Cinefex Weekly Update | Issue 41

Article by Janine Pourroy

A news helicopter hovers outside a burning highrise as firefighters bravely battle the inferno within. The blaze is spectacularly out of control with, as one reporter aptly observes, 'A lot of flames, a lot of smoke.' Both the line and the scene represent the heart of Touchstone Pictures' Ladder 49, with fire, and its inevitable companion, smoke, playing like unspoken characters throughout the film -- powerful, deadly, and nearly always present.

Wanting to achieve the most realistic depiction possible for his homage to firefighting heroes, director Jay Russell turned to veteran special effects coordinator Larry Fioritto with the question of how best to accomplish the variety of blazes required for the film. "At first, Jay told me not to get too excited because Ladder 49 was going to be a movie about firemen, not fire," Fioritto recalled. "I just laughed and said, 'That's great, but what they do is put out fires, so our fires have to be the real thing.'" He knew Russell wanted the audience to experience the remarkable nature of a firefighter's job -- running into a burning building, and facing one's mortality, is all in a day's work. "Jay wanted to convey their fear -- as well as their courage -- and their willingness to risk whatever it takes to save people."

The film was shot entirely on location in Baltimore with the full cooperation of the Baltimore Fire Department. "They were so gracious to us," said Fioritto. "The fire department was involved from Day One. They read the script and approved of it, and were extremely supportive with whatever was needed." Working with the late Peter Donen, who served as visual effects supervisor, Fioritto explored various ways of achieving the film's multiple fire effects as safely and authentically as possible.

The original intention was for Fioritto and crew to supply a few burning windows that would later be duplicated in postproduction; but during an early test, their strategy shifted completely. Russell had wanted to determine how much firefighting equipment would realistically be required for the movie's key sequence, a deadly grain elevator fire that traps firefighter Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) and ultimately becomes the story's visual centerpiece. The filmmakers decided to do a trial run at the grain elevator's Baltimore wharf location -- with impressive results. "The fire department brought in a number of trucks and the fire boat, and all these men went to work pouring water on the building. It was spectacular. Peter and I immediately realized we were going to have to come up with something no one had seen before." The decision was made to create real, live-action fire effects that would be shot on location during production.

Fioritto and crew went to work at the site, realizing they would have to sustain the grain elevator sequence for a week of shooting, as safely and economically as possible. "The building had been empty for fifteen years," Fioritto said, "occupied only by birds -- which meant we had to start by environmentally cleaning it. Also, there was no water supply in the building, and none of the pipes worked anymore. I had to install a plumbing system on all six floors to provide water for fire protection. Then we ran another pipeline for air, and installed a 250-gallon fuel tank on each floor."

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During weeks of experimenting with fire, the effects team had come up with a cocktail of pressurized gasoline and liquid diesel that was fed into propane. "That's what expanded and gave us the look of huge fires," Fioritto explained. "By testing different combinations of fuel, nozzles, and propulsion systems, we discovered ways of creating a variety of looks for our fires. We could control the appearance of the flames depending on what angle the director was shooting." Ultimately, two sides of the building and a total of 43 windows were set ablaze.

A custom-designed, steel fire hood was installed inside each window with a two-fold purpose in mind: to keep the blaze safely directed outward -- as opposed to burning into the building -- and to keep the fires from being extinguished by the waterfront wind, which was an ongoing problem. "We had an ignition setup rigged with remote pilots so we could light the propane without anyone having to be there," said Fioritto. "Once it was lit, we could bring up the level to increase the fire. Then, with our propulsion system, we could deliver the gas and diesel into the mix to expand the flames. By aiming it differently and adjusting the fuel levels, we could vary the appearance and intensity a number of ways."

While they were able to stage live-action fire during the shoot, Fioritto and Donen knew that some of the smoke effects would have to be created during postproduction. "The smoke was a real problem for us," commented Fioritto. "We could have created all the smoke we wanted right there on the set, but the audience would never have seen any of the action because of it. There was also a safety factor. Dark, black smoke is made from a combination of noxious fumes and gases, which was too dangerous for the cast and crew to be around. We worked with our director of photography, James Carter, to layer in as much as possible on set; but the rest was composited in afterwards."

Fioritto and his crew achieved the authentic fire and smoke effects that had been demanded by the filmmakers; but keeping the production team safe had always been their primary concern. "The biggest part of my job was to figure out how to provide real fire while making sure nobody was injured," concluded Fioritto. "We spent a lot of time building safety into everything we did. I feel great when people tell me how impressed they are with the effects; but my biggest accomplishment was that no one got hurt -- not the least little burn. That's what I'm most proud of."

Compiled by Joe Fordham

George Lucas: The American Film Institute announced filmmaker George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars universe and the Lucasfilm empire, will receive the 33rd AFI Life Achievement Award. The award will be presented to Lucas at a gala tribute in Los Angeles in June 2005. Lucas is quoted: "I've been very fortunate to have had a long career doing what I love to do, and being recognized by AFI for it is really an honor. I'm proud to be counted among such an extraordinary group of people whose lives are dedicated to the art of making movies." Previous honorees have included Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Poitier and Orson Welles. Click here for additional details at AFI.com.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith: StarWars.com reports the highly anticipated first teaser trailer for filmmaker George Lucas' upcoming final installment in the Star Wars saga will make its theatrical debut with Disney and Pixar's CG-animated feature The Incredibles in the U.S. and Canada, November 5. Subscribers to StarWars.com's paid subscription service, Hyperspace, and America Online will, however, be able to download the trailer in Quicktime format 'early afternoon U.S.' on November 4, and the trailer will appear on U.S. television that evening. The rest of the known galaxy will be able to catch the trailer online November 8.
ILM: Click here for a JoBlo.com tour of Lucas Digital's visual effects powerhouse, Industrial Light & Magic, highlighting the studio's work on Universal's summer monster romp, Van Helsing, recently released as a 3-disc DVD and X-Box videogame.
New Arc Entertainment: ComingSoon.net reports IDT Entertainment has formed New Arc Entertainment, which will produce live-action and animated feature films in the supernatural/thriller/action genre. New Arc recently completed principal photography on The Fallen Ones, a supernatural thriller directed by Kevin Van Hook, starring Casper Van Dien, Robert Wagner, Tom Bosley and Kristin Miller. This will soon be followed by All Souls Day: Dia De La Muertos, starring Laura Elena Harring and Danny Trejo, directed by Jeremy Kasten, written by Mark Altman and produced by Mark Gottwald and Altman for Mindfire Entertainment and CFQ Films -- publishers of Cinefantastique magazine. New Arc also has El Superbeasto, Spawn, Chameleon and El Lobo up its sleeve. Anchor Bay, IDT Entertainment's home video subsidiary, will distribute the titles directly to DVD.
UK Showcase: UK Showcase 2004 will take place at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, California, November 9 through November 11, to encourage transatlantic film production. A 'VFX Showcase,' sponsored by Discreet -- including representatives of UK effects studios Rushes, Clear, Framestore CFC, The Moving Picture Company, Men-From-Mars, Double Negative, Cinesite and Capital FX -- will be presenting a panel discussion November 9 and 10. For more details, click here.
Hollywood Film Festival: Among the honorees this year at the annual Hollywood Film Festival were visual effects supervisor John Dykstra, who has worked on films from Star Wars to Spider-Man, and noted makeup artist Ve Neill. Some 24 awards were presented to actors, directors, producers and behind-the-scenes practitioners at a closing-night gala held in the Beverly Hills Hotel on October 18.
Dead Asleep: The Hollywood Reporter states Jonathan Liebesman will direct this New Line Cinema horror film, written by Carter Blanchard, about a species of nocturnal killer insects that infests a small town by burrowing inside the victims' bodies. Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson will produce for ContraFilm. Liebesman previously directed Darkness Falls, a horror film about a vengeful tooth fairy, which was reportedly budgeted at $11 million and grossed approximately $50 million.
The Phantom of the Opera: Click here for a DarkHorizons.com gallery of lush images from director Joel Schumacher's upcoming horror musical, based on Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway hit. The Internet Movie Database reports Nathan McGuinness is visual effects supervisor, with visual effects provided by Asylum FX and Cinesite. The film will be a Warner Brothers release, scheduled for December 25.
The Machinist: IMDb reports this Christian Bale film, with Bale as a chronic insomniac, includes visual effects supervised by Jaume Vilaseca and special makeup effects by Esther Villar. However, a behind-the-scenes teaser, here, indicates the main horrific visual of Bale looking wasted away to a 120-pound stick, was apparently accomplished by the actor fasting. The film opened October 22.
Ollie the Otter: The Hollywood Reporter states Regency Enterprises and animation studio CritterPix are developing their first CGI-animated feature based on a children's book by Kelly Alan Williamson. Willamson's story follows a California sea otter sold into captivity, who escapes and attempts to return to his natural habitat. En route he encounters a series of characters that include a wisecracking macaw, a French-accented aging bull seal, a timid sea turtle and a great white shark with a taste for otter.
The Island: Comingsoon.net reports director Michael Bay's and DreamWorks Pictures' upcoming science fiction adventure -- starring Ewan McGregor as a 'harvested being' who seeks to escape a utopian facility with Scarlett Johansson, mother of his child -- began principal photography on October 25 in Los Angeles. Shooting is scheduled to continue in the Michigan Central Depot in Detroit, Michigan, and then Australia until February 24. The film is being targeted at a summer 2006 release.
Superman: Aintitcoolnews.com reports director Bryan Singer recently appeared for a question-and-answer session at a public screening of X-Men 2: X-Men United at the Arclight Theater in Hollywood, and confirmed rumors he has cast Brandon Routh as Kal El, Man of Steel and last son of Krypton, in Warner Brothers' long-in-development DC Comics adaptation. Routh's credits include the television series Odd Man Out, The Gilmore Girls and MTV Undressed. The film is being prepared for a June 2006 release, with Mark Stetson supervising visual effects.
Fantastic Four: ComicsContinuum.com has posted frame-grabs here displaying images from an Entertainment Tonight preview trailer for this Twentieth Century Fox Marvel Comics adaptation. HollywoodNorthReport.com has meanwhile posted on-set images, including shots of Michael Chiklis in Spectral Motion's Thing rock man makeup, here. Click them at your peril.
The Life Aquatic: Click here for a JoBlo.com presentation of a new, strange, pseudo-documentary preview of filmmaker Wes Anderson's upcoming underwater explorer comedy. Bill Murray leads a typically eclectic troupe of Anderson regulars and topline stars -- including Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Cate Blanchett, Angelica Houston -- and a host of colorful deep sea critters animated by stop-motion maestro Will Vinton. Physical effects are by Renato Agostini and visual effects are supervised by Jeremy Dawson, and provided by Gray Matter FX, Edge Innovations and Look! Effects. Coming from Touchstone Pictures, December 25.
Godzilla Final Wars: The Associated Press in Tokyo reports Gojira -- known to U.S. audiences as Godzilla, the giant, irradiated, fire-breathing star of Toho Studios' films -- will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of Hollywood Boulevard's Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The ceremony will be held November 29, marking the premier of Toho Pictures Godzilla Final Wars (Gojira: Fainaru uôzu) the 28th film in the monster series, which will feature a showdown with 10 creatures -- including Gigan, Monster X, Gôten and Atragon -- destroying miniatures sets of Paris, New York, Shanghai and Sydney. The film will reportedly be the final appearance of Godzilla, played by an actor in a rubber suit, ending a reign of 50 years. A rubber suit creation is scheduled to appear at the Hollywood Boulevard ceremony. Eiji Tsuburaya was special effects director on the first Gojira in 1954; Eiichi Asada is special effects director of the 2004 incarnation.
Dylan Cole: Click here for an interview with digital matte painter Dylan Cole at RenderNode.com, including impressive examples of Cole's artistry seen in Daredevil and The Return of the King, with before-and-after images.