Production

Shoot Day 2 – Fight Club
🧼

Rooms

I decided to re-shoot the Fight Club scene, as I wasn’t happy with the results. As you can see from the images below, my original shots were not close enough, and you could see too much of the background. The camera angle was also too high. I wanted the camera angle to be at eye level and pan around the room in one nice, smooth, sweeping pan, just like the scene in David Fincher's Fight Club.

I also realized the scene was too short, so I decided to join two of my Lego sets together – the Fight Club set and the Pulp Fiction set. This made the scene a lot more interesting as it was twice the length, and it allowed me to drop more furniture into the scene for my call-outs.

Toilet Scene

To make the shot last longer I also decided to add the toilet scene to the shot list.
I made a toilet from model shop materials instead of Lego. I was really happy that I decided to add this scene, as it’s a really nice intro and captures the personality of David Fincher’s character and it allowed me to add one of the most famous monologues in the film.

Furniture

I made over ten furniture and object props out of Lego, including sofa’s arm and office chairs, desks and coffee tables, rugs, and plants. Then, when I was doing the shoot, I organized all my lego furniture in order so I could drop into the scene nicely and smoothly.

Homemade Camera Gimbal

I wanted an excellent smooth pan like David Fincher, so I made a camera gimbal from polystyrene. This allowed me to keep my iPhone nice and steady and recreate that soft, continuous pan shot like the one in the film. It also meant the height of the image stayed consistent and that I got a nice depth to my picture with some of the room in focus and other parts in soft focus.

Shoot Day 3 – Isle of Dogs
🐶

Symmetrical Composition

One of Wes Anderson’s most famous attributes is his use of symmetry in his films. I wanted to stay true to his way of filming by making sure symmetry was always in use. I was able to pull this off in nearly every shot while shooting Isle of Dogs.

Props for added symmetry

I also created wanted to add extra symmetry using props. I recreated the piles of rubbish in the scene using foam cones and sticking lego pieces to them.
Using tumbleweeds that I made from model grass, I created movement and symmetry.

Colour

Wes Anderson always tries to use colours that compliment each other. I tried to use colour backdrops that Wes Anderson would use in his films. But it was impossible for the Lego to match a Wes Anderson colour palette. The Lego there had too many random colours, it's all very bright with lots of pop colours that don't compliment each other.

Camera Angle

I kept the iPhone camera angle always flat this added to the symmetrical feel of the camera shots. As you can see here, it was important to me to stay accurate to the real scene.

Dogs Puppets

I used closeups shots to focus the viewer on the movement of the dogs. By moving their heads, mouths and ears I was able to add personality and character to each dog.

Shoot Day 4 – Dark Knight
🦇

Set

Using a polystyrene foam board, I was able to recreate the interrogation room very well. The board had a brick-like pattern which gave it a great look. The windows we actually LEGO which I precisely cut holes for them to fit in. Ui8sng double-sided tape I was able to keep the walls upright.

Camera angles

Like Christopher Nolan, I tried to use the minimum amount of movement in my camera shots. This allows the viewer to focus on the story and not get distracted and in my case the Joker.

Over the shoulder

Using the over the shoulder camera shot I was able to have both charterers in the picture. In this example the Joker's face in focus and the centre of attention.

Lighting

Lighting-wise, Nolan likes to keep faces in rich shadows rather than over-illuminating the subject. I tried to recreate this as it shows the Joker's dark side using a circular LED light and shining it in through the windows I made.

Shoot Day 5 – Pulp Fiction
🔫

Camera Angles – Close Up

The last day of filming was Pulp Fiction, this was my favourite scene, and I was excited to get this looking good.

The picture below is a shot of Jules; I wanted to try and capture the anger and intensity of his face as Tarantino does in his scene. I shot from slightly below eye level, so the camera looked up at him. This made him seem more powerful as he looked down at the viewer.

Camera Angles – Over the shoulder

I was happy with these over-the-shoulder shots. They help frame the scene and show the connection and understanding between the characters in the background – Jules, Vince and Brett.

Set Design

I put a lot of effort into building the set and props. I wanted it to have that American retro feel that Tarantino has in many of his films. With lots of iconic American products and styles of furniture.

Costumes

Jules and Vince's monochrome suits are among the most memorable things in Pulp Fiction. I was lucky enough to find these in a specialist Lego shop online. I decided to dress Brett in a bright blue top so that he would contrast against the black and white suits.