MIND GAMES ‘CHECK OUT STUART DRYBURGH, ASC’S “REALLY BIG ADVENTURE” FOR BEN, ‘STILLER'S NEW VERSION OF THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY ‘Shar OneuPNASC(t“Beautiful things don’t ask for attention,” O'Connell sys uel aboot the mre mountain snow leopard hat hs brovght Him tothe tp of the world “The words define O’Conael’s complex love for image snaking but they so could serve as Selle’ manta for abe Cooks $4 spherical lenses. Negative end dailies processing eeeetjone at Deluxe, New York, and Gal Di grading at Fl in inbereat in the story.” explains Stiller, who had Jong imagined adapting the Thsrber story but been stymied vor eading ececemwriter Steve Conrad's contempOrsry “pine. *"Wale loves fi; he kes are oft He i 100k re rising piece of film. To me i was just karmically ght forthe movie to be shot on fim.” ‘Aiso on Stiller's team were production designer Jeff Mann and Otcar-winning VFX Supervisor Gulls JRocheron (who enlisted 13 diferent effects houses). Along sith Deybargh, they rested a cinematic word hati equil pare eal and imagined. rwalers apartment was constructed on stage,” Mann) begin, “withthe idea of Gnding bezty i the orang he techy deals, room dividers, bens tubes, and sid-1960 rane al reveal his wot an life- Star did a wonderol job ih subd focas, atone point saying on Walter’ *able/ desk’ hile Walter moved to the 60e-sple chair inthe background: “Eble in focus, Walter out of focus. Ie said everything” Minty skewed existence becomes more appasent ss Be galls to work in slow motion, while the world around him roves ata zegulas pace. When he arives atthe iconic Time Tue Building the beauy ofthe team's cinematic beot really ‘conic midtown architecare adds mensurnby to she texte weWvaker's work-e-day world and the signiGcance of Li aguzine as a major cultural coo.” Tpringing the audience inro the Time-Life offices was dauving The visuals bad 0 capase what once was revere or wil goon be gone. "We needed to touch on points #8 We ting Waler through cover imagery that has bees imei) aan vocal consioes a long a Las been onthe stands” “Mand, and address the vita oman workfores that Drought that all about. waita realy had fan with color and contaditory subject maven,” be continues, “We had Lenny Broce adjacent to 88 ame 204 scuba diving cover and an image of Marilyn Monroe behind ‘Chery [Keisten Wig), Wale’s secret love-interest. We had "Peter Sellers and a wonderful vintage Himalayan cover that foreshadows his adventure.” ‘eis here we mest Mountain Mitty, an imposing, seven foot adventure. “Behind him in the Time-Life ofice is an tlpine mountain scape ut bas penetrated the building.” Deyburgh explains, “This was a constructed set piece that ‘matched the Time-Life interior with a mountinsde,icefall tind climbers. We created a bright alpine sky with a mix of ‘aylight and tungsten KinoFlos and several balloon lights. Phypical effects added flouting snow fakes, and VFX tie all the elements a Ie also the fist ezample of how Mity’s dual universe is visually defined, “The Bist part of the movie had a very clear aesthetic, in terms of the graphic namre and how ft relates to Walter's cloted-in world,” explains Stiller ‘Seuare gave us elements of beauty in the ciry/mundane ‘world, almost as much as when Walter goes out on his adventute.” Suller wanted 0 open up and have a special quality of tighe when Mitty isin the real world. Mouatain Mitty set that tone because, as Sailer says, “Stuart really understands hhow to contol light and work with natural light. He is a cal advenren” nse allowing the actors to be safety wired as they strugaied ‘on 1 towed platform,” the Oscar-nomines continues. SCamerns wete rigged with operators on outsgges, nd on & ‘emote head on a telescoping crane. This could also be used to ‘hoot forwards, with the actors sigged for over-the shoulder ‘angles racing through the trafic. “Other elements were shot on a “Mini Mir’ (Mini Mimo), a converted ATV that could maneuver through trafic, and we did sde- and front-facing tacking shots from, tn ATV and various other coverage on Bea, and a stunt ‘hater siding a skateboard through our staged traffic. There ‘vas also a specially sigged bus, a car flip and explosion, an ‘eetric go-kart, an electric skateboard and the superb Pursuit Crane. Once the shots were completed, the VFX team removed wires and rigs and augmented the elements #0 that those shots matched the ones made with Ben and the stunt player’ “free” skating.” ‘Another scene is Mitr’ fantasy of rescuing ‘Cheryl's beloved pooch. His alter ego hears a scream, and then rushes into a buring building to save the three legged canine. ‘There ae alot of elements going on,” Drybusgh continues,“Live sction on a subway platform at 125th Stree, a building ‘nearby where we staged the explosion, a high seaffolding set flece shot by second wnit DP Craig Haagensen, the jomp from the subway platform to the window, and additional photography by Larry Sher, ASC] when a decision was made fn editing to rework some of the humor. “The shot that links the stant/wire jump from the ‘platform to the window, which continves down the face of The building to find Walter now running out of the building, escuing Cheryl's dog, was executed using a Descender 1g ‘ith a Libea head, which was then hand-caried by four of key grip Mitch Lillian’s guys to change diecion from a fast ‘vertical move to horizontal track back,” he ad The rescue scene involved theee different plates creating ‘one long, impossible camera move,” adds Rocheron. “It (goes from Waiter on the subway platform to a green screen Element of Walter jumping through the air and exashing into the window, to Walter ruthing out of the building entrance ‘before it explodes. Conceptually, it was interesting because ‘we were making a time cut of Walter's ation from when he ‘tneer the building to when he exits, while keeping the shot “Things get even more interesting when Mitty finally goes outon a eablife advenare,eacking O'Connell rough Greenland, Leeland, and Afghanistan, “T dink one of the most interesting VFK/live-action collabortions is dhe helicopter shot of Waker trekking in the Hinslaya” offers Siler. “Our aecal cameraman, David Nowell ASC, SOC], Stuart and J, came up with this long tpproach over the lip of the mountain to reveal Walter on the ‘hone w his eHarmony counselor (a stellar Patton Oswald in the mile of the Himalayas, We added the mouotain ridges in post w rake it fel more like the tp ofthe world Ie one of the shots Fm most proud of.” ‘Equally impressive area sees of aerial shots during which ‘Walter “hitches a cde” with « dronken helicopter pilot and ‘heads ito the teth ofan actc storm at ea. "The scene starts inthis wonderful karaoke bat, moves toa fg in an old Bell 47 and continues with Ben dropping, foro the water and tying to climb into a trawler ~ all shot in Teeland” recounts Dryburgh ‘Ocean locations for the tezwer, along with the necessary land-bised support, were in the far west, near Keflavik Tnternaonal Airport. But rwo years before the fim started, Mums dove +0 Palm Springe and took pictures of the Felicopter for Stiller and the producers. “We have to ship it tolecknd?” they asked incredulously “T explained that was‘one of 60 ever made, and the bubble was a perfect way to see the characters” recalls Mana, “The sckery sreaft would sell, the idea that it was the only thing out there on the edge of ‘he world. When we packed it up, we bad our heats in our ‘mouths; if someone backed into the bubble and broke it, it ‘would be grouaded forever.” ‘Nowell ecalls how everyone wore survival suits (cluding Stiller under is wardrobe) in the sub-freecing water. "We wed Pictorvision’s Eclipse, the only aerial rig that could handle the conditions with Hawk lenses and did a series of fying shots, Ben on the skids in the open doorway, and some fy-aways,” recounts Nowell “Alan Parwin, who wus certified to iy the fold helicopter, doubled our 300-pound actor, and wore our survival suit. He had to be staffed to look 300 pounds. So T hha it easy” “We had an Arsi 235 rigged to the helicopter, as Ben jumps into the copter during takeoff and hangs on for dear life as the town of Nuk wheels around him,” says Dryburgh. “Ben wanted tobe ia all of the air-to-air shots. Shots through ‘the front bubble were made against either green sereen or the sky with the helicopter suspended from a construction crane. ‘Thad gaffer Mo Flam add lights on a camera crane to create ‘moving shadows to support the illusion of actual light.” “The shot of Micy trying to jump into the tawler (and landing in the se) was flmed va helicopter-and boat-xigged cameras by aevial and second vnits. Underwater specialist Pete Romano shot Mitty’ ight witha chack and eubeaquent rescue by the terwler crew, from 4 Zodiac. “As they head into the storm, every shot has a real plate element to star ‘with,’ Rocheron adds, “The plates are used as backdrops, tnd we replaced the ocesn with more stormy water and the shies. Ben really did go into the ocean, but we mugmented the photography with bigger waves done by Framestore and Hiydraube” 7 Mitty’s attempt to connect with O'Connell is unsuccessful. But later, in a small Icelandic towa, he spots his quarry standing on the wings ofa biplane tha’s headed for an erupting voleanol “We created a CG biplane and a digital double of Sean as you see him ying over the village,” Rocheron says, after Dryburgh notes that a ive action attempt (with a seal b-plane) was cancelled due to weather. “The voleanic eruption involved some very largescale uid simulations handled by Soho VFX. As the smote expands fiom the criter, it starts to rol over the village. The shots in which the cloud expands on the tail ofthe ear presented 1 challenge because we were tying to give it a sense of expansion, so it wonld chase the car over multiple shots.” Flying into storm in an old helicopter and dropping into the frezing ocean are mezely a prelude to our hero's ‘mocumeatal quest up the side of a glacier, where he finds ‘O'Connell in quiet pursuit of the mystical snow leopard. “This was staged in Southeastern Iceland,” recalls [Deyburgh, where the glaciers are erly Himalayan ia scale“Shooting in the fall [in Iceland] allowed for these beautiful twilight scenes” and beau, We made good use of second wait DP Ek Wilson, land his efew, often shutling Ben to them in the mountains by helicopter "The snow leopard location was only accessible by snowmobile and modified 4%4 trucks. Drybasgh says the Jeacing was “complicated, and it inched shots where we used 4 40-fo0t dolly track onthe side ofthe mountain.” ‘O'Connell is naturally stunned that the mild-mannered photo editor has chased him into oblivion, nd chides Mitxy “bout the missing piece of film. The two share a moment Tooking at the leopard thorough the lens (which O'Connell ‘chooses not to shoo!) dating which they agree that beauty ‘doesn't always scream for attention. ‘Talking about the memorable Teelandic locations, [Deyburgh says he and Siler examined many sil images - landscape and photojournalism ~ as well as a diverse array fof films ~ everythin from Bil ro Punch Donk Love ~ for ‘iowa reference. “We watched the Sigur Ros film Heima,” the DP ‘concludes “which follows the band as they tour thx xative Teeland in summer, and gave us a personal view. Shooting it the fall the days were alzeady shor, and the sun low, which lowed for these benutifel twilight scenes, lke the one where ‘Walter talks on the phone with Cheryl outside an Teelandic pizza shop [made with a sexes of long swing takes on 8 “Technocrand. ‘While New York gave us those iconic cityscapes of Director of Photography: Stuart Dryburgh ASC Operators: David Tompson, Tim Norman (Rasstants: Bobby Mancuso, Scott Tinley, Ed Nessen, Nicole Cosgrove Loader: Anthony Coan Lisa Origier ‘Steadicam Operator: Oavid Thompson bra Head Tech: Fierson Silver 2NDUNIT Dir. of Photography: Craig Haagensen ICELAND UNIT ‘Operators: John Moyer, Ottar Gudnason ‘pasietants: Andy Harris, Glenn Kaplan Liza Bambee ‘Steadicam Operator: Jonn Moyer Loader: Jessica Ramos UNDERWATERUNIT Dir. of Photography: Pete Romano ‘Assistant: Loren Elkins