2017
20th Century Studios
Alien: Covenant
DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott
COSTUME DESIGN: Janty Yates
Ridley Scott’s Alien Covenant involved the creation of perhaps the most striking spacesuit we’ve ever made: Big Yellow.
This eye-catching design, worn by Danny McBride’s character Tennessee and Alexander England’s Ankor, was inspired by set dec suits from Prometheus. Ridley Scott liked them so much he wanted to use the props as a functional costume for the next movie in the franchise, meaning costume designer Janty Yates and associate costume designer Micheal Mooney were tasked with conjuring a design that could work both visually and practically. Rather than looking up into the stars, Michael’s research focussed on the remarkable JIM atmospheric deep sea diving suits from the 1970s.
The finished piece was a thing of beauty, fabricated from strong, light carbon fibre, 3D printed and vacuum cast materials, including the highly polished visors. It was fully articulated and, unusually, did not include any soft costume elements. Nothing like it had been made before, meaning a great deal of R&D would be required!
This was a high-tech helmet with lights galore, a functioning fan incorporated into the design rather than being hidden away, screens, banks of LEDs and a working GoPro. A laser tool, used as part of the story, was incorporated into the glove. The electrics were designed and made in-house and controlled remotely.
Perhaps the most vital consideration was articulation, with 3D printed prototypes created to test what would prove to be an impressive range of motion, all made possible by 3D printed bearings.
Details were a huge part of this suit, with Michael Mooney’s intricately designed brass etchings and stickers lending a feeling of realism. And of course, it was beautifully art finished by FBFX’s brilliant paint team.
All this, and it needed to be flown! The suit was constructed so it could be safely attached to a moving crane arm, and dressed while attached to the crane. To ensure Danny McBride was comfortable, lightweight, breathable spacer fabric was used inside the suit for padding.
For the lighter IVA suits, a more simple design was called for. FBFX built the hardware for these lighter spacesuits intended for interior use, with a few clever elements incorporated.
On the set of Alien: Covenant in Australia, Janty Yates told Adam Savage:
"We’ve learned so much about the helmets over the years, we’ve become technological geniuses I think! Optically clear visors, lighting the actors in the film with no other lighting - keeping them alive!”
“FBFX, who are the best in the world, came up with the pivots on every single joint. It is a thing of extraordinary genius.”