Back in February I had a chance to talk with one of the crew members from Inception. Turns out that hallway fight scene was not CGI, they did that for real:
However, more interesting were his comments on Christopher Nolan (a bit chaotic in his shooting style), since he worked with him on Inception and The Dark Knight. He showed me a video of the rig they used for a hallway scene in the film, which was larger than a semi-truck’s trailer, that completely rotated. He went on to explain that they rubberized everything inside and painted it so the actors inside could roll around and fight. They also locked down a camera inside the hallway and used a camera crane that could go inside the moving rig. Evidently I’m one of the only guys outside of the film industry to see his little cell phone video of this rig.
A good chunk of us who have just seen Inception have started debating over whether Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Cobb is still stuck in the dream world. The film’s final shot is his totem spinning on the table and before we see if it topples (a sign of being in the real world), it cuts to black.
Throughout the film we regularly see flashes of Cobb’s children as he remembers them right before he goes on the run. His young daughter appears in a light red dress and his son in some plaid shirt. Now, if we are to apply the A Beautiful Mind theorem, we might be able to deduce whether Cobb is awake or dreaming.
The main maxim of big budget Hollywood filmmaking is “Make it Safe.” Don’t stray from basic storytelling tropes and structures, and don’t be too smart in case you go over the audience’s head. In the end, you want to ensure that you will get a return on your investment. Thus, the prospect of losing hundreds of millions of dollars makes a lot of mainstream films ride along in the mediocrity lane of the film freeway. Continue reading →
The L.A. Times recently interviewed Christopher Nolan (director of Memento, The Dark Knight) about his third, and last, Batman film and his involvement with the next Superman film.
In my post on Batman 3 and Inception, I made qualified statements based on conversations with my source on the set of Burke and Hare. This evening I was able to clarify what he said:
The sets for Batman 3 will be constructed toward the end of the year.
Inception, not The Dark Knight, was the film that was under budget, prompting Nolan to have the crew build an extra set (no word if said set was used in the film).
In the earlier post about the Burke and Hare film shoot, I mentioned a source’s experience with Christopher Nolan on the Batman films and Inception.
I forgot to mention that he also said sets were either being constructed, or will soon be constructed, for the third Batman, with the possibility of shooting toward the end of the year. He also said that they were coming under budget at the end of The Dark Knight, so they built a whole extra set (possible usage in the third film).
UPDATE:
I spoke with my source to clarify this info. See this post for more.
Last night I was on the set for a small scene of John Landis’ latest, Burke and Hare. The scene feature Andy Serkis and Simon Pegg running down an alley, chasing something, until Pegg notices a strange sound. In the video below, they turn around and director Landis is the one describing the CGI barrel coming toward them, going over their head (“BOUNCE!”), and crashing behind camera.
Serkis, Pegg, and Landis didn’t stray into the crowd to talk much. I was behind the crew since I was their first, but I just got a nod from the celebs as they passed by. Didn’t seem interested in mingling.
It was interesting to see so much money/effort go into such a small scene. They’re shooting in Sterling today and tomorrow, then returning to Edinburgh to shoot Thursday-Saturday morning. A friend of mine already knows where they’re shooting on Friday.
I got a lot of info from a guy on set. He says it’s a 7 week shoot and they just got back from London. They’re using two cameras (blurry picture below) to maximize time.
However, more interesting was his comments on Christopher Nolan (a bit chaotic in his shooting style), since he worked with him on Inception and The Dark Knight. He showed me a video of the rig they used for a hallway scene in the film, which was larger than a semi-truck’s trailer, that completely rotated. He went on to explain that they rubberized everything inside and painted it so the actors inside could roll around and fight. They also locked down a camera inside the hallway and used a camera crane that could go inside the moving rig. Evidently I’m one of the only guys outside of the film industry to see his little cell phone video of this rig.
Trucks and lighting equipment.
This is probably the angle they'll shoot the scene from, since there's a restaurant in the opposite direction.
Dressing the set to hide the new. They also installed old wooden signs.
Rustic carts and hay for that turn of the century look.
This is how you light a set when you can't get a cherry picker lighting kit in: it's a balloon with lights inside.
Waiting for dark with the balloon light rig.
Sorry about the quality. Not enough light and flash wasn't allowed.
The Filmsmith 