How production designer Howard Cummings brought the Fallout universe to the screen

For production designer Howard Cummings, the Fallout series became a verb. While working on Amazon’s adaptation of the iconic video game series, Cummings and his team used the word “Fallout” to describe the franchise’s signature retrofuturistic, post-apocalyptic style.

Speaking to The Verge, he explained:

Everything had to fall out. For locations, I would say, “How can I fallout on this grocery store?

This approach was not originally planned. Going into the job, Cummings, who had previously worked on the Westworld and Lovecraft Country series, knew little about gaming and thought the visual style would have to be adapted to make it more accessible. But after studying the materials, everything changed. After watching videos of fans building their own Vaults and Pip-Boys and studying wiki articles, Cummings became enamored with the franchise’s mix of playfulness and darkness.

The script was so well connected to the games that we decided to completely follow their style. Nobody demanded this of me, which was just wonderful. I did it this way because I really liked it.

After a while I got into a groove and began to understand what makes something fallout. And that meant paying close attention to detail.”

The Underground Vaults, for example, had unique features like triangular bolts and multiple metal arches, all of which were custom-made for the show.

We had our own laser cutting and thermoforming factory. In my office there was a whole row of 3D printers for small parts.

To create the Philly settlement, it was necessary to “fallout” a small city, making it predominantly metal, with buildings up to 18 meters high, not counting the airplane fuselage lying on the roofs. According to Cummings, more than 30 welders worked on set every day.

One of the elements of the universe that Cummings especially loved were the Red Rocket gas stations with their characteristic sloped roofs and huge red rockets. But they weren’t originally in the script, so Cummings begged showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet to let Red Rocket be made.

The team eventually found an active 1950s gas station in Nyack, New York, and the owner gave them five days to work. This meant three days of preparation, one day of filming, and another day of getting the gas station back up and running.

But not all locations underwent falloutization. In the games, scenes of the antebellum world typically featured idyllic suburban houses in the style of 1950s sitcoms. But for the birthday episode in the house of a wealthy executive, a different atmosphere was required. Instead of “fallouting,” Cummings and the designers created a stylish, mostly glass house in a futuristic Googie style. This different setting still fit into the period and aesthetic of Fallout – and made one of the show’s most tragic scenes even more dramatic.

If an atomic bomb falls overhead, then living in a glass house is definitely not worth it.

Meanwhile, fans are already collecting wishes for the second season.