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BRitiSH FiLM COMMiSSiOn UK IN FOCUS 2016
Ropemaker Street in the City doubled for midtown Manhattan
amount of work,” reveals Lengyel, “with the complications of the tide and at night.” Indeed, given so many shots across a variety of south east locations, the team relied heavily on the support of the local infrastructure. “It’s a VFXheavy movie,” says Lengyel, “so when we are on location our shots are very much led by pre-vis. That requires a lot of co-operation from every location, and from the filming offices. And with a movie of this nature there are always scheduling changes; we’re often planning the same event
over three or four weekends to give us the flexibility of when that shooting day is going to be.” While the bulk of the studio work was shot at Longcross, given the size of Doctor Strange, the production also spilled on to several stages at Shepperton. As well as studio and office space, Longcross provided a huge backlot including a two-mile test track and 550ft diameter slip pad. “It’s a former military testing place so you have unusual spaces,” says Lengyel. “A lot of films come here and take
advantage of the fact you can piece together elements from existing buildings.” “There’s a lot of flexibility here, which makes it attractive and easy for us,” confirms Newirth. “At Longcross we have everybody under one facility; everything from wardrobe to construction to special effects to props.” A case in point is a three-block Hong Kong street set that Production Designer Charles Wood built between a soundstage and office building, transforming the area into a neon-lit Kowloon street complete with temporary roof covering to protect it from the rain. “If you were on the street, you’d think you were in Kowloon,” says Newirth. On Longcross’s largest stage, Stage 1, Wood replicated a Kathmandu temple and street. “It was several sets connecting into another,” says Executive Producer Stephen Broussard. “Having spent so much time in Nepal, when we walked onto the set, it smelt like Nepal, our production designer was burning the same kind of incense for the visuals. It was a weirdly disorienting sensory experience, but really cool.” UK Walt Disney Studios will release Doctor Strange in the UK on 28 October and US on 4 November
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