While many of the key crew on Marvel Studios’ upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” are returnees from past Marvel Studios efforts like Endgame’s editor Jeffrey Ford and composer Alan Silvestri, there’s also some new faces.
One is cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, who worked on Fox’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and with the Russos on films like “Extraction” and “Cherry”, but hasn’t done an MCU film before.
Another is the movie’s production designer Gavin Bocquet, who served as production designer on George Lucas’ “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, the young “Indiana Jones” series and films like “Stardust,” “Warcraft,” “The Bank Job,” and most recently on Apple TV series “Silo”.
Bocquet is an old school production designer and in a new interview with YouTube channel Young Indy Chroniclers, he reveals he’s bringing some of that expertise to the new film. The result is a lot more in-camera set design and practical effects where possible:
“We had a lot of sets with backings outside them, physical backings, and generally the default situation previous to us was probably let’s put a blue screen out there and do that.
But wherever possible, we either had a Rosco backing that we created ourselves or a painted backing on, I thin, 80% of interior sets… with backings. Then it was all in camera, you know, and in the end that’s as much a visual thing as a money thing, you know, if they don’t have to change the exterior.
So wherever we could, we’re bringing that bit of experience in just to adjust those things and not just presume you can always put it in in visual effects. You know, filmmaking is the art of illusion, and if we can do it physically… and Joe and Anthony really like that. We can only do it in certain instances, by [the] nature of these films and the characters in them and the environments you’re doing. But, wherever possible, why not try those things?”
Bouquet also elaborates on how the stinger credits scene in “Thunderbolts” used a practical backdrop and how the actors were actually pretty astonished as they were so used to Marvel’s penchant to rely on blue screen.
