Original subtitles

THE CREATIVE SPACE OF ROBERT LEPAGE

THE CREATIVE SPACE OF ROBERT LEPAGE THE VISUAL EFFECTS

Media Principia approached me early on...

to work on Far Side of the Moon.

This allowed me to meet with Robert Lepage... “Director of Visual Effects”

and the director of photography, Ronald Plante...

the assistant director...

and plan the effects in good time.

One crucial aspect is that Media Principia...

decided to integrate the visual effects into the actual production...

rather than treat them as a separate entity...

in post-production.

As a result...

the movie set extended beyond the usual set...

continuing here...

on the computers.

Our mandate was to make the director, Robert...

and the cinematographer, Ronald, comfortable...

so that we could speak the same language...

the language of cinema, and build scenes together.

We had to demystify the technology.

Computers don't necessarily mean “programming?

We're talking about scenes, about cinema.

Computer technology merely furthers the narrative.

5o Media's goal is to provide user-friendly tools and people...

to enable the director to go further...

without having to deal with a bunch of people...

speaking a different language.

This allowed them to try out different scenarios...

gave them the flexibility to push things further...

to change their minds...

and immediately see the consequences of such changes.

It gave them greater latitude.

We even had access to large HD projection screens...

located just downstairs at the Ex-Centris cinema.

We used the very same projection rooms...

in which films are screened for the movie-going public...

to watch the computer-generated scenes.

We simply changed the wire to see them on the big screen.

This allowed us to see everything we'd created on the small screen...

on the big screen.

What'; interesting is that at first...

Robert was dead-set on using archival footage...

which was ideal, but in very poor condition:

images shot in 16mm...

but transferred to video...

and so with particular damage and grain.

But these images provided limited results.

We therefore had to extrapolate the vessel's course...

toward the moon.

It was very difficult to make it seamless.

After several rather disappointing attempts-

the difference was palpable-

You were looking for a seamless transition?

Exactly.

So we decided to forgo the archival footage.

We persuaded Robert...

that we could create our own look...

after which it became much simpler to direct the vessel...

and to manipulate the grain...

to add “hairs” and scratches and the like...

to give it the appearance of period footage.

This gave Robert endless possibilities.

It gave free reign to his imagination...

allowing him to suggest this, that or the other.

Like at the airport at the end, he was merely to fly away...

but then asked me if we could add glasses.

Well, of course, that's simple enough.

So he puts his glasses in the bag...

then it appears as if the glasses are rising.

This makes the story more interesting.

for rather than having him rise for no apparent reason...

we see something else doing so.

A technical problem later arose:

he wasn't necessarily looking in right place...

so we thought perhaps other things could rise to direct his gaze.

We then had the coins and keys rise...

which made it more interesting, because in the next scene...

he's rising along with the other elements.

It adds more credibility...

to the sequence.

This is the result of collaboration.

The final sequence, where Robert flies through space...

is rather lyrical.

It worked extraordinarily well in the theater with a mirror.

Robert's initial approach was to recreate the choreography...

by rolling on a green carpet.

That pushes the limits of green-screen technology too far.

It's unworkable.

The green screen should be at a distance from the actor...

in order to isolate him...

and then place him in another setting.

5o, ultimately, there should only be one shade of green.

We should simply be able to click on him and remove him.

Above all, we had to preserve Robert's choreography-

which he'd been doing in the theater for years.

We suggested using a harness...

or something else I'd thought up...

but it made the scene awkward.

It was more important to preserve his artistic vision...

rather than the technology, as it were.

We worked long and hard...

to salvage it and isolate him.

But what's always most important...

is to stay true to the actor's vision.

“Director of Photography“

I always like working with special-effects people...

consulting with them beforehand so as to determine how to shoot scenes...

best technically suited to be manipulated subsequently.

We're not omniscient, and it's always best to know their needs.

So I'm very much in favor of discussing things beforehand.

Doing so after means fixing things and is limiting.

He's a firm believer in discussing things beforehand...

as am f...

because our work is complementary.

It's a collaborative effort.

It worked well in the context of Robert's film, for it was low-budget.

On the surface...

the script called for a mega-budget film.

Robert Lepage didn't have that kind of money.

Moreover, he wanted to make it low-budget, in Quebec City...

in his traditional, somewhat improvisational, theatrical manner.

Robert'; flavored theatrical approach...

was made possible by Martin...

and by being shot in HD.

He was able to retain his theatrical vision on film.

He's always found it difficult to work...

within the regimented confines of the colossus that is cinema.

He knows what he's doing.

Even after five films, he claims not to know how to make movies...

but that's not so. He knows how to make movies.

I think we allowed Robert Lepage...

to do it his way...

to change things as he saw fit.

So HD and digital post-production...

were well-suited to Robert's way of working.

Also very important was that we were able to establish...

a relationship of equals, of complicity.

Productions are sometimes ruined by clashing, overblown egos.

As in, “I am the director!“

Or“I am the editor!“

But it was immediately understood this was Robert's baby.

And beyond that, in the service of the movie itself.

The Moscow-hotel-room scene...

was to be shot with a stationary camera...

and a simple window with a green screen...

which we had enough room and distance for. Simple.

But when Robert showed up that morning...

he suddenly wanted a grand, very elaborate shot.

We were momentarily disconcerted...

wondering if we even had the appropriate tools.

Why is a traveling shot complicated?

Well, lighting-wise...

it entails a larger area.

It also spans 180 degrees.

Also, turns with lighting cues...

lights flashing on and off.

It's fairly elaborate.

- A single shot. - That's right.

Initially, yes, then suddenly one morning...

Robert shows up and throws us for a loop.

The window there with the green screen...

had to be made larger...

so the screen had to cover a larger surface...

and the lighting had to be redone.

But that was par for the course. Robert always showed up...

brimming with new ideas.

And you, how did this affect yourjob?

Well, in this case in particular...

rather than just filling in a small space...

with perhaps a couple of buildings...

I had to create a whole cityscape.

And with the moving camera, parallax elements and so on.

He was right.

Yes, of course.

It's always gratifying, because it's always an improvement.

Twenty-three, take three.

Ready?

Robert's chief mandate for the effects...

was to add elements that couldn't be filmed.

That was his initial approach.

The laundromat scene, for instance, takes place in the summer of'62...

but was to be shot in january 2003.

So that was problematic.

What appeared outside the laundromat window...

had to place it in time.

There was a heated debate...

between the set designer, director and assistant director...

as to where the scene should be shot.

It couldn't really be done on set...

because many other scenes had to be shot on-site.

What about a green screen?

That's always the ideal situation.

But we didn't have a street permit for a green screen.

It was also untenable...

because we needed light streaming through the window...

to simulate sunlight.

The only remaining solution was clipping.

5o here we had to remove all modem-day elements...

from the background...

and replace them with those of july '62.

Effects can sometimes be created with low-tech gadgets.

We can use a DV camera or a photograph and make a collage.

Such simple little tricks often do the job quite nicely.

High-technology effects aren't necessarily required.

Over-reliance on high-end technology is all too common.

But low-tech methods still work just as well.

Here on Earth...

we know the universe is infinite, yet we live as if in a fishbowl.

We simply can't accept that the universe might contain...

a superior intelligence.

Robert wrote the script a very specific way.

When we started working on the special effects...

we tried to explore not only...

how to create realistic effects...

but also use them to go further...

perhaps to a more surrealistic end...

charging the meaning or interpretation.

We didn't do so in this scene- we kept Quebec City-

because it was deep enough already.

But I made a few trials...

only to illustrate how quickly- with only an hour's more work-

perception can be altered by changing the image.

5o as with using collage as another form of editing...

it doesn'! necessarily have to be realistic.

This can open up...

different ways of writing and producing the film...

and ways around the constraints of reality.

Robert loved it. It reflects his dual nature.

High technology made simple.

High technology facilitated the flexibility of theater.

That was good for Robert. Phillippe and everyone, too.

Directors like that too...

for when technology takes over, it's uninteresting.

Technology is merely a means to an end.

- It should complement the story. - That's right.

If it can allow us to do so more simply...

giving us more time...

the film certainly benefits.

Bear in mind that Far Side of the Moon...

is a Media Principia production.

They gave the artist, Robert Lepage, the director...

all the flexibility and tools...

as well as other artists, the animators...

required for him to retain as much artistic control as possible-

over content, the making of the film and the imagination.