With Oppenheimer earning over $600 million at the global box office, director Christopher Nolan has proved why he is one of the biggest directors working right now. The biopic on the father of the atomic bomb, Robert J Oppenheimer, has been lauded for its incredible performances, especially Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.
During the interviews for the film, Christopher Nolan stated that there were zero CGI shots in the film, and all the effects that were seen in the film, including the atomic bomb explosion were achieved practically. Inspired by this, a fan went to extreme lengths to recreate the visual effects shots seen in the film on a budget and received breathtaking results.
Christopher Nolan’s Obsession With Practical Effects
After announcing that he would next be working on a biopic based on the life of Robert Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan announced again that he would be recreating the atomic bomb explosion without the use of CGI. The statement provided fodder for many memes, talking about how Nolan would actually explode a real atomic bomb.
The idea was not that far-fetched as Nolan is known for his penchant for practical effects. His previous film, the sci-fi mind-bender Tenet had a sequence where a running Boeing 747 crashes into an airport and then explodes. The team revealed that they filmed the scene for real, buying a real aircraft and blowing it up. Christopher Nolan revealed that while they were planning for the scene, he found it to be less expensive to buy a plane and film it for real, instead of a VFX team.
Christopher Nolan also famously used no green screens for the sci-fi epic Interstellar. While there were VFX shots in the film, the crew also used practical effects wherever possible. The film also is known for depicting one of the most scientifically accurate images of a black hole, even before the world discovered the first image of the entity.
How Were The Million Dollar Effects Of Oppenheimer Recreated On A Budget By a Fan?
The Trinity Test was one of the most important moments in history as it was the first time that an atomic bomb was detonated. The scientific team at Los Alamos, led by Robert Oppenheimer described it as one of the scariest and the most beautiful moment for them. The implication of this test was that the USA would bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War 2.
Christopher Nolan chose to film the blast using practical effects as he felt that it would amplify the realness of the threat. He said,
“It [CGI] tends to feel safe. Even if it’s impressive and beautiful, it’s difficult to make you feel danger. And we were presenting the ultimate danger. We needed it to feel threatening, nasty, and frightening to the audience.”
He also visually depicted the visions Oppenheimer used to have about atoms and molecules that made up the universe. These scenes were done practically as well. Inspired by this, William Baker, a content creator who recreated classic frames from films put out a video where he recreated the practical effects of Oppenheimer.
Baker states in the video that he started out with the project hoping that it would take two weeks, but it took over a month. He and his crew experimented with various materials to get the desired shot. The video chronicles their process as they try to do an exact replication of the shots in their garage with little to no money. Oppenheimer had a budget of $100 million.
After intense research, household items, and a little bit of post-production, Baker and his crew recreate the shots to near perfection. The video has hit over 2 million views in the past four days. Baker was previously known for his ‘30-days/30-shots’ challenge where he recreated frames from classic films.
Source: SYFY
