeks from set – a must-read for Dark Matter fans who relish spoilers.

FOR MORE FROM BEHIND THE SCENES OF DARK MATTER, INCLUDING INTERVIEWS WITH CAST, CLICK ON PAGE 3 BELOW!