The Rig 2
“Lets make it like an oil rig, but in the future.”
The Rig 2 was created by dreamers. Everyone involved pushed the boundaries of what an oil rig could look like. As an Art Department, we were given the rare opportunity to embrace true blue-sky thinking.
From the outset, Stephen Mason had some incredible ideas, and it was immediately exciting to be part of the project. He wanted to challenge expectations of what a rig could be — from its shapes and textures to the overall construction language. It quickly became clear that these sets would be highly screen-driven, with graphics playing a key role in defining the world. The screens became set dressing in motion: they lit the characters and helped establish the futuristic atmosphere expected of a next-generation rig.
The goal was to create a UI system that could adapt across all departments. The control room, laboratory, security, and mission control spaces all followed a shared visual language while maintaining their own distinct identities. We worked with a technical consultant who confirmed that the systems felt believable and were comparable to those used on real rigs — just designed with a forward-looking, near-future aesthetic. Once we had that validation, we felt confident pushing the designs even further.
Production Designer: Pat Campbell
Supervising Art Director: Kevin Woodhouse
Assistant Graphic Designer: Gary Ireland
Graphic Designer Dailies: Angie Brown
Adding Motion
Adding motion and animation to the dressing screens was essential in making the environments feel alive. Rather than relying on static graphics, we designed subtle looping animations, live data feeds, and system diagnostics that suggested constant activity, even when they weren’t the focus of the scene. Small details like scrolling data, waveform activity, and system status changes helped sell the idea that the rig was always operating in real time.
Branding and signage
Going in, the Production Designer wanted to revise the Pictor logo used on the previous series to work with the new rig, along with the language and style of all the signage.
