After sending off Emma Watson, Matthew returned to the set and continued filming Inception in London. Since all the Paris scenes had been relocated to London, he had to stay in the city for a while longer. The iconic shot of Paris folding in on itself, once a signature scene of the film, had now been reimagined as London due to the change in location.
It's well-known that Christopher Nolan is famous for his preference for practical effects and has expressed resistance to CGI technology in public numerous times. However, the folding London scenes and the collapsing city in Dom Cobb's subconscious were only achievable through CGI.
While building real-life sets was possible, it would be nearly impossible to achieve the effect Nolan wanted. If they attempted to create the same level of visual grandeur using practical effects, the costs would skyrocket well beyond the film's budget.
As a commercial director, Nolan had to consider cost constraints—no studio would allow a director to shoot without budget limitations.
In media reports, Nolan is often portrayed as a die-hard advocate of film over digital technology, even to the point of disdaining CGI. While this portrayal is accurate to some extent, it doesn't reflect the whole truth.
Nolan is a smart director. Although he has his reservations about digital technology like CGI, that doesn't mean he won't use it when necessary. Any beneficial technology is a tool for the director's creative process.
For Inception, CGI played a crucial role in many scenes. Matthew discussed this with Nolan during breaks in filming, and they estimated that the film would use between 600 and 1,000 CGI shots, with the entire folding London sequence being fully computer-generated.
Out of curiosity and as a producer, Matthew often visited the VFX department during his free time to observe how the effects were being developed, especially in terms of CGI. For him, it was a rare opportunity to gain valuable experience. As a producer, he didn't need to master the technical aspects, but he did need to understand the basics.
The CGI work was being handled by a team from Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Since Nolan had changed the shooting location, ILM's team had arrived in London to photograph every detail of the city, from building exteriors to interior rooms, down to the finest details. These high-resolution images would later be used as textures for 3D models, ensuring that the virtual city looked as realistic as possible.
Nolan had high expectations for the visual effects. According to him, just having realistic textures wasn't enough; the entire scene had to account for various environmental factors, including lighting—simulating daylight was particularly challenging—shadows, perspective, and even avoiding visual errors like objects passing through each other.
Even though the city-folding sequence would be broken into several shots, Matthew had only seen one fully completed effect. The VFX team could have taken shortcuts by using quick camera cuts, but instead, they chose to meet Nolan's high standards and delivered a stunning result that exceeded expectations, right down to streetlights, curtains, and the interiors of buildings.
Though Nolan and ILM represent two different styles in Hollywood, they found common ground in their collaboration. As a commercial filmmaker, Nolan sometimes had to compromise, and while ILM might not appreciate his disdain for digital technology, they wouldn't turn down a well-paying project. After all, ILM charges for their effects by the frame.
For viewers to believe that Dom Cobb and his wife spent 50 years building the city at the edge of their subconscious, the film required an enormous number of buildings. If they had relied on traditional set-building techniques, it would have been an extremely time-consuming process. However, the digital effects team could accomplish in a few months what would have taken the characters 50 years, and at only a third of the cost of traditional methods.
Whether it was the folding city of London or the city in the subconscious, these incredible scenes were the result of the hard work of digital effects artists, who, despite their crucial role in modern blockbusters, remain underappreciated.
Although big-budget films often contain over a thousand digital effects shots, the status of these VFX teams remains awkward. On one hand, they are essential to creating these visual spectacles, but on the other, Hollywood still hasn't fully adapted to the digital filmmaking process, and the VFX artists often don't receive the recognition they deserve. This is evident from their placement near the bottom of the credits.
Anyone familiar with Hollywood's filmmaking process knows that most of the crew pays little attention to how raw footage will later be integrated with visual effects. They simply shoot everything and then dump the footage on the VFX department, which is why VFX work is often referred to as "post-production."
However, Nolan's love for practical effects was also evident during the London shoot. After Emma Roberts arrived in London, the first scene she and Matthew shot together involved a mix of CGI and practical effects.
At an outdoor café near the Thames, the stunt crew was busy making final preparations. For this scene, Nolan planned to use high-speed slow-motion shots to create a visually stunning moment in the final cut.
"I need you both to stay calm," Nolan said, standing by a small round table at the café where Matthew and Emma Roberts were seated. "There might be some noise, but it's just paper flying around, so don't worry."
Matthew took a sip of his coffee and gave Nolan a thumbs-up without saying a word.
Emma Roberts tucked her golden-brown hair behind her ear and said, "I'm ready."
Nolan nodded and walked away, leaving them to prepare for the scene.
Two minutes later, the filming began.
"They say we only use a small portion of our brain's potential, but that's only true when we're awake," Matthew said to Emma as he held a coffee cup. "When we're asleep, our minds can do almost anything."
As soon as filming started, Matthew switched to his serious, brooding demeanor. "That's why we have such strange dreams when we sleep."
Emma took a sip of her coffee, seeming to savor the taste. After a moment, she asked curiously, "Like what?"
Matthew put down his cup and tapped the table with his fingers. "Imagine designing a building, consciously crafting every detail, but sometimes it feels like the building is creating itself. Do you know what I mean?"
Emma nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I just need to…"
She paused, seemingly unable to find the right words.
"And in dreams, the brain constantly works this way," Matthew continued, pulling a pen from his pocket and drawing on a napkin. "Creating and perceiving simultaneously."
As he sketched, he explained, "Our brains are so amazing that we don't even realize it."
From an outside perspective, Matthew, with his mature demeanor, and the petite Emma Roberts made for an odd pairing, like the Big Bad Wolf trying to lure Little Red Riding Hood. This strange contrast in their characters was exactly what Nolan was aiming for.
It wasn't that Nolan deliberately set out to create a "big brother-little sister" dynamic, but such pairings often intrigue audiences. Emma Roberts might not fit the traditional Western beauty standards, but her good looks and figure, combined with her sweet smile, made her presence charming and natural.
Of course, many people on set knew that this was just an illusion.
"You're actually in the heart of the dream workshop!" Matthew said to Emma. "This is your first lesson in shared dreaming!"
Hearing this, Emma nervously glanced around, her face pale.
"Calm down, Adrienne. Stay calm!" Matthew reminded her.
She managed to calm down a bit but still looked tense.
Suddenly, the newsstand next to Matthew exploded with a loud "bang," as if someone had set off fireworks. Magazines and newspapers flew into the sky.
Matthew remained seated and composed, while Emma stared in shock at her surroundings. The street along the riverbank seemed to explode around them, but instead of fire and debris, it was filled with flying paper.
Then the ground shook, and explosions erupted on either side of Matthew and Emma. Countless scraps of paper floated around them, drifting past like snowflakes.
Emma looked on in astonishment, while Matthew remained calm throughout.
Eventually, the noise subsided, and the paper began to fall, creating a multicolored snow-like effect.
Amid this surreal scene, Nolan's voice called for a cut, and the shot was successfully completed.
The cleanup crew, hired by the production, quickly entered the set to clear away the debris. The scene was visually stunning, but it left a huge mess. Fortunately, the crew had planned ahead, ensuring that none of the paper ended up in the Thames, avoiding any potential issues with environmental groups.
Matthew went to check with Nolan on the footage, having already received permission. The slow-motion footage captured from six different angles showed the explosion of paper fragments suspended in mid-air, creating a breathtaking visual spectacle.
The power of practical effects was undeniable. The crew had spent several weeks testing and preparing for this scene, and the result was impressive. Despite being at the center of the explosion, neither Matthew nor Emma had been affected in the slightest—not even the paper cups on the table had moved.
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