A sequence in THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY required a three minute scene depicting JAMES GARNER and JAMES COBURN emerging from the water and engaging in a battle scene recreating D-Day WWII's action on the Normandy beachhead.
For this three minute scene, four months of preparation went into rigging the scaffolds to hold cameras and equipment, including heavy lights (even for daytime filming), dredging the sand to plant explosives set to go off by cue, and finally training the actors to know where the explosives were planted and how to avoid injuries during the actual shot.
Garner is shown taking directions from director Arthur Hiller as he and Coburn prepare for the shot.
An interesting glimpse of the painstaking effort that goes into making even a brief scene in an effort to recreate an historical event with authenticity. Fortunately for all concerned, the scene, using four cameras shooting simultaneously, went off without a hitch.
For this three minute scene, four months of preparation went into rigging the scaffolds to hold cameras and equipment, including heavy lights (even for daytime filming), dredging the sand to plant explosives set to go off by cue, and finally training the actors to know where the explosives were planted and how to avoid injuries during the actual shot.
Garner is shown taking directions from director Arthur Hiller as he and Coburn prepare for the shot.
An interesting glimpse of the painstaking effort that goes into making even a brief scene in an effort to recreate an historical event with authenticity. Fortunately for all concerned, the scene, using four cameras shooting simultaneously, went off without a hitch.
