Hunger Games Art

Interview with Mockingjay Pin Designer Dana Schneider

Check out a terrific LarkCrafts interview with Dana Schneider, who sculpted the metal mockingjay pin used in the films based on the illustration by Tim O’Brien.

Tell me about making the mockingjay pin for The Hunger Games.
Well, with The Hunger Games, the design was already established. The pin is on the cover of the first book. So it was an incredible challenge to replicate something that’s so clear in the minds of so many fans. Getting it right involved months of meetings, models, and plane trips. [Dana now lives in her hometown of Canton, Ohio, and “commutes” to her film work.]
I carved the original by hand using lost-wax casting. It is sterling silver plated with 22-karat gold and with an antique finish applied. It took a while to get that aged look right. And it took six different models to work out things such as where to solder the arrow on the pin and how to make it look delicate and yet have it still be functional.
When working on a movie, you have many different things to take into account. Jennifer Lawrence’s main costume was canvas, so the pin had to look delicate but be able go through several thick layers of canvas. And because I’d read the book, when the costume designer asked me to make the mockingjay pin, I knew immediately that I’d also be making the pin for the stunt double. You don’t want the stunt double to be hurt when wearing a piece of jewelry—that’s number one. You always have to think about things like that when making jewelry for movies.

[LarkCrafts via Mockingjay.net]