MIT Graduate Program in Comparative Media Studies

Studying Media and Making Media

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io9: “What Is David Bowie Doing In Dr. Manhattan’s Sweet Pad?”

Futures of Entertainment 3

On November 21 2008, the Futures of Entertainment 3 conference took place at MIT, and moderator Henry Jenkins joined Alisa Perren (from Georgia State University) and super-designer Alex McDowell at MIT to discuss the work behind making Watchmen so beautiful. For over 100 minutes, they talked set design, easter eggs, how some movies fail in the marketing department (Fight Club) and how they’ve all remained pretty on top of Watchmen to keep things like the toys (which will be featured in the movie) top notch.

But most interesting were the stills McDowell shared with the crowd that allowed us into Dr. Manhattan’s apartment and inside a few other rooms in Watchmen. Even though Zack Snyder admits he followed the comic-book panel storyboard style of directing, there were a few places that weren’t terribly fleshed out in the novel, where Snyder could have a little fun.

Read more at io9 . . .

About Andrew Whitacre

Andrew directs the communications efforts for CMS/W and its research groups. A native of Washington, D.C., he holds a degree in communication from Wake Forest University, with a minor in humanities, as well as an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College.

His work includes drawing up and executing strategic communications plans, with projects including website design, social media management and training, press outreach, product launches, fundraising campaign support, and event promotions.