Disney's live-action remake of one of their most treasured animations, Beauty And The
Beast, must have been a formidable challenge for the filmmakers as they had to decide how
to re-imagine iconic characters, scenes, songs, and locations from the 1991 Oscar-winning
movie.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, it's Jan here, and in my last video I revealed some incredible
facts you probably didn't know about Disney's animated classic, but now, in this video,
I want to let you in on some amazing secrets and facts about the making of the new live-action
Beauty And The Beast.
Costume designer Jacqueline Durran tested lots of different shades of yellow on camera
before choosing the final colour for Belle's ball gown.
Once that was decided, the dress took 180 feet of satin organza, 3,000 feet of thread,
over 2,000 Swarovski crystals, and more than 12,000 hours to make!
Gold leaf filigree was also printed on the top two layers of the gown in a design which
matched the ballroom floor.
As for the dress Belle wears right at the end of the movie, the print for that was actually
based on an original 18th-century apron that the film's costume designer bought during
her student days.
The household objects like Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs Potts were brought to life using a
time-consuming mix of computer-generated effects in post-production and solid models during
on-set filming.
For example, a real version of the wardrobe Garderobe was built and rigged with pulleys
and various devices so she could move on set.
But, when we see Garderobe dress Belle, that was created thanks to the magic of visual
effects in post-production.
As for Lumiere, the filmmakers wanted to incorporate actor Ewan McGregor's personality into the
singing candelabra, so they used performance capture technology to film McGregor moving
and dancing how he thought Lumiere would.
Also, before filming began, McGregor and the other actors who played the enchanted characters
recorded their dialogue so it could be used as a guide for the cast and crew during the
actual shoot.
So, when Dan Stevens was filming a scene with Lumiere, for instance, he was acting opposite
an LED light on a stick and hearing McGregor's pre-recorded voice!
Then during post-production, McGregor and his fellow enchanted character actors recorded
their dialogue again so it matched the tone of what was happening on screen.
Apparently, the most difficult object to design, according to director Bill Condon, was Mrs
Potts.
Although the animated version of the character has a spout for a nose, Condon told the Hollywood
Reporter that when they tried that for the live-action version, she ended up looking
'like a pig', and he added that 'there was no way to make that spout nose appealing in
three dimensions.'
When you see the servants in their human form, do look out for how their costumes and hairstyles
mirror their appearance as enchanted objects!
For example, the buttons on Cogsworth's human costume have Roman numerals on them, just
like his clock-face.
And the design on Cogsworth's waistcoat and epaulettes also echoes the pattern we see
on him when he's a clock.
And if you look at his hairstyle, you'll notice that it's inspired by the shape of Cogsworth
the clock's head!
Bringing to life the Busby Berkeley-style song-and-dance number, "Be Our Guest", was
a massive challenge that took the movie's crew six months to prepare, one month to film,
and more than twelve months to finish.
When I spoke to director Bill Condon recently, he said that initially they did consider creating
the Beast using prosthetic make-up, but because that wouldn't have allowed a subtle facial
performance to come through properly, they didn't pursue that option too long before
deciding to go high-tech and combine physical and facial performance capture to bring the
Beast to life.
The physical performance capture part involved Stevens acting alongside fellow cast members
on practical sets, which was anything but easy as he had to wear 10-inch metal stilts
as well as a prosthetics muscle suit that weighed 18kg and a grey Lycra bodysuit covered
in visual effects markers.
And beneath all that, Stevens also wore a special cooling vest which the crew plugged
in between takes to help regulate his temperature.
The second part of playing the Beast took place later and began with Dan Stevens' face
being covered in phosphorescent make-up, which looks blue in ultraviolet light.
With his special make-up on, Stevens then acted out all his scenes again, but this time
he did so from just the neck up, sitting alone in a booth, surrounded by cameras to capture
his facial performance, which the movie's VFX teams then used to give life to the Beast's
face on the big screen.
Belle's hometown of Villeneuve was built on the huge backlot at Shepperton Studios, and
was the movie's biggest set, measuring over 28,000 square feet.
And that size was certainly necessary for the film's first musical number which features
over 150 extras, hundreds of animals, 28 wagons, and a myriad of highly-detailed props and
set decorations.
When it came to designing the fictional town's look, the movie's production designer took
inspiration from a village in the south of France called Conques.
The film's story is set in mid-18th-century France, so for the look of the Beast's castle,
the art department was heavily influenced by the very ornate Rococo style popular during
that period and which included lots of intricate designs, curved shapes, plant motifs, and
gold.
As for the castle's ballroom, that features a 12,000 square foot faux-marble floor with
a pattern that was actually inspired by the ceiling design in a Benedictine monastery
in Bavaria, Germany.
And the ballroom's ten huge chandeliers are based on ones from the Palace of Versailles
in France.
The set for the enchanted forest around the castle features about 20,000 icicles, a frozen
lake, real trees, and a pair of 29-foot high ice gates!
It was built on Shepperton Studios' biggest stage, which measures over 9 and a half thousand
square feet, and it took the movie's crew 15 weeks to make it.
Before filming began, director Bill Condon worked one-to-one with each of his actors
to fine-tune their characters' personalities and backstories.
After that, the cast did a table read of the full script and they even performed some of
the musical numbers in full, giving the read-through the feel of a live concert for the movie's
crew!
By the way, that musical read-through took place on the 15 April 2015, which, coincidentally,
was also the birthday of Emma Watson who plays Belle, Luke Evans who plays Gaston, Emma Thompson
who plays Mrs Potts, and Nathan Mack who plays Chip.
Now, have you seen Beauty And The Beast yet and do you like how it's been adapted?
And were there any scenes or costumes or songs that you especially enjoyed in the new movie?
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
And if you enjoyed this video, a thumbs-up is really appreciated and I've got more Beauty
And The Beast videos on the way including a chance to win this awesome Disney hardback
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Thanks for watching and see you next time.
Yippee ki-yay movie lovers!