By Iain Blair
After conquering the global box office, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has turned its attention to streaming and the small screen — both figuratively and literally — with WandaVision, an inspired and inventive blend of classic television and the MCU. The show marks Marvel Studios’ first Disney+ series and its also its first journey into the world of sitcoms — with a Marvel twist, of course.
(L-R): Director Matt Shakman directing Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany
The story centers on Avengers Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and her android husband, Vision (Paul Bettany), who find themselves living idealized suburban lives — but in a surreal, ever-evolving alternate universe that is cleverly modeled on various sitcoms through the eras. It begins in the style of black-and-white 1950s shows and moves through the decades, updating everything from costumes and sets to visual language and VFX as it goes.
“It’s a mash-up of classic sitcoms and large-scale Marvel action,” says director/EP Matt Shakman, who directed all nine episodes. “I think it’s really lovely that the first streaming show from Marvel Studios — producer of huge blockbuster films — is really a love letter to the history of television.”
I talked to Shakman — whose credits include Game of Thrones, The Great (for which he was Emmy-nominated) and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia — about post, VFX and making the show with a creative team that included DP Jess Hall, ASC, BSC; production designer Mark Worthington; and VFX supervisor Tara DeMarco.
What were the big technical challenges of directing the show?
To render all the shows perfectly, we did a lot of research into lighting, cameras, lenses as well as costumes and the acting styles. So we watched a lot of old sitcom episodes and then got very specific about the palette for each era. Then as we moved through those eras, the production design, props, cars and so on would all change, and we all worked very closely with the VFX and special effects teams.
Because it was this huge production, we started on all the post and VFX immediately, as they were such a key part of each episode. For instance, when things would fly through the air in the ‘50s or ‘60s eras, we’d use jump cuts and wires, liked they used to. And we’d freeze Elizabeth, have her stand-in copy the exact position while she ran off to change clothes, then she’d come back and stand in the same position. That’s how she’d magically transform from dress to dress, which is exactly how they’d do it on Bewitched. Then we’d use VFX to take out the wires and smooth out the jump cuts.
So for the first few episodes, it was a great mix of old-fashioned effects and the latest technology. Then as the story progressed, the VFX got more and more complex and important. So by Episode 6, when Vision disintegrates, we had Rodeo doing these amazing effects on his skin, as well as on the Hex, which pulls bits from him — everything from particle simulation to smearing effects [created with tools including Houdini, Katana, Maya, Arnold and Mari].
Can you talk about working with DP Jess Hall to get all the different looks.
We began at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta and shot two-thirds of it, but then we had to break because of COVID. We ended up finishing the final third in LA. We shot it all on the ARRI Alexa because it creates such a beautiful image, and we knew we’d be shooting different eras, often in the same day, in difficult weather, so it made no sense to keep changing the camera setup.
Then we added a lot of vintage lenses and filters, and Jess ended up using close to 50 different lenses, including some custom-modified to his needs. Aspect ratio was also important, so we used 4:3 for the older shows and then gradually moved into 16:9. Then there’s the real world outside, which had to feel very real, with real weather. So we specifically used the same Ultra Panatar lens package from Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame to ensure we carried on the continuity. That also underscored the contrast when we jumped inside the perfect world of the sitcoms.
For lighting, we used vintage tungsten for the early shows, and then moved on to LEDs. Post was also crucial in terms of the looks, and we had an amazing color team at Marvel who dialed in the look for each era and how much grain we wanted. The main goal was to always be as authentic as possible, so we shot the first two episodes in black-and-white and the first in front of a live studio audience. The early ‘50s black-and-white has a sepia tinge to it, while the ‘60s black-and-white has more grays.
Tell us about post. Where did you do it?
We did the editing and all the finishing and color at Marvel and all the sound at Skywalker.
You had three editors on the series – Zene Baker, Nona Khodai and Tim Roche. How did that work?
I’d worked with Tim a lot on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Zene and Nona have done it all — from big superhero films to comedy and drama. They all brought so much experience as well as different strengths, which this show needed, as it jumps around so much from comedy to drama, period to the present. That was true of all the team.
They each took point on three episodes each, but when COVID hit and our post schedule got very tight, they’d all jump in to help out with any problems. I’d say the main editing challenges were dealing with all the rapidly shifting tones, styles and rhythms and incorporating all the VFX.
There are a lot of VFX. Can you talk about working with VFX supervisor Tara DeMarco, who was at The Mill for a long time?
The VFX play a huge role, and we had over 3,000 shots and over 20 vendors, including ILM, Digital Domain, Rodeo, MARZ, Luma, Weta, Screen Scene and others. Tara was involved in every conversation, as the VFX had a wide-ranging influence on everything from the cinematography to production design and editing — and even costumes and makeup. For instance, we had to figure out how Vision would look in black-and-white, and it turned out that after many tests, red was not the best color. So he’s actually blue in those early episodes, and you’d never know. Tara was one of the busiest people on the whole show.
And you don’t have the luxury of a longer schedule like on a movie.
Exactly, so you have to be very well-prepared. I had three storyboard artists, and we worked very closely with The Third Floor to do previz animation from my storyboards, and then we fine-tuned that, and that served as a guide at all the production meetings as we began peeling the onion and figuring out how to do each shot. Then we did a lot of postviz with The Third Floor, as it’s impossible to know what you’ve got without having some rough idea of the VFX that’ll ultimately be there, and it can be hugely helpful in shortening the time needed by the VFX vendors that will bring the sequence to life. It means fewer questions and less R&D, and it’s a great tool for making post run very smoothly.
What about the DI?
Evan Jacobs runs the brand-new color department at Marvel, and colorist Matt Watson, who’d worked on a lot of Marvel projects, recently came over to join the team full-time. They’re amazing and have such a great visual eye. They worked very closely with Tara, Jess and me in R&D’ing so many different looks to make sure each era was super-specific, accurate to the era and visually interesting.
All that work began before we even started shooting and continued all the way through production and post. We were able to get a lot of work done during the lockdown, but then there was a mad dash to finish it all once we’d gone back and completed the shoot. And there were several firsts on this: It’s the first Marvel show finished all in-house at the new DI facility, and the first finished using HDR files. Looking back, this was such a challenging project, but I’m very proud of what we were able to accomplish.
Finally, it’s a fine line between paying homage to classic sitcoms and just parodying them, a line you must have been very aware of as a child star in famous sitcoms like Just the Ten of Us and Webster.
Yes, and our goal was never to spoof or parody them, but to authentically recreate them— homage is exactly the right word. And it’s also Wanda’s creation. She has the power of chaos magic, so the world of sitcoms she loved as a kid had to be perfect.
Industry insider Iain Blair has been interviewing the biggest directors in Hollywood and around the world for years. He is a regular contributor to Variety and has written for such outlets as Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe.
