and
here we
go
christopher nolan's filmography is
filled with stunning visuals
and inception is no exception
perhaps the most arresting series of
shots are found in this sequence
it's a scene that bends the laws of
physics with almost zero cgi
so how did nolan and his crew make this
dream a reality
this is
how they shot it
for more videos on filmmaking subscribe
below and don't forget to click the bell
icon to receive notifications
we'll be using studio binder shot list
to dissect the shot specs nolan opted
for
christopher nolan had a clear idea of
what he wanted the iconic hallway
sequence to look like
he used a detailed storyboard to outline
his vision but this required three
different sets to be built
two identical hallways were constructed
one was stationary and vertical used for
the zero gravity shots
the other was horizontal and could
rotate used for the shifting gravity
shots
the third set was a hotel room that
could also rotate 360 degrees and it was
used for both shifting
and zero gravity shots
and nolan had clear reference points for
how it could be
achieved the idea of using a centrifuge
to manipulate gravity it's been done on
various films most notably cubics 2001
and i like the idea of
repurposing that technology and really
do something that could be completely in
camera in a way that you know i had
hadn't seen before
the set was massive comprising eight 30
foot wide steel rings set 16 feet apart
built in an airship hangar the hundred
foot long hallway could be rotated 360
degrees at speeds up to six revolutions
per minute
then when the fight spills into the
hotel room they used a different
rotating set
once the sets were built
nolan and his director of photography
wally fister had to figure out how they
wanted to place the camera in the scene
in the vertical hallway the camera was
placed on a telescopic tower cam rig
pointed straight up to help sell the
illusion
and in the rotating set two camera rigs
were used
depending on the specific shot the
camera would either be on a techno crane
or it was mounted to a rail system
hidden in the grooves of the carpet
each camera placement had its own
specific purpose the camera that was not
mounted the floor is only up there for
up for a moment so you can start to feel
the rotation the hallway and then
there's a camera mounted the floor that
we dollied along
which both required intricate camera
movement as special effects supervisor
chris kobald describes
we programmed the camera to be at a
certain point of the revolution when the
actors were in a certain position
because the entirety of the rotating
hallway would be seen on camera lighting
had to be almost completely practical
meaning the lighting fixtures seen in
the shot
were the main sources of light in the
scene
the lighting crew placed six 150 watt
photo floods into each ceiling lamp
other lighting included sconces
and a soffit which was fitted with nook
lights
with 1000 watt globes diffused behind
milk glass
once the technical aspects were ironed
out the team still had to figure out how
to choreograph a groundbreaking fight
scene
actor joseph gordon-levitt did his own
stunts and spent weeks rehearsing the
sequence
what made that whole sequence but joseph
gordon-levitt he spent over a month with
us rehearsing exercising doing physical
gym work to get certain parts of his
body stronger so he could deal with the
stresses of the wire work and the
corridor spinning and stuff like that
a large portion of the hallway fight is
played in a single take to help sustain
the illusion as editor lee smith
explains we did elect to play it in one
shot simply because our immediate
response when you first see the footage
is it just doesn't look possible
once in the hotel room the scene became
even more dangerous for the actors the
room was built on another rotating rig
but its dimensions were much wider
making a potential misstep more serious
the crew thus had to change the speed of
the room's rotation throughout the shot
so that the actors could keep up
the other challenge was to simulate zero
gravity
nolan and his team used two different
methods
in the vertical hallway set the actors
could be suspended on wires and appear
as though they were floating through
zero gravity
[Music]
the only real use of cgi in these scenes
was to paint out the wires and fill in
parts of the set
the second method eliminated the need
for wire work altogether
instead the actors rode on a rolling
counterweighted rig similar to a camera
dolly or child seesaw
[Music]
nolan used the same technique in
interstellar
this allowed the actors to be floated up
and down or side to side for more
precise close-up shots
a final touch used to simulate zero
gravity was the costumes as designer
jeffrey kirland explains you didn't want
the gravity of reality to give away the
fact that this was all happening so i
had to wire his shoelaces so they stayed
where they were supposed to stay the
pants were slightly stiffened so they
didn't fall onto his ankle there's a lot
of little things just to convince the
audience that this was actually
happening
needless to say realizing christopher
nolan's vision was a massive undertaking
for cast and crew alike but watching the
final result it's hard to say it wasn't
worth it
what shot or scene do you want us to
cover next
let us know in the comments
next time you're planning your own
project
be sure to use studio binder to do
everything from shot listing to
scheduling
preparation makes dreams come true you
mustn't be afraid to dream a little
bigger darling
you