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CLASH OF THE TITANS
➤ technology, it seemed like the perfect time for a revival.
“We wanted to stay away from what 300 did really well, which is greenscreen, highly stylised,” said Iwanyk. “Because it’s a journey movie, we want to make you feel like you went on a major visceral journey across the globe.
He added: “We’re trying to marry epic, old fashioned film-making with huge sets, amazing vistas, real people, with cutting-edge visual effects. We want to make it feel as real as possible but at the same time, our movie has to be magical. Wehavealotoftipsofthehattothe original movie but, in its defence, we have far more resources and far better technology.”
For Menzies, “it’s always great to be asked to return to work again with any director; however, it was especially nice to have the opportunity to work again with Louis. He is a passionate and committed director with a strong visual sense.
“Luckily, he’s hands on when it comes to all aspects of production including the camera department. We were able to speak the same language in regard to camera movements, lens choices and the overall visual strategy. He loves camera movement as much as I do and I think we have only one static shot in the whole film – which is a 600mm POV.
‘When we did The Incredible Hulk, Louis fell in love with the
Technocrane and we got ourselves into a style of very fluid masters that would become close-ups. We wanted to continue that same feel for this film.
“Now, of course you have all these toys – like the Moviebird, cinecam, cablecam and helicopters – which with true anamorphic all help draw the audience into the story. I had the great George Richmond as the main camera operator and there’s an enormous amount of hand-held in this film including chase scenes with the Medusa and these extraordinary giant scorpions.”
Menzies was, however, a comparative newcomer to Fujifilm having only used it once before when shooting a commercial for the
company’s stills. “I loved it. I started with ETERNA 500T and was incredibly happy. The blacks are clean and the highlights held beautifully. Later in the filming we switched to the ETERNA 250D. At this stage, I was a total Fujifilm convert. It’s a beautiful product.”
By the time Menzies came on the film, there was already a great deal of conceptual reference courtesy of the Oscar-winning production designer Martin Laing and his
art department.
“Martin is an excellent artist himself, so he, Louis and I would sit together for ages and simply brainstorm and he was able to bring those thoughts to paper
“YOU COULD SAY
I WAS A TOTAL FUJIFILM CONVERT. IT’S A BEAUTIFUL PRODUCT.”
immediately and built some quite amazing-sized sets.”
Menzies, no stranger to shooting in the UK himself, was, he admits, confronted with some meteorological challenges especially when filming at a former slate quarry at Dinorwig in Gwynedd, North Wales. “It might have been July, but there we saw rain go upwards. I’ve been in some bad weather in my time but this was something else. However, it helped add great texture.”
Tenerife in the Canaries, most notably in the Teide National Park, was “a fantastic place to shoot. We had volcanic mountains, and a rugged beach and coastline. The light was amazing.”
However, the bulk of the 82 day shoot, not counting a yet further 18 to 20 days of enhancement photography, was spent in studios, predominantly at new-studio-on-the- block Longcross, where Green Zone also shot last year.
“With the amount of steam and fire we had on the sets, going out on location was almost like having a nice holiday,” chuckles Menzies. QUENTIN FALK
Clash Of The Titans, which opens on April 2, was originated on 35mm Fujicolor ETERNA 500T 8573 and ETERNA 250D 8563
Photo top: Sam Worthington in costume; above l-r: on set and on location; Director Louis Leterrier; Gemma Arterton on set; DP Peter Menzies Jr
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