by Michael Nielsen

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a science fiction/action adventure film. It is due for release in the UK on June 19 and in the US on June 24. Transformers fans are keenly waiting for the film to be released so they can find the likely thrills out of watching the film.

When making a science fiction/action packed film, a number of techniques are used by the filming team to see that they have captured each and every view in relation to the requirements. The setting up of the set, the lighting, the recreation and the action has to be captured accurately. This is the job of the film director - to visualise how each scene is to be filmed.

Now, we all identify that the Transformers 2 film is about humans and robots. The robots (who are the Autobots and the Decipticons) are battling with each other for control of a human. The robots are not just robots that are walking or flying around. They can change their bodies. A guiltless-looking car becomes a walking, skirmishing machine. A fighter jet changes into a tank. Numerous construction vehicles join together to form a gigantic robot.

Firstly, to display these adaptations and to put them in the obligatory scenes with the perfect dimensions requires specific filming techniques to be used. Secondly, a lot depends on the cameraman who films a shot. The actions of a camera, zooming in and out, all these exacting skills are required by a cameraman. The expressions of the actors, actresses and the robots have to be captured correctly to be shown and to maximise effects.

Since the arrival of computer graphics and computer recreation, they have now become a most important part of film making. Simulating the movement of a robot is now done with the aid of computer animations. Hasbro, the well-known toy makers, helped the filming team in making the robots. Hasbro has a line of Transformers toys, among other science fiction series toys. So for showing the robots transforming from one form to another, Hasbro’s services were required.

Some scenes of the film have been shot on locality in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries. The pyramids of Egypt are filmed in the film, and the foremost combat takes place over there. The filming unit used a 50 foot crane to take some shots of the pyramids. Then a fix of the pyramids was created on a set, and shots of a robot tearing apart a pyramid in search of a secreted shrine within it were shot on the sets.

The main technique that was used in the filming of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was putting the robots in scale with the scene. Scaled down versions of the robots were made and then filmed separately. They were then super imposed on the backdrop scenes. Their movements and expressions were computer simulated. Their sizes in relation to the humans were also made using computer simulation.

There are various techniques that are used by film-makers to capture shots. Once filmed, they are edited, watched and quiet often retaken. The director examines each frame in the minutest detail, to make sure everything blends into scale. Making an action-packed movie requires a very skilled filming crew.

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