Production Design- Life of Pi

 Hailey Spencer  

Film Appreciation 

FILM 115-IN1

Professor Trevor 

November 10th, 2025 

    When I was in the 8th grade, I read the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I remember being absolutely obsessed with it, taking every opportunity I had to read more. This was a book I struggled to put down, and I have nothing but fond memories of reading it. There were even times I got emotional after reading certain chapters, especially after Pi's family drowned on the sinking ship. Not long after finishing the book, I immediately rented the film and watched it with my family. After watching it, I was beyond impressed. It managed to bring the book to life in a way I never could have imagined. In addition to the story and special effects, the production design itself was nothing short of incredible. 

    One example of the amazing production design utilized in this film was the creation of the massive, custom-built wave tank. After watching behind-the-scenes footage, I learned that the world's largest self-generating wave tank was built on an abandoned airport tarmac in Taiwan. This 1.7 million-gallon tank was used for all of the ocean scenes in the film. This made the ocean appear not only realistic but incredibly vast, and made Pi seem extremely isolated. The film's production designer, David Gropman, and his team also focused on making the lifeboat look authentic, aging the boat through various paint finishes and adding scratch marks to give it the appearance of having been at sea for a very long time. 

    Another example of this film's excellent production design is the island Pi and the tiger, Richard Parker, stumble upon. In the book, it is viewed as an allegory or symbol, but David Gropman did a fantastic job adapting it to the big screen. The island itself was a combination of physical sets built on a soundstage in Taichung, Taiwan, and CGI. Because Gropman decided to use both physical and digital sets to create the island, Pi's actor, Suraj Sharma, was actually able to interact with man-made bayan trees, allowing him to have realistic interactions with his environment, something much harder to do had he chosen to make the island purely digital. Additionally, David Gropman's decision to incorporate CGI with the physical sets enhances the overall production of the scene. The digital enhancements create this dream-like "otherworldly" glow that appears around the island, directly playing into the idea that the island itself is symbolic of Pi's struggle to survive as well as his psychological and spiritual journey. 

    Lastly, there is the lifeboat itself. Gropman and his team chose to build the lifeboat out of steel, inspired by the design of 1940s steel lifeboats. It was crafted from heavy fiberglass and had wooden internal support struts. Several lifeboats were used during filming for various scenes, including one designed specifically for the enormous wave tank. Gropman wanted to make the boat appear historically accurate, and had the interior painted orange while the exterior was white. This film's production design also seems to utilize a specific color palette, as blues dominate the sky, ocean, and pools, while orange is associated with the tiger.     

    Overall, Life of Pi is a truly phenomenal film with incredible production design that allows the audience to understand and connect with Pi throughout his journey. By using a blend of practical and digital techniques, the audience is better able to immerse themselves in the environment and feel just as isolated as Pi is. It's a visually stunning experience, further enhanced by the 1.7 million-gallon tank built to simulate the ocean. I was beyond impressed by how well this film faithfully adapts the book, and just how above and beyond the filmmakers went, especially David Gropman. The production design truly leaps off the screen and made me feel like I was reading the book all over again.