Indiana Jones IV starts shooting schedule

[CVB]

I remember hearing that Douglas Slocombe never used a light meter on Raiders... everyone has their own unique traits and I can't wait to see what Janusz Kaminski brings to the production. I had the pleasure of working with him on "The Terminal" - man, what a crazy cat!

Casey, I was working on a project for Cisco and Janusz was brought in to evaluate a lighting situation we had... he sat down at the table, lifted his shirt and kept patting his bare stomach while looking at himself in the monitor. Very odd and funny at the same time.

 

[Casey Green]

Casey, I was working on a project for Cisco and Janusz was brought in to evaluate a lighting situation we had... he sat down at the table, lifted his shirt and kept patting his bare stomach while looking at himself in the monitor. Very odd and funny at the same time.

hahah, Curt - yes, I remember him out in Palmdale, smoking a cigar while riding a golf cart around chasing his one-eyed dog "Larry" in circles on the set...

also, since we shot on Halloween, there was a Jack-o-lantern contest (pumpkin carving), and I believe it was the Camera Dept. who won, with an incredible likeness of Janusz's face, but the topper was that they put a looping audio track inside of it (secretly recorded during production) of him yelling out crazy things to his crew!

Now that was funny! Many great memories from that show.

 

[Adrian Correia]

I am worried that the film will be a big departure visually from the other films...I was worried that maybe Kaminski would take it really out there with the look and this film wouldn't fit in the series. He's brilliant though, and it is Indiana Jones....so who cares!

 

[EditMan1]

i can't wait for this. hopefully they match the look of the previous films. Also, I hope they do a lot for the DVD bonus features.

 

[kunal2]

is Harrison ford playing in this pic.

 

[Priyesh P.]

i can't wait for this. hopefully they match the look of the previous films.

I think a disappointment is guanteed. Look what they did with Die Hard 4.
Geldberg...sorry, Spielberg want's to have the youngster's cash, too, so I totally doubt he'll keep to oldskool filming.
These sequels of 80ies movies are just new attempts to milk a very old cow for the very last time.
They (the producers etc.) only reckon on the glimpses of nostalgia, which is my personal view on this progression.
Terminator 3, Die Hard 4, Indiana Jones 4, Rocky 6+Rambo 4 - don't those people get ashamed anytime?

 

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

I remember hearing that Douglas Slocombe never used a light meter on Raiders... everyone has their own unique traits and I can't wait to see what Janusz Kaminski brings to the production. I had the pleasure of working with him on "The Terminal" - man, what a crazy cat!

Could you elaborate on that?
I love Kaminski's lightening, and I'm a huge fan of Spielberg, and if you have some experience working with Kaminski, especially on a Spielberg movie (although I have to admit that there are 2 movies of Spielberg I never really liked, first being 1941, the other being The Terminal) it would be nice to hear something about the way they work, how fast, which workflow, etc...

On the Indy IV topic: I was doubtful of this fourth movie, and I also thought Ford could be too old. But the picture they released, was fantastic! Yes he's older but he still looks like Jones allright :biggrin:

Also, I trust Spielberg that he won't make a mess of it. I still kept thinking they would cancel it, and that the official anouncement would be cancelled again, but with the picture and this film, it looks like it's finally coming!
Go indy!

 

[Casey Green]

Could you elaborate on that?
I love Kaminski's lightening, and I'm a huge fan of Spielberg, and if you have some experience working with Kaminski, especially on a Spielberg movie (although I have to admit that there are 2 movies of Spielberg I never really liked, first being 1941, the other being The Terminal) it would be nice to hear something about the way they work, how fast, which workflow, etc...

On the Indy IV topic: I was doubtful of this fourth movie, and I also thought Ford could be too old. But the picture they released, was fantastic! Yes he's older but he still looks like Jones allright :biggrin:

Also, I trust Spielberg that he won't make a mess of it. I still kept thinking they would cancel it, and that the official anouncement would be cancelled again, but with the picture and this film, it looks like it's finally coming!
Go indy!

Hi Sidderke,


Well, let's see. First of all, yes, I agree with you, IMO, The Terminal was not one of Spielberg's best. In fact, when I saw the final screening, it came off to me more like a bunch of episodes of a sit-com than a feature. But nonetheless, it was a huge show, and amazing to work on.

The set was built in an airport hanger in Palmdale, CA. It was probably one of the biggest sets ever built, since they basically were re-creating the international wing of JFK airport. Remember, just about the entire movie takes place in an airport, so shooting at a real airport for that amount of work was just out of the question.

It was just spectacular. They built a 3 story set with working escalators, mall stores, waiting areas with TVs, flight arrival monitors, a working food court, etc.

As for shooting, it went along at a relatively fast pace, partly due to the fact that the main set was almost completely pre-lit. The lighting was set so that within an instant, they could change from morning to afternoon to evening. It was sort of a controlled environment. Of course other lights were needed for each setup, but in general, the airport set was kind of pre-lit.

I also remember people saying that the world's largest backdrop was built for this film, which was a gigantic rendering of a view looking out from the waiting areas onto the runways of JFK airport.

They were definitely having fun shooting this... but at times, I remember thinking that creativity was losing out to the sheer amount of money available. It seemed that anything they wanted, whether it be camera equipment, set requirements, lighting, power, VFX, etc... they had at their disposal. I'm a firm believer that limitations help you find creative ways to solve problems, and often times, those solutions end up being some of the best parts of film making.

Another memory I have is of Steven trying to see what a low angle tracking shot was going to look like in his finder... but he couldn't get low enough and move around like he wanted to, so he had 2 people wrap him up in a blanket and then fly him around by lowering him near the ground and holding the ends of the blanket...

It was definitely fun (and intense at times) to work on and I appreciate having the opportunity... I'm sure there will be many other great stories to come from the Indy sets... looking forward to hearing them.

 

[Priyesh P.]

I'm a firm believer that limitations help you find creative ways to solve problems, and often times, those solutions end up being some of the best parts of film making.

Hi Casey,

I believe in that, too.
Strict financial, physical or technical limitations urge you to reevalute elements, scenes and details, so that you are forced to reduce things to the essentials. OK, that can be overstressed at times and you also need a strong and skilled director and sometimes producer - but films like aliens, terminator etc. are the best examples for this thesis.

 

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Hi Casey,

thanks for the reply. However I think that you are right with the statement that limitations bring lots of creativity (look at the original Alien film), I don't think this was the cause of the very mediocre to bad quality of The Terminal.
I just think the script was too easy, too melodramatic.
Spielberg wanted to make a very light film, and where he succeeded with Catch me if you Can, The Terminal was a bit too light, to my tastes.
The reason why I'm sure that the lack of limitations weren't the cause is because a man like Spielberg can demand every budget he wants. I think he had all the resources he wanted on films like Minority Report, Munich, War of the Worlds, AI, Catch me if you Can, (I'm naming only the recent ones, because The Terminal is too) and they were all better movies (to MY opinion) than the Terminal.

Thanks again for the reply. I would like to know how long a DP like Kaminski (on a normal, not very pre-lit set) does to think of a setup and setting it up, although I realise he's involved in préproduction too.

 

[Casey Green]

Hi Casey,

thanks for the reply. However I think that you are right with the statement that limitations bring lots of creativity (look at the original Alien film), I don't think this was the cause of the very mediocre to bad quality of The Terminal.
I just think the script was too easy, too melodramatic...

Yes, the script didn't help matters either. (which I was reffering to with my comment re: the episodic feel). But I still do believe that they may have been so side-tracked by being able to do just about anything they wanted, technically, that this most likely indirectly had an impact on their ability to concentrate on the story. Another possibility that is spoken of often about big-budget pictures with famous Directors and DPs is the scenario of other crew members adopting the "yes-man" attitude in which certain ideas are not fully analyzed or critiqued properly before being implemented. This may or may not have been the case with The Terminal... most likely a combination of things, but possible contributors to the end result.

Thanks again for the reply. I would like to know how long a DP like Kaminski (on a normal, not very pre-lit set) does to think of a setup and setting it up, although I realise he's involved in préproduction too.

Thats a good question. There were, of course, other locations we shot at on Terminal, but I don't remember anything out of the ordinary as far as the time setups took to prepare. It's been a while, so I'd have to think about that one. Perhaps someone who has worked on other projects with him could chime in.

 

[Greg Voevodsky]

yes, but Sean Connery turned down the request to return. He was "having too much fun" in retirement.