As filmed "Bordman"

• How filmed "Bordman"

The film "Birdman" was conceived by director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu as an experiment. He did not know what would happen, and invited all just to participate in it together. And it is the originality of the approach has attracted the majority of the project participants. Michael Keaton agreed to a role by "about 11 seconds", "I like the originality and singularity, - he says. - I'm attracted to such difficulties. " The main task set by the director in front of his team - shooting with one camera and one double, influenced the design of the sets and take a very dense work production designer Kevin Thompson with the operator Emmanuel Lubezki.

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The work on the sets and film editing has begun rehearsals in Los Angeles. The pavilion studio Sony Dynamic fake scenery, allowing the team to change the linear parameters of the future premises was built: to lengthen or shorten the corridors, to expand the room, and so on. In other words, the size of the room to fit the scenario: how long the actors need to go down the hall to tell his lines?

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How fast they will go at the same time, it was necessary to remember, because the change has already built the scenery at the site, no one will. During rehearsals also lined up camera angles and camera movement. Sometimes, instead of people employed in the film the actors used to do this specifically hired extras. By the time filming began on the site all the frames have already been built.

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rehearsal shoot or edit, calculating where and how will later hide glue mounting! That is to say, almost the entire movie was ready "in draft" before the arrival of the crew in New York. In this process, we honed dialogue, change the script and build the rhythm of individual scenes. Recently, it was extremely important for the success of the picture.

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In order to maintain the desired rhythm on the court at Inarritu soundtrack was recorded with drum music. Drummer in the film appears more than once - both in the theater and in the alley outside. Music, wrote the Mexican Antonio Sanchez, he did 60 tracks in different emotional key scenes from the description Iñárritu. Drumroll represented the character's heartbeat. "It helped the actors get in the mood, and the chamber - in the rhythm of the scene" - says Lubezki. Composer Antonio Sanchez and Iñárritu

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The entire film takes place in the premises of the theater. In a historic theater locations St. James Theater on West 44th Street was selected. Inarritu lucky Broadway theaters are usually busy for years to come, in addition, the survey was conducted in the best season of "Tony" - the American theater "Oscar" when every theater tries to show all the best. But, surprisingly - at this moment the theater was a break: the previous production ended early due to the failure of the audience, and the theater was free the whole nine days on which and took his Iñárritu and his crew.

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The scene of the theater and its main entrance - a real location, and all other rooms - it sets specially built pavilion studio Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens. "It took us a long wide corridors and moving walls, - says Thompson, who liked the idea that everything takes place in the mind of the protagonist. - The narrow corridors of the theater did not allow to accommodate a person with stedikamom ".

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Built decoration should seamlessly integrate into locations and are closed over a maze of stairways, rooms, corridors and other facilities. As a result, Kevin Thompson built a labyrinth in the whole three floors. "I did it so that the audience could not understand the geometry of the entire premises," - says Thompson. All the stairs were wide enough to put a person on them with stedikamom, and in the room there were additional "technical" inputs made to facilitate the work of the crew.

Decorators filled the room every old theater props, weird furniture, paint cans and other trash, usual interior Broadway theaters. The insides of the theater were created so that the contrast with Hollywood glamor: shabby, textured walls, creative chaos, conflicting colors and textures.

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In addition, all the rooms of the theater are constantly in the process of change: they are preparing for the upcoming premiere. And these changes needed to be shown. Not to mention the fact that the closer the premiere time, the more the fear is focused in the mind of the character Keaton even begin to narrow the room, and put pressure on him. It also had to recreate. "The corridors are narrower, and the ceiling - below and shop, in which the hero buys alcohol, even changing their position, while we are in it - says Thompson - but viewers do not notice it. Since there are no visible mounting gluing viewer to "buy" on the trick. "

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To use the built-in lighting decoration light, rather than the usual kinosvet. Light sources of different temperatures were used to create additional contrast and voltage. "Alejandro wanted an emotional connection with the decoration, so I listened very carefully to his wishes on the feel of it", - says Thompson.

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The lighting in general was a big problem. "For example, in a scene where Michael Keaton sits in his dressing room before a mirror, the light bulb located on its perimeter, - says Lubezki - these bulbs will give an unwanted shadow in a moment, when we get up and go around the room. Therefore, the lighting was moving with us to look natural. When the camera floats through the room, next to her moving eight others. They move and light diffusers. It was like ballet. "

Shooting theater audiences too, submitted to the technical complexity: the band could not afford to hire extras for the entire theater, so the extras were alive only in the front seats and in the aisles. More seats were filled with dolls. "The lighting had to be very specific, - says Lubezki. - It is enough to illuminate the living and extras to withdraw into the shadows of dolls, so they are not visible in the shot. "

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The creative task - to make a movie so if it removed one plan, the project turned into a nightmare for operators, editors and actors. "If you are stopped in their phrase, you have to start all over again - says Iñárritu. - And if your partner just gave the best game of his life, no one will see it. "

"There was a moment when Edward Norton's first steps on the stage of the theater, - says Emma Stone - and then come and I'm taking him to the dressing room. Double lasted six minutes, and each time I was too fast or too slow. "You kill my movie!" - shouted Alejandro. Perhaps he even seriously meant it at some point, but the process is really forced to keep yourself on your toes. "

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"It's funny, says one of the editors pictures - when we were shooting on the roof, behind Emma Stone and Edward Norton was a huge stretch to face Tom Hanks. If we had left it in the frame, all the spectators would have thought that we put it there on purpose, because the allusion was too strong. Billboard replaced by a stage of postproduction. "

In the film there is a scene in which Michael Keaton's character is on the street in shorts and socks, to return to the theater, he had to pass through Times Square (by the way, in fact the theater of St. James can not go to Times Square, but that most of the film takes place in the mind of the character of Michael Keaton). The shooting took place in the spring of 2013. Inarritu long time trying to figure out how to remove it by deleting hit the frame of tourists, attracted by semi-nude view of the stars. In a typical case, it could be removed in a few assembly gluing, but not here, which required a long plan. Close area, too, it was not possible - on this film the team just did not have the budget - a picture shot at $ 18 million.

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Done Iñárritu accidentally stumbled upon the school music group from the Bronx The Marching Cobras of New York, who practiced in the park. And then he decided to hire a group of guys that they were a human shield between the half-naked actor and tourists to the area, diverting the attention of random people, while the star shoot surrounded by extras. However, labor law prohibiting members of the band to work at night. Iñárritu found a way out by collecting school graduates, former members of the orchestra, who gladly agreed to participate in the conceived. During the filming, when Keaton appeared in the square, they began to play louder, which attracted the crowd's attention turned away from the crew.

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Installation was carried all the filming - editor Douglas Kreis received deylis (captured per day) and watched as all joined to each other, and where to start shooting tomorrow. In this case, Iñárritu was willing to abide by the decision of the editor or another angle of the frame at the beginning of the next shots. The second editor - Stephen Mirrione worked out of Los Angeles, and mostly edited the footage with visual effects.

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Iñárritu banned editors to tell how much and where the installation gluing they did, but Lubezki operator gladly recounts that the longest shot lasted 15 minutes, and most of the rest - approximately 10. For the installation of paintings combined the technology invisible gluing, for some of the they took visual effects.

With this Iñárritu helped Montreal studio Rodeo FX, headed by VFX supervisor Ari Hanikyanom. Visual effects, one way or another, there are a 90-minute 119-minute tape. So, "documentary" style of shooting does not mean a lack of computer graphics!

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For example, in the scene when Riggan presents itself and Birdman soars over a bridge in New York. First, just levitate, and then - making a circle over the city. The scene in great detail previzualizirovali (previz - a rough rough animation created objects for forming a common frame composition). levitation scenes were filmed on location with the help of ropes, but for the rest Keaton filmed scenes later on the background of chromakeying, illuminating the actor LED panels with the image of the city. This technology was first applied to the film "Gravity", brought "Oscar" operator picture Emmanuel Lubezki. Halon studio made previz, and later developed Rodeo tehviz how this can be done, which made it possible to build a movement of the camera when shooting background.

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During shooting backgrounds operator Lubezki tacked on four more lens GoPro camera, and thus captures the image of the entire camera path 360 degrees, these frames are then used to illuminate the Michael Keaton. This has allowed to recreate the background lighting on the actor during the filming of hromakeynom pavilion. The image on the LED panels moving, displaying Riggana surrounding objects along the path of its flight through the city, so it is getting the right reflexes - from red bricks or from the sky.

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In another scene Riggan meets his alter ego Birdman while walking around New York. There were filming a stuntman wearing a Birdman suit, but the guys from Rodeo added CG wings, feathers and duplicated the face of Michael Keaton in the stunt. VFX Supervisor film Ara Khanikyan went into the studio Spectral Motion, which created the costume, and made the necessary photo references costume wings and textures. CG wings were built with the help of software Softimage XSI, in the image using ICE added speaker and simulations to animate the movement of feathers in the wind.

Concept costume design, created by double-holder of the award "Oscar" Albert Wolski

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As for the person of the actor, then utters dialogues Keaton filmed with three cameras RED EPIC using scattered light. Rodeo experts reproetsirovali kiberskan this image on his face.

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In another scene Riggan simulates an attack of aliens in the city, a kind of winged creature, a helicopter and a whole bunch of shells. Frames for these scenes Rodeo partially removed on location, after which they computer graphics. For example, exploding jeep removed via live pyrotechnics. After that, these images have inserted a projectile, the "tail" of him, and strengthened the explosion, adding more digital fire and shrapnel.

Helicopter and other explosions were also digital. "When we look up, we see another explosion on the roof of the building - says Khanikyan - on the footage was just a smoke - for timing. After that we did a simulation of destruction of solid objects in Houdini, to construct a building and blowing it. Digital bricks, wood splinters and broken glass - is also a Houdini simulations. Plus the added scene simulation of smoke and fire elements are captured.

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In a few scenes of the movie the main character is the mirror, which in any case should reflect the crew. It reflected until Rodeo professionals do not have cleaned them out. Rather, such a scene required a very difficult job: from real footage in which only the actors in the foreground and their reflection isolated using rotoscoping. All the rest of the environment - is again rebuilt in 2, 5D interior room. Artist by effects also have to recreate the dust and dirt on the mirrors themselves. Effects have also been called upon to help in the scenes I comets entering the Earth's atmosphere and even - at the moment when the hero throwing things around the room. And yet - to hide the many "invisible" installation gluing.

All the scenes with mirrors demanded a very serious post-processing, as mirrored surfaces reflect crew

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In the frames when Riggan makes objects levitate in the air hover digital objects. "Most of these objects in the scene - digital - says Khanikyan. - We asked the crew to send us props, including a poster, which in that scene, too, digital, as well as a chair. We scan all sent and filmed Reference for the textures. "

crowd simulation was inserted into the characters talk scenes of Emma Stone and Edward Norton on the roof, and in the frame when Riggan is in the hospital, his window was replaced landscape.

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During individual splices need to change the speed of the frame. "Alejandro wanted the film had a certain tempo, - explains Khanikyan. - We have changed the speed of movement of personnel in the greater part of the picture. "

As a result, almost 90 minutes of the 119-minute film has passed through Pipeline Rodeo studio almost completely - as a single invisible effect. "This is the most interesting - says Khanikyan - we are working with a spectacular blockbusters, but more satisfaction we get from these films, where our work becomes part of the narrative. People do not even know how many visual effects includes "Birdman"! "

To create a film from start shooting and post-production took a year: from the beginning of 2013 to mid-February 2014.

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