Chapter 259: Forced Perspective

Turning around and walking away, Robert Downey Jr. sashayed his hips, commenting, "Such a big house, why is it so empty? Why are there only two X-Men?"

"Oh..." He exaggerated again, this time not sparing even the production company, "It must be because 20th Century Fox didn't invest enough money, not enough to hire more X-Men."

He seemed a bit angry, "They made a low-budget biopic for me!"

The script was supposed to end there, and Murphy was ready to call cut, but Robert Downey Jr. didn't seem to stop. He pointed a finger at the camera, "Hey, idiot director, if you screw this up, I'll make sure you end up looking like me!"

"Cut!"

Seeing Robert Downey Jr. stop speaking, Murphy called a halt to the scene and stood up, giving a thumbs up towards the set, "Well done, Downey!"

Robert Downey Jr.'s improvisation, although not planned in the script, was welcome as filming often allows for flexibility. Talented actors frequently improvise due to their immersion in their roles, and as long as it benefits the film, directors generally welcome it.

This break of the fourth wall, self-deprecating by Murphy, was well-executed by Robert Downey Jr.

In most cases, breaking the fourth wall in a film, like Deadpool does, is a big taboo in movie production, as it can easily disrupt the audience's engagement. Therefore, no other films attempt it lightly. However, "Deadpool" is different. With the comic book setting as a foundation and fitting the overall style of the film, breaking the fourth wall is beneficial.

Nevertheless, Murphy was aware that even in a film like "Deadpool," timing and frequency of breaking the fourth wall must be carefully managed, or else the relentless commentary could still disengage the audience.

The first scene was shot very smoothly, and the constructed set's purpose was fulfilled with just a few minutes of filming, a common occurrence in movie production.

Murphy called for a change of scene, and the crew moved not far to another green screen to film scenes featuring Lily Collins as Negasonic Teenage Warhead and the Russian actor as Colossus.

This too was a form of commentary.

"Every chance I get, I try to include Deadpool..."

Just as the Russian actor, named Krakov, began speaking, Murphy called, "Cut!"

Lily Collins, standing in front of the green screen, turned towards Krakov, knowing he must have made a mistake.

Indeed, Murphy exclaimed loudly, "What was that? American English? French English? I want English with a Russian accent!"

Kov, covered in motion capture sensors, quickly realized his mistake and hurriedly said, "Sorry, director, I'll pay attention to my pronunciation."

Colossus's character is originally from Russia, which is why Murphy chose a Russian actor for motion capture.

"All departments, back to positions!" Murphy shouted.

No other department needed to move much, mainly Philip Lashley's crew needed to readjust. Since motion capture was being used and the two characters had a considerable height difference in the film, which the actors didn't, conventional filming methods wouldn't work.

Murphy employed a popular industry technique for showcasing character height differences, a technique that had been significantly improved by Peter Jackson during the filming of The Hobbit and had become very mature. It could be adapted for filming with some adjustments.

This technique is forced perspective.

Forced perspective uses optical illusions to make objects appear distorted, closer, larger, or smaller, leveraging the misperception of human vision to create a false sense of relativity between the subject and its environment. With creative camera angles, scenes with completely disproportionate scales can be filmed.

After Lashley adjusted the equipment, filming resumed.

In the script, this was a dialogue scene between Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead walking together. Now, Lily Collins and Krakov were positioned far apart, each in a separate green screen environment.

Murphy and Lashley had discussed all scenes featuring Colossus, making plans accordingly.

During filming, Murphy used deliberate changes in perspective and leading lines to create optical illusions, exaggerating the characters' proportions.

As instructed, Krakov was alone in a green screen space next to Lily Collins's main scene. The primary camera was closer to him and farther from Collins to create a towering effect. The background would be removed in post-production and replaced with suitable CG.

Collins and Krakov walked forward in parallel from different positions. Besides the main camera, Murphy also set up a secondary camera for support shots.

Due to the use of tracks and cranes, Murphy had the primary camera continuously move during filming. The secondary camera, positioned on Krakov's side, wouldn't move as much, only slowly along a short track.

When the secondary camera system received instructions from Murphy, it shot according to the settings. Since the camera was closer to Krakov, its movement was minimal.

Murphy, positioned between the two cameras, had a clear view of the filming effect.

He asked Krakov to slow down his movements slightly. When large objects move slowly, it increases believability; audiences tend to accept slow-moving giants or monsters. Thus, in movies, creatures like Godzilla always move slowly.

Although the two actors were far apart, a microphone was dropped for on-set recording. Krakov spoke again, "Every chance I get, I try to include Deadpool, but his behavior is like an immature child, a fully armed child."

He turned towards Collins, "When will he mature, realizing the benefits of joining the X-Men?"

"What benefits?" Collins joined in the commentary, "Ugly tight spandex? Or a house that gets blown up every few years?"

"Please!" Krakov defended, "Blowing up the house is about character building. Without destroying our house, how can we highlight the villain's wickedness? How can we show that the X-Men's actions are just, popular, and for maintaining the beauty and peace of the world..."

Many in the crew struggled to keep from laughing, given the film's crossover with "X-Men," the X-Men were naturally the most teased and commented on.

"Stop!" Murphy didn't call it a wrap, "Let's do it again!"

Often, even if a shot met the requirements, Murphy continued filming to see if they could achieve even better results. Plus, shooting multiple takes provided more material for post-production editing.

Filming is not just for the sake of it, just as much of the pre-production is preparation for filming; filming must serve post-production.

The scene was almost entirely green screen, requiring substantial post-production compositing. Murphy didn't plan to shoot or CGI-composite scenes of Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead piloting the invisible jet.

Cara Fes had obtained permission from 20th Century Fox for "Deadpool" to use some non-specific actor scenes from "X-Men."

Since both films were part of the same series and under the same company's copyright, it was convenient to use.

Of course, Murphy wouldn't use many, planning only to include shots of Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead departing from the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters in the jet.

Despite filming mostly fragmented shots on the first day, the process went smoothly, especially with Robert Downey Jr.'s vibrant commentary bringing the script to life. If Murphy wasn't leading an experienced and

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