Whoosh!
In the Nevada desert, seven V22 Ospreys, fully loaded with American soldiers, flew towards the military base.
Actually, even if they were empty, it would have been fine, but military advisor Lieutenant Colonel Freeman professionally stated that empty planes and full planes feel different when flying; ordinary people can't tell, but professionals can.
So Eric simply requested that all planes be fully loaded, with more than 20 people in each aircraft, mobilizing nearly 200 armed American soldiers at once.
Fortunately, they were all free labor; if they were extras, it would have been another expense.
And these soldiers were also very happy, firstly because they had never filmed before and found it fresh; secondly, because participating in filming meant they didn't have to train.
The soldiers' mentality was probably like a student with poor grades being called by the teacher to do labor during class—long-awaited, a win-win situation.
In front of the Ospreys, a Black Hawk helicopter was flying, carrying Eric and the cameraman.
At the same time, above and on both sides of the Ospreys, there was also a Black Hawk helicopter hovering, each carrying a crew cameraman.
The sky is not the ground; you can't use multiple cameras, so they had to use the most basic method of filming.
Looking at the Osprey aircraft group not far away, Eric always felt something was missing.
"Joe, tell V5012 to slow down, tell it to fall one position behind V5013, and V5015 to move forward a bit."
The pilot, a man in his early 30s named Joe West, relayed Eric's request through the communication channel.
Upon receiving the instructions, the Osprey formation immediately adjusted its position, and this time it looked much better.
"Alright, 'transformers' first scene, action!"
Meanwhile, on the ground, the set was being arranged intensely.
Under Colonel Adams's command, the entire base cooperated, with dozens of M60 and M1 Abrams tanks neatly lined up on both sides of the road, and many armed helicopters and military vehicles scattered in open areas.
On a high mechanical arm, assistant director Patty Jenkins used a megaphone to direct the scene.
"Over there, unload the props to the flagged position."
As her voice rang out, a truck drove over, then its door was pulled open, and a wide, movable track extended from the cargo compartment to the ground.
Then, to everyone's surprise, an 8-meter-tall, metallic-looking transformer slid out of the cargo compartment.
The surrounding prop crew quickly ran over, helped steady the giant, and activated the hidden securing devices at its feet, allowing it to stand firmly on the ground.
This transformer was, of course, the Decepticon blackout, which destroyed the US military base at the beginning of the movie.
To make a good movie, in addition to Weta Digital's special effects, MGM's prop team also put in a lot of effort, creating a full set of transformers one-to-one according to requirements.
This not only facilitated filming but also saved a sum in special effects fees.
Props are one of the few departments where MGM is still at the top of the industry.
As soon as blackout appeared, the scene immediately erupted in an uproar; everyone except the prop team stared intently at this Decepticon.
Gal Gadot's mouth dropped open in surprise: "No way, is this who we're going to be working with?"
"I think so. I'm going to touch it, aren't you?" Chris Evans said as he ran over.
The people around him had the same idea, and even many soldiers put down their work and ran over.
They circled blackout, touching it from time to time; if it weren't for the military's ban on cell phones, today would have only been for simple group photos, and no work could have been done.
"There will be many opportunities for photos; everyone, please don't rush. Please let us complete the set first!"
Patty Jenkins shouted loudly into the megaphone, but these young men in their twenties grew up watching transformers and were incredibly excited, completely ignoring her until a lieutenant came to maintain order.
"You are soldiers; don't do such embarrassing things. Obey orders, do you hear me?"
"Yes sir!"
"Now, according to this female director's request, everyone proceed to the designated positions!"
"Yes sir!"
Under the lieutenant's authority, order was restored to the scene.
Patty Jenkins let out a long breath, looking at the lieutenant, feeling as if she was watching "Full Metal Jacket".
At this moment, the roar of propellers sounded from above; Eric, with 11 aircraft, flew back and forth three times in the sky, finally capturing a more pleasing shot.
As the Black Hawk descended, Eric and the cameraman both felt a dizzy spell.
The pilot, Joe, noticed the problem: "The flight time was too long; you need to lie down and rest. You should recover in about half an hour."
And when the seven Ospreys landed on the ground, the roar of the propellers forced Patty Jenkins to shout into the megaphone at maximum volume: "transformers, scene 2, action!"
A crane instantly rose, with the cameraman standing on it, aiming the lens at the opening aircraft cabin door, while two SUVs with cameras mounted on their roofs filmed from both sides.
As the Osprey's hatch opened, a close-up shot on his face, Ryan Reynolds, holding an M1, was the first to jump out. His face and body were covered in dust by the makeup artist, giving him the look of someone who had just completed a mission.
Fassbender, Tom Hardy, and Ben Foster behind him also showed tired yet determined expressions.
But unfortunately, they were professionals, while the surrounding soldiers all had excited expressions, not at all like they had just fought a battle.
"Cut! The expressions are wrong!"
Patty Jenkins shouted, and the executive director quickly ran over to talk to the soldiers about their acting. A few minutes later, the scene of exiting the cabin was re-shot.
Patty Jenkins again shouted loudly to cut.
"Guys, you don't have acting experience. Try your best to imagine how it feels after training all day. If you really can't do it, just keep your head down and don't show any expression."
"Alright, let's do it again. transformers, scene 2, action!"
With this somewhat clever method, the shot was indeed completed smoothly.
Patty Jenkins continued filming; her ability was not weak, and more importantly, Eric had drawn the storyboards in extreme detail, so as long as she followed the script, there would be no mistakes.
More than half an hour later, feeling no longer dizzy, Eric finally lifted his head from Gadot's lap.
After touching and grabbing her a few times, he walked out of the lounge first.
It was already February; in just over two months, he would be able to have this little beauty. He just needed to hold on a bit longer, hoping Chloë Sevigny would join the crew soon.
Coming outside, it was already dark. Eric first went to the monitor screen and looked at the recently shot footage. It was perfect and aligned with his vision.
"Well done, Patty!"
Patty Jenkins smiled: "Your camera design is excellent; I just need to follow the steps. I'm quite curious, have you really never studied directing?"
"Haha, do you suspect I'm lying? The media has already investigated; my school doesn't even have a film major."
"Well, I don't understand. Are there really geniuses in the world?"
Eric pointed to himself: "Am I not?"
"It's a pity this is a military base, and we can't let reporters in. Otherwise, I could have them help me clarify, and see which blind person would still dare to question!"
"Don't worry, you'll have your chance once we leave here."