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with General Motors supplied alternate forms for most of the Autobots, which |
saved $3 million for the production. [39] GM also provided nearly two hundred |
cars, most of which were flood damaged or non-salable, destined for |
destruction in the climactic battle scene. [35] The U.S. Armed Forces provided |
significant support, enhancing the film's realism: the film features F-22s , |
F-117s , and V-22 Ospreys , the first time these aircraft were used for a |
film; soldiers served as extras, and authentic uniforms were provided for the |
actors. [26] A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and Lockheed AC-130s also appear. Captain |
Christian Hodge joked that he had to explain to his superiors that the |
filmmakers wanted to portray most of their aircraft as evil Decepticons: |
however, he remarked "people love bad guys". [35] Filming [ edit ] Director |
Michael Bay filming at Holloman Air Force Base To save money for the |
production, Bay reduced his usual fee by 30%. He planned an 83-day shooting |
schedule, [26] maintaining the required pace by doing more camera set-ups per |
day than usual. Bay chose to shoot the film in the United States instead of |
Australia or Canada, allowing him to work with a crew he was familiar with, |
and who understood his work ethic. [26] [29] [39] A pre-shoot took place on |
April 19, 2006 and principal photography began three days later at Holloman |
Air Force Base , [6] which stood in for Qatar . Due to their destruction later |
in the film by the Decepticon Blackout, the majority of the military |
structures shown on-screen were not property of Holloman Air Force Base, but |
were purchased ahead of filming from a private manufacturer of military |
shelter systems, AKS Military. [40] To film the Scorponok sequence at White |
Sands Missile Range , a sweep was performed to remove unexploded ordnance |
before building of a village set could begin; ironically, the village would be |
blown up. The scene was broken down for the Air battle managers flying aboard |
the AWACS aircraft, who improvised dialogue as if it were an actual battle. |
[26] [41] The company also shot at Hoover Dam and at the Pentagon , the first |
time since the September 11 attacks that film crews had been allowed at these |
locations. [6] The external Hoover Dam scenes were shot before tourists |
arrived daily at 10:00 a.m., with shooting moving inside for the remainder of |
the day. [41] Production in California was based at Hughes Aircraft at Playa |
Vista , where the hangar in which Megatron is imprisoned was built. [41] Six |
weekends were spent in Los Angeles, California shooting the climactic battle, |
with some elements being shot on the Universal Studios backlot and at Detroit |
's Michigan Central Station . [6] [41] The crew was allowed to shoot at |
Griffith Observatory , which was still closed for renovations begun in 2002 |
and would reopen in November 2006. [6] Filming wrapped on October 4, 2006. |
[29] The film has been found to re-use footage from Bay's previous film Pearl |
Harbor (2001). [42] Effects [ edit ] Spielberg encouraged Bay to restrict |
computer-generated imagery to the robots and background elements in the action |
sequences. [26] Stunts such as Bonecrusher smashing through a bus were done |
practically, while cameras were placed into the midst of car crashes and |
explosions to make it look more exciting. [41] Work on the animatics began in |
April 2005. [16] Bay indicated that three quarters of the film's effects were |
made by Industrial Light & Magic , while Digital Domain made the rest, [26] |
including the Arctic discovery of Megatron ; Frenzy's severed head; a vending |
machine mutated by the Allspark, and the Autobots' protoforms. [43] Many of |
the animators were big Transformers fans and were given free rein to |
experiment: a scene where Jazz attacks Brawl is a reference to a scene in Race |
For The Artifact where Brixler jumps on Skylion. [35] I just didn't want to |
make the boxy characters. It's boring and it would look fake. By adding more |
doo-dads and stuff on the robots, more car parts, you can just make it more |
real. — Michael Bay on the level of detail he wanted for the robots [44] ILM |
created computer-generated transformations during six months in 2005, looking |
at every inch of the car models. [45] Initially the transformations were made |
to follow the laws of physics, but it did not look exciting enough and was |
changed to be more fluid. [46] Bay rejected a liquid metal surface for the |
characters' faces, instead going for a " Rubik's Cube " style of modeling. |
[26] He wanted numerous mechanical pieces visible so the robots would look |
more interesting, realistic, dynamic and quick, rather than like lumbering |
beasts. [26] [44] One such decision was to have the wheels stay on the ground |
for as long as possible, allowing the robots to cruise around as they changed. |
[47] Bay instructed the animators to observe footage of two martial artists |
and numerous martial arts films to make the fights look graceful. [26] Due to |
the intricate designs of the Transformers, even the simplest motion of turning |
a wrist needs 17 visible parts; [6] each of Ironhide's guns are made of ten |
thousand parts. [44] Bumblebee uses a piece below his face-plate as an |
eyebrow, pieces in his cheeks swivel to resemble a smile, and all the |
characters' eyes are designed to dilate and brighten. [47] According to Bay, |
"The visual effects were so complex it took a staggering 38 hours for ILM to |
render just one frame of movement"; [6] that meant ILM had to increase their |
processing facilities. [48] Each rendered piece had to look like real metal, |
shiny or dull. This was difficult to model because the aged and scarred robots |
had to transform from clean cars. Close-up shots of the robots were sped up to |
look "cool", but in wide shots the animation was slowed down to convincingly |
illustrate a sense of weight. Photographs were taken of each set. These were |
used as a reference for the lighting environment, which was reproduced within |
a computer, so the robots would look like they were convincingly moving there. |
Bay, who has directed numerous car commercials, understood ray tracing was the |
key to making the robots look real; the CG models would look realistic based |
on how much of the environment was reflecting on their bodies. [35] Numerous |
simulations were programmed into the robots, so the animators could focus on |
animating the particular areas needed for a convincing performance. [48] Music |
[ edit ] See also: Transformers: The Album and Transformers: The Score |
Composer Steve Jablonsky , who collaborated with Bay on The Island , scored |
music for the trailers before work began on the film itself. Recording took |
place in April 2007, at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City, California . |
The score, including the teaser music, uses six major themes across ninety |
minutes of music. [49] The Autobots have three themes, one named "Optimus" to |
represent the wisdom and compassion of the Autobot leader, and another played |
during their arrival on Earth. The Decepticons have a chanted theme which |
relies on electronics, unlike most of the score. The AllSpark also has its own |
theme. [50] Hans Zimmer , Jablonsky's mentor, also helped to compose the |
score. [26] Release [ edit ] Transformers had its worldwide premiere at N |
Seoul Tower on June 10, 2007. [51] [52] The film's June 27 premiere at the Los |
Angeles Film Festival used a live digital satellite feed to project the film |
on to a screen. [53] A premiere took place at Rhode Island on June 28, which |
was a freely available event giving attendees the opportunity to buy tickets |
for $75 to benefit four charities: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the |
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