After staying in Dublin for just two days, Mrs. Leah flew to London. The annual fashion show in 1995 was not only the first in Victoria’s Secret history but also the most important event since the Super Bowl halftime show. As the advertising planner, Santa Fia had a lot of preliminary work to do.
After sending off his mother, Duke immersed himself in work, even forgetting to invite Sophie Marceau from the neighboring film set out for drinks. Although his directing skills were improving, his focus on the profession did not wane.
By mid-December, the weather in Ireland had dropped to about 15 degrees Fahrenheit. The set construction and some preparations were still ongoing, but Duke announced that filming would officially begin, as the beach set was ready.
This was the largest filming Duke had undertaken since he began his career, even surpassing some battlefield scenes from "Independence Day."
On the sea, on the beach, and behind coastal fortifications, there were crowds of people. Including props, makeup, costumes, and other crew members, the total number of participants in this scene had exceeded 2,000, testing Duke’s organizational skills.
Fortunately, these two thousand people would never appear in the same shot. Even in scenes with hundreds of people, aside from a few real actors in the front row, the rest would be added or replaced with CGI in post-production. Moreover, this was not a single-take shoot; various montage techniques would solve many filming issues.
Of course, there were always many difficulties during filming. For instance, the sea around the British Isles was not calm during this season. The few large boats rented by the crew for filming were fine, but the landing craft swayed on the water, making many people uncomfortable. Although the footage of the vomiting looked exceptionally real, it wasted a lot of time.
The army unit loaned by the Irish government was better trained, but the American soldiers, led by Tom Hanks, mostly suffered from seasickness except for a few who adapted exceptionally well. This update ıs available on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁
Standing in a tent under the German fortifications, Duke stared at the monitor, which displayed footage compiled by John Schwartzman from various camera assistants, showcasing the pre-battle reality of American soldiers inside the landing craft.
Duke frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the footage.
"Is there a problem?" Sophia asked curiously. "I think it looks great."
"Uh?" Duke turned to look at her.
Having participated in multiple film shoots and now serving as the second director, Sophia Coppola was clearly more confident. She pointed to the monitor and said, "I think these reactions are very authentic. Some are vomiting, some are praying, some are anxious, and some are trying to stay calm..."
"Even though I haven’t served in the military," Sophia glanced at the resting area where a few Marines were, "I’ve interacted with them, and I believe this is the most normal human reaction. If every soldier marched into battle with high morale, that would be unrealistic, right?"
"The problem isn’t there; their performances are great."
Hearing this, Sophia was slightly taken aback. Duke didn’t wait for her response and turned to wave at the cinematographer sitting in the resting area. "John! Come over!"
John Schwartzman quickly walked over.
"Is it a lens issue?" he asked.
"Look at this..." Duke pressed the pause button and pointed at the monitor. "John, the shot is too bright; it has a distortion effect that doesn’t fit the documentary style. I want the lighting to be more diffused and soft."
"And," Duke frowned again, "the colors are too saturated..."
"Desaturated?" Sophia interjected.
Duke nodded. "Yes, desaturated."
"That’s not difficult," John Schwartzman was an expert in this area. "I can treat the film stock to desaturate the colors."
"As for the lighting issue," he considered for a moment and called out to his assistant, "Ben, bring over a handheld camera."
Ben Watts quickly approached with a handheld camera. After taking it, John Schwartzman fiddled with it for a while and then tested a few shots facing the sea, saying, "Duke, I found a solution!"
He connected the camera to the monitor, pressed play, and pointed at the footage. "Look at this shot; I removed the protective lens. Without it, the light can enter the lens directly and reflect, making it more diffused and soft than before."
"Let’s handle it this way for now," Duke was basically satisfied. "Try filming a few more times."
After several test shots, the overall effect was good. The crew finished a brief rest, and a large group of actors and extras dressed in American military uniforms prepared to board the landing craft and return to the swaying sea.
Duke was urgently assigning tasks. "You go to landing craft number two and get shots of the soldiers inside. John, you go to craft number one; your task is to keep an eye on Tom Hanks! Sophia, you and Ben Watts go to the second fast boat; focus on the bow and left side of the landing craft! David, come with me to craft number one!"
After speaking, Duke looked at the other three assistant directors and remaining cinematography assistants. "You all follow the prearranged plan and shoot from the shore with long shots!"
Everyone went to work, and Duke grabbed a nearby handheld camera, walking toward the beach. He called out to Sophia Coppola, who was heading in another direction, "Be careful! Fasten your seatbelt; don’t fall into the sea!"
"You should worry about yourself," Sophia shrugged and walked toward the fast boat parked by the shore with Ben Watts.
As he approached the landing craft, Duke waved to Tom Hanks and the other actors and greeted the officer leading the Irish troops. A large group of American soldiers boarded the landing craft, and an amphibious landing operation began anew.
At this time of year, working at sea inevitably meant enduring hardships. Although it was far from freezing, the seawater was still cold. Standing on the fast boat to shoot footage of the landing craft charging, the splashes hitting his face and running down his neck were certainly unpleasant. However, Duke remained upright, and his passion and focus for this career seemed never to wane.
After filming wrapped, he returned to the shore, not allowing himself a moment to rest. He reminded relevant crew members to promptly provide hot water and coffee to everyone involved in the shoot, especially urging several lead actors to change into dry clothes in the trailer. After all, if someone fell ill, it would delay the entire crew’s progress.
"You’re soaked through!"
After changing clothes, Sophia approached him, squeezed his wet jacket, and offered him a thermos. After Duke took a few sips of hot coffee, she urged, "Hurry up and change. If you, the director, get sick, the crew will have even bigger problems!"
Duke signaled an ’OK’ gesture to her and stepped into his trailer, removing his drenched waterproof suit and changing into a dry sports outfit. He casually grabbed a baseball cap and returned to the set.
Most of the crew could take a break temporarily, but Duke couldn’t. He needed to review the footage that had just been shot. Fortunately, after readjustments, it largely met his requirements. Even if some aspects of the lighting and colors were still not ideal, they could be resolved through post-production techniques.
After resting for about half an hour, Duke stepped out of the tent and looked at the still being set up scene, striding over.
Since filming had just begun, it hadn’t gone smoothly. For instance, the landing craft charge scene that was shot first took over three days to complete, even with rehearsals up to today. December was already nearing halfway through. If the film aimed to meet the summer release next year, it had to speed up, at least not falling behind the current filming pace, especially since enough time had to be allocated for post-production.
Next, they were to shoot the landing craft charging ashore, with the Allied troops exposed to German gunfire, which would result in a lot of blood splatter. Although there weren’t as many environmental protection organizations in Ireland complicating matters as in North America, the water here also couldn’t be polluted indiscriminately. Animal blood couldn’t be used, so the props team specially ordered a custom-made tomato ketchup and vegetable juice that closely resembled human blood.
Duke had scouted the location several times. Just the script drafts and shooting plans piled up thickly. Sufficient pre-production would make filming relatively smooth. The camera positions, explosion points, and major actor placements, etc., were simply rehearsed three times under the lead of assistant director Zack Snyder before Duke allowed the assistant director to call for the start.
Gunfire, wind, water sounds, explosions, and cries for help all blended together at once. Since a documentary style was adopted, live sound recording would inevitably be used.
The entire shooting scene appeared extremely chaotic. The Irish extras, serving as the background, fell according to their respective roles—some collapsed at the landing craft’s door, some died on the charge path, and others hid behind obstacles...
Standing on a nearby platform, Duke tried to observe the situation as a bystander. Despite the chaos on the beach, it hadn’t slipped out of control. Before filming started, Zack Snyder had led the team in rehearsing for a long time according to the pre-set plans.
In the most critical position, John Schwartzman personally operated a handheld camera, specifically capturing Tom Hanks’s portrayal of Captain John Miller. The Oscar-winning star displayed excellent professionalism, and even though his body was almost soaked in cold seawater, he still did his utmost to fulfill his role.
Wounded soldiers rolled on the ground, while frightened soldiers huddled together, trembling. In war, there are no strong ones, only brutality...
The battlefield gradually became quiet. Duke returned to the beach and, ignoring the red liquid all over the ground, began to arrange the small scenes.
Soon, the beach came back to life. A soldier was hiding behind an iron frame made of triangular iron, shivering, as if he had lost his soul. Ben Watts held the camera and just captured the soldier without paying attention to the people coming and going in the background.
"Mom! Mom!" the soldier screamed in fear.
Perhaps it was because the soldier’s performance was too realistic, or perhaps this cowardly behavior was indeed cowardly, Duke suddenly heard a sneer from behind him. The sound was not loud, but it was loud enough to be recorded by the on-site recording equipment.
He turned his head and looked back with cold eyes.
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