“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always” Production Designer on Paying Homage to the Original Series with Contemporary Designs

Published on in Exclusive Interviews

We recently spoke with Tracey Collins, the production designer of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always, about her experience working on a film with such an iconic history. The special was released on April 19 as a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the Power Rangers franchise in general.

Featuring many of the original series’ beloved stars, the special follows an unlikely young hero taking her place among the Power Rangers team to face off against their oldest archnemesis.

Tracey approached this project wanting to honor as much as she could from the original production while also giving it a more contemporary edge. For example, she was dedicated to incorporating original set pieces like the juice bar’s neon signs into the new sets, as well as honoring the design of the original Megazord, though she sharpened it up and gave it more contemporary geometric angles. Ultimately, her goal was to increase the production value while maintaining the style and time of the original production.

PH: Hi there Tracey! Can you share a bit about your professional background? How did you get into production design?  

Tracey Collins: I graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts, University Of Auckland in New Zealand. My majors in the 3D Design department were Product Design & Design for Live Performance. While I was at art school, I was already designing for theatre, opera, and musicals. I naturally continued freelancing as a set and costume designer once I left university, designing many different shows for leading NZ Theatre Companies. I toured nationally and to various arts festivals around the world. As the film & TV industry started expanding in NZ, I had my first opportunity in the costume department as a costume props supervisor, then a costume designer role led to becoming a production designer very quickly. I hadn’t worked in the art department in other roles before becoming a production designer, but my theatre designing experience gave me a lot of experience designing, making props, draughting and scenic painting. So, it was more of a move sideways into the film & TV Industry. I design for NZ productions, and more recently for US-based productions wanting to shoot in New Zealand. I would really like the opportunity to design and work in different countries hopefully in the near future.

PH: Can you talk about some of your past work and how those experiences have shaped your work today? 

Tracey Collins: Designing for the theatre gave me a lot of skills, such as working and designing economically yet boldly. I’m very good at reusing elements and transforming them into something else for another set or story point. I use many “theatrical learned tricks or processes” to create the illusion of there being more than there really is. Collaboration is a very strong aspect of my working process. In theatre, I would design for productions alongside the actors in rehearsals. Sometimes there were scripts and sometimes not, and the productions were physical or improvised instead. I would be designing alongside the company, creating the work in rehearsals. I learned to be flexible and adaptable as ideas evolved, and I like to create a strong sense of visual language that all collaborators in all departments can be a part of. It helps everyone make informed decisions in their work, and it does evolve as the production’s process develops. I enjoy a deep collaborative process and much communication with all departments, and I enjoy having conversations that inform the “world we are creating” together for a more unified look to the production. 

PH: How do you go about selecting a project to work on? Do you have a certain criteria you follow?  

Tracey Collins: The people involved, and the script or story, inform my initial interest. The characters are very important to me, I like to know I can understand them and can create great sets, good character props, and dressings that work well for them. I enjoy developing a believable visual language or narrative that supports the characters and the writing. As soon as I read the script or just have a good early conversation, I find visual language starts forming in my mind right away. It may be fragmented elements, such as shapes, volume, form, colors, textures, or a kind of light or atmosphere. I trust these instincts and keep mood boarding images to keep developing the visual language of the project, and I continue this process through pre production and into the shoot.  

PH: How did you become involved with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always 

Tracey Collins: Chip Lynn was the executive producer for Power Rangers Dino Fury. I was interviewed by him, and we hit it off. I remember drawing characters while in our meeting; it was an interesting interview. We just started right away. I also designed Ninja Steel & Beast Morphers with Chip. When Chip went back to the states, Simon Bennett became the new executive producer for Power Rangers Dino Fury. He had previously been a director on Ninja Steel & Beast Morphers. I already had a great working relationship with Simon from designing other film, TV and theatre productions with him. We already had a very strong visual language working together. MMPR Once & Always was a surprise project. I was already working on pre-concepts for Cosmic Fury with Simon Bennett when I learned of Once & Always, so our production and our art department worked on both of these at the same time in prep until we got nearer to the shoot. Once & Always was first, then 3 weeks later we started shooting Cosmic Fury.

PH: Can you describe what your creative approach and process was coming into this project?  

Tracey Collins: My approach for MMPR Once & Always was a little different to other Power Rangers seasons. It was a 30th Anniversary special, and it was a feature in its own right, with a huge amount of history and a huge fan base who loved the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It was a little intimidating at first, but I just got stuck in researching and rewatching the original many times while forming a plan for the design process. Simon and I were very keen to really honor the original series, while upgrading the production values for a contemporary audience sensibility. We wanted the original fan base to really enjoy it, while any new audience could enjoy it also.  

PH: How important was it to you to honor the original production? Can you talk about some of the elements you incorporated into the new film?  

Tracey Collins: It felt really important to me, and Hasbro also felt it was very important, to honor the original production. Our new sets we designed and built: Amber Beach Gym & Juice Bar, the Ranger Base Command Centre, Robo Rita’s Palace, and the Dino Megazord Cockpit, were all sets in the original MMPR. These sets were carefully designed after researching in detail the original sets. We wanted to create instant “very recognisable” moments for the fans in the new set designed spaces.

We also reimagined and re-designed our bad guy characters also to be instantly recognisable, yet upgraded in materiality and finishes for our contemporary audiences: Rita Repulsa became Robo Rita, The Minotaur became Robo Mighty Minotaur, and Snizard became Robo Snizzard.

PH: Did you encounter any challenges trying to increase production value while maintaining the style of the original? How did you navigate those challenges? 

Tracey Collins: There were challenges which we worked our way through as we came to them. Often it was a visual balancing act of enough recognisability, while adding upscaled production values, and keeping true to the original tone. For example, the Ranger Base Command Centre. I loved the circular universe space of the set, and I worked with this circular form and layout in our new set. The circular shape was familiar and worked well for our actions. I wanted to ground the set space from the original floating fairy light cloth in the background into being more a part of the set, a more integrated space. We designed new light-box graphic universe panels that were more hi-tech and sci-fi looking. A black glossy paint finish, with integrated LED light panels built in the walls, screen monitors, and furniture elements. We streamlined and sharpened the look of the set with a more contemporary aesthetic, giving it a more sci-fi, hi-tech sensibility. 

Robo Rita’s Moonbase Palace utilized structural forms from Rita Repulsa’s original palace set: the pillars, the curved arch entrances, and some of the astrological design elements, which helped it to be more recognisable. We contrasted these original based set forms with a real textured moonbase finish to the set. Rather than the more flatly painted original, our set was very textural. I wanted her palace to really feel on the moon. Of course, it was a bit dilapidated, as 30 years had passed. We even put a giant earth lightbox out the front of Rita’s famous balcony railing. We built her original set railing as exactly as we could. The balustrades were turned in timber, and then we aged it, and added moon texture and a dust finish for the 30 years of dilapidation.

PH: Can you dive deep into some of your favorite design creations/choices and how you brought those to life?  

Tracey Collins: I’ll just pick a few things to discuss, as I enjoyed creating all of it, really. Billy Cranston’s Radbug 2 was a highlight. We only decided to have it in the last few weeks of prep, so it was a bit of a scramble. We found a great Volkswagen Beetle straight away; it was a convertible, and it was metallic blue, which was good for us. I wanted the Radbug 2 to be really cool, so I took a “pimp my ride” approach to it. We added sculptural elements to the front car bonnet, to reflect the original Radbug look. Our construction department actually carved these shapes quite quickly as “one offs,” as there was no time to do any big scale molding and casting. There was a lovely wood grain existing dashboard. I decided to extend this into the back boot area, so we built a board. Additionally, a scenic did a wood grain finish, and we added two speakers. It was starting to feel “pimped” now. Then, we added a cream colored speed stripe along the side, and we painted a cream panel on the bonnet. This color was a visual match to the original Radbug. 

The Time Hacker prop machine was also a favorite design. It was so detailed, and it was a big part of the story's actions. This prop was original to MMPR Once & Always, and the inspiration for the design was part Robo Rita’s astrological magic feel and part invented “evil monster world” style, an “evil world” hi-tech sci-fi prop gadget. There were hundreds of pieces to this structure, especially the astro wheel form: there were 24 segments in the circle form, and 30 laser and CNC cut pieces to each segment. The pieces were made out of acrylic sheet, and thin MDF timber. Then, the timber pieces were painted with metallic finishes. The acrylic panels allowed light through and gave the prop machine a glowing effect. We also had lengths of LED lighting strung through the structure.

PH: What did it feel like to be a part of the 30 years of Power Rangers celebration?  

Tracey Collins: Very exciting. It’s been really amazing and quite humbling, to see how many fans loved the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and really enjoy the new Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always. The original cast were generous, and contributed a lot to the story and process, with their knowledge. It was an honor to be a part of this project and process. 

PH: What's a big focus for you this year (personally or professionally)?   

Tracey Collins: I’ve been doing some 3D design work for the Volume wall (similar to Unreal Engine). It's been exciting to design some virtual sets and prop elements. I'd like to continue developing this, and also I enjoy what I’m learning with more collaboration with camera, lighting, and VFX departments. I enjoy learning new skills generally. The more we collaborate, the more our work really integrates, so this is important to me. Personally and professionally are similar focuses to me, they work well and are integrated. I love to travel, also. Ideally I would work more internationally, so I am also traveling.  

PH: Can you share any upcoming projects you have in the works?   

Tracey Collins: I’m very excited about Power Rangers Cosmic Fury coming out later in 2023. I felt very extended in the design process, and learnt and pushed myself to do my best work. I look forward to seeing this on screen. 

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