How
do
you
transform
snowy
winters
into
vibrant
autumn
while
keeping
the
cool
undertones
intact
because
you
are
still
designing
for
a
film
called
'Frozen'
whose
heroine
has
magical
icy
powers?
This
is
where
the
colour
palette
becomes
significant.
While
as
an
audience,
we
are
drawn
to
a
scene
where
everything
from
the
setting,
action,
music,
sound
and
colour
work
together
to
create
an
impression
on
us,
we
do
not
individually
dissect
how
each
factor
is
contributing
to
our
overall
experience
of
the
emotion
in
that
scene.
But
every
component
does
its
bit
in
holding
the
film
together.
For
a
story
that
is
characterised
by
the
more
graver
concepts
of
change,
renewal;
set
in
the
backdrop
of
autumn
in
an
enchanted
forest,
the
production
designers
had
to
be
careful
to
not
let
the
bright
colours
of
fall
take
away
the
darker
theme
of
the
story
and
the
icy
qualities
of
its
heroine.
To
perform
this
delicate
balancing
act,
the
filmmakers
travelled
to
Norway,
Finland
and
Iceland
to
study
the
landscapes,
people
and
cultures.
Production
designer
Michael
Giaimo
said
that
the
bursting
reds
and
yellows
of
autumn
countered
the
traditional
world
of
Frozen.
"A
fall
palette
means
an
incredibly
vibrant
environment
with
striking
colours
that
I
was
initially
concerned
that
it
would
pull
focus
from
our
characters,
or
look
like
a
new
place
and
time," says
Giaimo.
"But
we
were
able
to
create
a
Frozen
version
of
fall
that
still
felt
cool.
We
minimised
the
yellows
in
favour
of
oranges,
orange-reds
and
red-violets.
It's
distinctive
to
our
world."
Besides
that,
Arendelle
was
designed
primarily
to
look
good
in
a
winter
environment.
The
change
of
season
posed
a
challenge
to
make
these
buildings
look
good
against
a
new
backdrop
that
included
not
just
trees
and
leaves
but
also
fall
decorations.
David
Womersley,
art
director
of
environments,
says,
"Some
buildings
were
originally
designed
to
look
good
against
(the)
snow.
Not
only
did
we
have
to
remove
the
snow
from
the
ones
we
wanted
to
reuse;
we
also
had
to
make
them
look
good
against
a
fall
backdrop." And
so,
the
colour
palette
was
expertly
tweaked
to
keep
it
faithful
to
the
story
and
the
season
in
which
it
is
set.
The
end
result
being,
the
audience
does
not
find
the
changes
jarring
or
out
of
place,
in
fact,
they'll
probably
never
even
know!