Nothing strikes the balance of wondrous and humbling quite like movie magic. As a child, you may have been blown away thinking that Jurassic Park somehow managed to get real dinosaurs for you to watch on your screen, and as an adult, maybe you even still can’t quite comprehend the technicality or volume of the work that went into putting such a film together.
What you may not know is that the plight of a creative mind is mostly messy, a bit discouraging, decently satisfying, and 110 percent silly, and while the end result often invites a fair shake of captivation (whether it be through dinosaurs or some other fantastical draw), knowing what goes on behind the scenes might replace your wows with a giggle here and there.
With respect to this, Shazam! Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg has offered a glimpse behind the scenes, revealing how an epic shot from the incoming superhero flick was first conceptualized.
The scene in question, in which Shazam limbo-dodges a claw swipe from a dragon, made use of a rather unusual live-action storyboard, with an Ocean Master action figure temporarily cast in title role, the dragon (brought to life by an in-smartphone drawing tool of some kind) stiffly approaches the hero before eventually transforming into a giant hand, threatening to decapitate our protagonist.
Luckily, Ocean Master reads his every move, and easily dodges the smartphone monster’s attack, and after quickly launching an inspired counterattack, the video cuts to the final product in what is perhaps the best side-by-side we’ve ever seen.
Let this be a reminder to artists of all kind; no matter how high up you get in the world, you’ll probably never have to say goodbye to your infinitely ridiculous creative process. In fact, it just might be encouraged.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods will release to theaters on March 17.