PRODUCTION THE LONG WALK
ALL OF OUR LOCATIONS were really spread out, ACROSS the whole of Manitoba ” beautiful. I wasn’t trying to make it too gritty and, although there was a beauty to it, it wasn’t glossy or slick either. I think that’s where Francis and I have a good connection. We both have a similar sense of what our films should ultimately look like visually. It’s about trying to adapt to what the story is in a way that’s authentic to the material.” Production was based out of Winnipeg and the shoot lasted for 35 days. “All of our locations were really spread out, across the whole of Manitoba,” explains Willems. “We would drive out to these very remote areas and camp there for a few days, then move onto the next location. We shot over the summer and it was very hot the first few weeks – there were a lot of forest fires to contend with. We had
GLASS GOALS Panavision made modern lenses grittier and less perfect for Willems’ desired look
hoped for beautiful blue skies with big, fluffy clouds, but it was just blank skies.” Willems and the team decided they would shoot regardless of the weather. “We would wet the street down when we didn’t know whether or not it would rain,” he adds. “Then we were prepared in case it ended up raining, or we could just add in the rain instead. For the most part, I couldn’t light anything, because we were
literally walking along with the characters. We would start shooting in the morning with the sun behind us, and as it came around, we would go into profiles. Then, as the day ended, we would shoot towards the west, and then repeat that daily. If it was an overcast day it was slightly easier, but there were occasions when we would have to wait for clouds.” Due to being constantly on the move, the light sources came from the military trucks depicted in the film. “We had these military trucks, one at the front and one at the back, and we decided to put some lights behind each one,” said Willems. “That way I’d have backlighting either way. Then we had three other vehicles surrounding the cast, and I ordered some halogen lights online to put on those. We tested those lights and then put them on the vehicles as extra light sources. We did have lighting to replicate streetlights, but everything had to be seen on camera. There were some night scenes where the characters were in pitch black, just walking in the dark, which helped this feel more real, rather than trying to create an artificial environment.”
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