How ‘Whalefall’ Production Designer Ramsey Avery Built the Creature’s Stomach Using Mattress Foam and Silicone Bits

Production designer Ramsey Avery built practical whale sets for *Whalefall* to make Jay’s ordeal inside a sperm whale feel claustrophobic and physically convincing. The production combined large water-based sets and moving props with digital effects, helping create an intense underwater adventure.

Avery researched whale anatomy with biomedical scientist Joy Reidenberg and used footage of other marine mammals to understand how stomachs move when filled with fluid. The main stomach set was built from two to three inches of upholstery foam, layered translucent silicone, canvas and glue; it was about eight feet wide and six feet tall when expanded, but usually compressed to roughly sleeping-bag size. Four stomachs on different rigs helped simulate the whale’s movement, and the main set supported six weeks of filming.