The Magic of Making Movies

A lot of people don't like to know how movies are made.  They feel that it ruins the magic.  But to me, knowing what goes on behind the scenes is half of the wonderment.  I find it completely fascinating to see all the different techniques, art forms, and engineering involved in creating a good film.  Here's a relatively short look at a few of the things I love about the industry.

Set Design:

I once visited a set in Melbourne, Australia for a surprisingly high budget fan-made film based on the Firefly series.  There were Browncoats everywhere, working hard on putting together the perfect spaceship set pieces. Sadly they wouldn't let me take pictures, but I have to say that what they had put together made it seem like you really were in their universe.  From the general shape of the spacecraft, to the minute details in the cockpit, it was totally immersive.  It's interesting to know that these amazing set pieces are created for the sole purpose of facilitating the story of the film and the work and craftsmanship that goes into these things can be spectacular.  I mean, where else could you go to have the chance to walk around in a spaceship or other cool fantasy setting?

Here is a way-too-quick set tour of the original Serenity from the Firefly TV series, originally found on the Discovery Channel website: (watch the special features on the Serenity DVDs for a better tour)

Firefly set tour given by Joss Whedon

Prop, Miniature and Costume Design:

The work that prop departments put into the objects and costumes that go into films can be quite staggering.  To give you a brief idea of the kinds of things that are involved in all of this, have a look at this production video for The Hobbit in which Peter Jackson takes you on a tour of their main film studio in New Zealand:

A tour of Stone Street Studios by Peter Jackson

Perhaps sadly, practical effects (miniatures, robots, and real explosions) are being replaced more and more by special effects (computer graphics.)  The art of building miniature models and using them for filming is slowly dying out as it is quicker and cheaper to simply build a virtual model.  This is somewhat understandable as computers can often do much more than models, but it's a shame that it's killing things like this:

Scale model used for the film Moon.  See more at Model Miniatures

Location Shooting:

I would love to be a location scout.  You would get to travel to some properly amazing places, all around the world.  Look at the Lord of the Rings for instance.  Mostly shot in New Zealand, the locations chosen for the film are truly epic.  But it's the logistics involved in doing a big location shoot are just astounding to me.  Have a look at these two location shooting behind the scenes videos, again from The Hobbit:

The Hobbit Location Filming part 1

The Hobbit Location Filming part 2

The Rest:

There are many more interesting aspects when it comes to creating films.  These include camera techniques, audio mixing, and final editing, among many others.  It is always fascinating to see masters in their respective art contribute to the grander picture of the film, and I find it especially captivating to see how it all comes together for a final product.

Obviously, you also have the usual aspects of movies, such as choosing the right actors, creating a good script, and so on.  But to me, that's the boring stuff.  Sure I have my favourite actors, and I love a few well scripted movies, but when it really comes down to it, those aren't strictly necessary.  For example, the Fifth Element is one of my all time favourite movies, not because it has a good script (it doesn't,) nor because I like the actors in it (ugh, Chris Tucker.)  It's one of my favourites because Luc Besson directed a wonderfully stylized piece of art.  The settings, costumes, and that little bit of camp all came together perfectly to create a properly enjoyable film.

Final Thoughts:

As much as I enjoy watching movies, I often enjoy watching the behind the scenes content more.  Director commentaries as well are full of very interesting little bits of info regarding how a particular shot was filmed or the struggles with certain aspects of a shoot.  More often than not, my favourite movies aren't my favourites because of their stories or acting, but because of the care and the detail that went into their production.

Let me know how you guys feel about knowing what goes on behind the scenes.  Do you agree with my statements or feel that the magic is lost once you know how it was all faked?

If you stand in the "I love to know" arena, here are a few good links that you will probably enjoy:
- The Hobbit production videos: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
- The Abyss had one of the most difficult shoots in the history of cinema. Here's the making of: Part 1
- Tested.com has a short tour of legendary effects animator Phil Tippet's studio: Tested.com

Thank you all for reading.