All language subtitles for Featurette

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.