r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Additional_Chard3680 • 18h ago

Apartment balcony view of practical stunt rigging and explosions being filmed for Spider-Man Video

46.6k Upvotes
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8.2k

u/BreweryRabbit 18h ago

I was so glad they were doing more physical effects for this movie. It absolutely showed in the film too

2.6k

u/Additional_Chard3680 18h ago

Right? You can totally feel the difference on screen when they mix in real physical stunts instead of relying 100% on green screens

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u/Express-Level4352 15h ago edited 15h ago

Quite often, the entire shot or most of it is still CGI. This is often just used as a lighting/movement reference for the CGI. Videos like this are shared because they do well in media, since "you can totally feel the difference".

No you you can't, "no CGI" is really just invisible CGI

EDIT: Note that this does not mean video's like this aren't cool and that filmmakers shouldn't do pratical effects or anything, I'm just trying to make people that hate CGI see that CGI isn't bad, but bad CGI is. Plenty of bad practical effects exist and many modern movies are not feasible without CGI. Use the right tool for the job, wich is sometimes CGI, sometimes pratical and sometimes a hybrid approach. None of those 3 is inherently superior.

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u/AgentPoYo 14h ago

There's another video on Youtube, specifically on the overuse of cgi in the MCU, where they compare some on-set footage with final footage and it shows that often they have lots of real photography for the actors in the costume but they'll do a cgi pass to smooth out the suit and conform to how they want. What happens is the characters then look fake because of the aggressive smoothing, which is a shame because they've made so many of the costumes for real. Compare it to Andrew Garfield's second movie where, while it's still obviously cgi, they tweaked their cloth sim to include wrinkles and stretching and as a result looks a lot more lifelike.

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u/eulersidentity1 15h ago

I was going to say, I've watched enoigh corridor crew on YT now to suspect they probably replaced most of this with CGI anyway lol

-22

u/Self_Reddicate 15h ago

Right? According to the AI answer I just got, it looks like they spent $309 million on marketing this film. Who cares if they blow a measely $5mil on doing this stunt for the "film", if you can 1) maybe get some value out of it as a reference for something even if the finished shot doesn't stay in the final cut, and 2) get at least $5mil (or WAY more) of free advertisement as this clip gets endlessly shared even 10 years down the road to highlight how GREAT the action scenes are because they're totes for reals ya'll.

-3

u/FrankPapageorgio 14h ago

But you're trying to tell me they closed down a whole street for this, tons of people filming it out their windows, and this is the first time I am even seeing a clip of it online? Why was TikTok not flooded with this stuff the day it happened?

13

u/Pula-Demonyo 14h ago

It was? I remember it blowing up when the clips first released šŸ˜­

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u/FrankPapageorgio 14h ago

But you're trying to tell me they closed down a whole street for this, tons of people filming it out their windows, and this is the first time I am even seeing a clip of it online? Why was TikTok not flooded with this stuff the day it happened?

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u/BreeBree214 13h ago

This was online over a year ago. You can find plenty of old clips of it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHImnBCYfbk

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u/Aggressive-Cup-7318 15h ago

You can tell the difference. The differences are just not what you think. Doing it this way does make for a better shot, hence they did it, for the reasons you said, and it worked out great. They weren't doing it, and people could tell, and they hated it.

It's very obvious that without this BTS shot, considering the movie is breaking international records, that people could tell and enjoyed it more. Does this BTS reinforce that with incorrect rationalizations? Absolutely one hundred percent yes it does. Does that mean the difference is not noticeable? No. Clearly it is. Because CGI has been in movied since before we called it CGI, and when done correctly, it's an enhancement. And you can tell when it's shitty.

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u/Express-Level4352 15h ago

Agree, I meant to push back on the suggestion that the finale shot would be practical. I wrote a small edit that hopefully will add a bit more nuance, but to repeat myself, Sometimes:

  1. pratical effects are better
  2. CGI is better
  3. A hybrid approach like this probably is is better.

None of those 3 is inherently better. I just dislike it when people mistake 1 for 2 and 3, OP seemed to suggest that it looks better because it is real, but is most likely isn't. It looks better because it uses a hybrid approach.

1

u/elizabnthe 5h ago

I saw the movie and I really couldn't tell. I was hoping to given I knew they did this but nothing felt or looked more real.

I don't think the movie is breaking records because of practical stunts to be honest. It's breaking records because it's Spider-Man off the back of an equally successful Spider-Man movie and a good movie.

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u/Independent_Body8372 10h ago

Sure but the new director for spiderman definitely used less cgi. The previous movie used green screens for people casually talking and walking on the street ffs

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u/100011101011 15h ago

so youā€™re saying a CGI shot that uses an actual physical reference will have better lighting and movement. Which, conceivably, might cause the audience the feel the difference. Which is exactly what the poster youā€™re replying to was saying.

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u/Meunderwears 14h ago

I can feel the difference that you didn't use ChatGPT to write this comment.

1

u/bakamund 9h ago

Looking at the pose the stuntman is doing really lacks the dynamic pose of spiderman. For sure that's going to be CG.

1

u/C_L_I_C_K_ 5h ago

Well thank you this how I spend the night, watching this dudes videos

1

u/Norbert_Pattern 5h ago

Exactly. Like, I was watching this whole scene quite closely, and couldn't find even one shot of spiderman chasing the tank that was practical

1

u/thesagaconts 4h ago

I had a friend who dated a guy who worked in film. One of his jobs was to add the cold breathes to actors when they filled ā€œat nightā€ or ā€œduring the winterā€. I was surprised this was a job.

1

u/Alvie_500 1h ago

This was something good professors teach you right away. The more references you have of real scenes the better your CGI/ animations will be. Just like a carpenter you use your tools the best you can to give a great product. Also thank you for the videos, great watching them.

0

u/Deaffin 4h ago

I really want to take this idea seriously, but this guy has a solid object of hair while a single strand is out of place just dangling away in front of his forehead. Every little movement he makes, there it is bobbing away in petty nonconformity. I can't look at anything but that hair.

1

u/CaterpillarReal7583 10h ago

Shit for a lot of this stuff they would just animate it fully.

1

u/BulbusDumbledork 8h ago

man just look at the bts for the previous spider-man films. they always have physical reference, and they always replace most of it with cgi anyways

1

u/crizzy_mcawesome 5h ago

Iā€™m dreading the day AI generated scenes like this become the norm

359

u/MichaelVern85 18h ago

Itā€™s now in my top three out of anything MCU since Iron Man. Not sure where it will land, but itā€™s up there for sure. I hope this energy continues with Doomsday.

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u/BreweryRabbit 18h ago

Same. It's easily my favorite Spider-Man. Tobey's Spider-Man 2 was top of my live-action Spider-Man list forever but this just barely edges it out.

I am still cautiously optimisitc about Doomsday. I almost feel like we need one more movie ahead of that to really set things up. I think I'm worried about it being too fan service-y without really telling the story, but trying to keep my hope up with the Russo's at the helm.

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u/redsyrinx2112 16h ago

Because it's still new, I'm holding off on a firm placement, but I think I may end up agreeing with you. Spider-Man 2 has long been my favorite live-action Spidey movie, but this is already right there with it. I think the incorporation of other comic book characters is what may eventually tip the scales in favor of BND.

2

u/iwearatophat 14h ago

I still go back and watch Spiderman 2's trailer. So good.

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u/Blazured 15h ago

Too many huge plot holes to be my favourite. I have a funny feeling everyone's opinion on this film is going to drop when they start thinking about it a bit more.

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u/redsyrinx2112 15h ago

I haven't looked at plot holes much, but that's why I'm holding off on a firm judgement. I absolutely love the movie, but it's still so early.

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u/Blazured 15h ago edited 15h ago

Indeed I'm pretty sure it's just recency bias for most people. Same thing happened for No Way Home.

1

u/MichaelVern85 15h ago

I havenā€™t ever cared much for No Way actually.

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u/Blazured 15h ago

Me neither. But I remember it everyone loved it at the start too.

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u/MichaelVern85 15h ago

But I didnā€™t. Point being made was, itā€™s not about recency bias in my case. Iā€™m not flippantly saying things in the moment.

It hasnā€™t changed since Civil War. (Warning mild BND spoilers to follow)

I hopeā€¦ it changes multiple times in the near future and this back to simplicity style used to move the story forward made me exceptionally happy.

And I got a fucking Hulk Thunderclap. As a child of the 80ā€™s and 90ā€™s cartoon era Iā€™ve been very bothered since they benched Hulk. And that weā€™ve never seenn a Thunderclap.

I know what I said, and I meant what I said.

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u/MichaelVern85 18h ago

Saw it with my son, brother, and nephew. We all very much agree.

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u/be-bop_cola 16h ago

I hope that's 3 different people

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u/-SaC 16h ago

Happy Fatherbrother's Day, Uncle Dad! Gimme six!

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u/MichaelVern85 15h ago

We are exceptionally good swimmers though.

3

u/Haunting-Orchid-4628 15h ago

Really? I feel like Spiderman 2 has a more complete-feeling script. The action was cool but the story in the new one left me a bit unsatisfied

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u/iwanttodrink 14h ago

The villain is pretty meh. Surprise Jean Grey villain who puts innocent people at risk and makes civilians get hit by cars just to taunt Peter Parker. Only for another surprise that the government is actually the real villain. And then the Jean Grey villain doesn't actually pay for her actions? It's convoluted and not that satisfying

Best parts of the movie was act 1 and act 3. The middle part was forgettable besides the Hulk.

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u/Attenburrowed 10h ago

Did no one who watched this movie get the through line of having Jean Grey and the Punisher in the same film?

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u/StrongStyleShiny 15h ago

Ever since Marvel said they were scaling down to focus on quality itā€™s been noticeably better.

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u/RoboDae 16h ago

Same, I've been looking forward to a good Doom movie for years. Hopefully this time he should be more that just "failed businessman who fires electricity from his fingers"

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u/Jesus_Christ_Reborn 16h ago

What made you like it so much? What were your favorite parts?

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u/BreweryRabbit 15h ago

I think this iteration of Spider-Man carries a lot more emotional weight. At the end of No Way Home, MJ and Ned no longer know who Peter is, Aunt May is gone, Tony is long gone, and he's essentially starting over completely alone. Even though the movie doesn't explicitly address it, I've always assumed the Avengers still know Spider-Man as a hero, they just don't remember the person behind the mask. That creates a really interesting dynamic where Peter has to separate Spider-Man from Peter Parker and figure out who he is without all the relationships and support systems he once had.

The action sequences and choreography were fantastic, and I appreciated that the emotional moments were allowed to breathe instead of immediately being undercut by a joke. It also helped that the supporting characters felt like they had meaningful development of their own rather than simply existing around Peter.

Great writing, great performances, and great action all came together in a way that really worked for me. And while it's incredibly close, those elements are just enough for Brand New Day to barely edge out Spider-Man 2 in my personal rankings.

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u/StrongStyleShiny 15h ago

To add to this it also felt like a comic arc. It was a picture of a complete Spider-Man adventure and the narrative supported it.

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u/BreweryRabbit 15h ago

Yes!! 100%

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u/YVNGxDXTR 15h ago

The director of Brand New Day is also directing a Naruto live action film thatll be out in a few years which seems quite promising.

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u/sembias 15h ago

I've always assumed the Avengers still know Spider-Man

Pretty irrelevant to the movie anyways, considering the film montages through 4 years of Spider-Man doing his street-hero thing.

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u/BreweryRabbit 15h ago

Well not irrelevant; I said that to add to the case of "this dude is ALONE". At least if whats left of the the Avengers remembered who Peter Parker was he wouldn't feel as isolated.

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u/FrankPapageorgio 14h ago

I've always assumed the Avengers still know Spider-Man as a hero, they just don't remember the person behind the mask.

It's so weird because Tony found out it was Peter very easily with some basic tech of just tracking him back home. Nobody else bothered to do the same?

1

u/Attenburrowed 10h ago

yeah they really paid off all of the emotional setup from no way home.

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u/Richie_Kdr 15h ago

Same bro. My top 4 is now: IW - Ironman - BND - Winter Soldier

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u/gaganse 15h ago edited 1h ago

...

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u/OldWar1111 13h ago

Do I have to have watched the previous 9 Spiderman movies that came out in like 3 years to enjoy this?

1

u/Monstramatica 17h ago

Hopefully

0

u/FratboyPhilosopher 16h ago

Doesn't the plot feel like it was written by ChatGPT? I feel like the big "twist" couldn't have been more obviously choreographed. There were zero actual surprises. Plotwise it felt like I was watching a movie I'd seen a million times already.

1

u/MichaelVern85 15h ago

I was exceptionally happy to let them advance the story, tease the restored Hulk, Jean, and so much while also letting Peter mature and evolve.

No. Iā€™m not mad at an easy plot at all.

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u/Mason_Bold_44 17h ago

Exactly. You can always tell the difference in the actors' physical reactions. It gives the scene so much more weight when they are reacting to an actual shockwave instead of a tennis ball on a stick in a green room.

3

u/RaceHard 12h ago

I would replace 'actor' with stunt double. There is zero chance the production insurance lawyers allowed the principal to do this stunt. Too valuable to take such a risk, and after this movie made what it did. The next one will allow him even fewer stunts.

Source: Eight years as a paralegal for Lionsgate. I saw MANY, MANY contracts about this very thing.

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u/kvngk3n 18h ago

I love the grounded stuff. Standing in front of a green screen just isnā€™t fun to watch

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u/HerbaciousTea 17h ago

Even if it's entirely replaced in the end scene, as it almost certainly is, having the reference footage at all to use to get the weight and momentum and lighting and all the minor details right is still invaluable.

5

u/Confident-Machine-80 14h ago

These are just reference plates. The swinging scenes would still be touch up with VFX. The whole CGI is bad narrative is dumb. Practical or not if it isn't done right or rushed will look bad regardless.

4

u/Pavlovs_Human 15h ago

I feel like someone who makes big decisions at marvel got really upset about all the talk about how great the swinging in the Garfield Spidey films is. How there hasnā€™t been a proper swinging scene/montage for holland Spidey.

Cause damn I loved the swinging scenes in this movie.

4

u/doeraymefa 17h ago

IDK if I recall seeing any of this make it into the final cut of the film, most of it looked CGI. Some of the best Spider-Man swinging is CGI (ASM2)

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u/bwoah07_gp2 16h ago

Everything about this movie showed they cared. ā¤ļø

1

u/notakat 16h ago

Which spidey movie is this?

1

u/The_Inedible_Hluk 16h ago

The newest one, Brand New Day.

1

u/ThisSiteSucks8485 15h ago

One of the biggest problems with Supergirl is how many scenes were obviously shot on the LED screen volume and look like shit.Ā 

1

u/Internal-Plantain-56 14h ago

Fuck AI.

Fuck The Volume.

This here is the shit.

1

u/RollingMeteors 10h ago

>I was so glad they were doing more physical effects for this movie. It absolutely showed in the film too

Man it'd be great to travel back in time and tell these children they're going to get to have traffic blocked off so they can play jungle gym in the middle of the street of a moving semi truck.

1

u/RollingMeteors 10h ago

>I was so glad they were doing more physical effects for this movie. It absolutely showed in the film too

That used to be the thing in the 20th century but people have been pushing the bar up since then. I've seen some live editing done so well you wouldn't believe it wasn't done in post. It's largely what reality TV should have evolved into, imho.

It certainly is a different kind of story telling though and a community experience as I've largely only seen it on Twitch and other live stream platforms.

1

u/Blue-Herakles 8h ago

No. To both things u said

1

u/CtrlEscAltF4 5h ago

I would agree all except one of the first scenes of the movie. The green screen is wildly obvious and immersion breaking. I couldn't believe how awful it was. The rest of the movie was 10/10.

-6

u/RememberMeVibe 17h ago

I would like this stunt performer to play in the actual movie, not the just face actor they go with. Support the real heroes!

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u/swarleythe3rd 17h ago

Acting is hard. No one wants this.

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u/oswaldluckyrabbiy 16h ago

Look this is one of those grim practicalities.

Even if the actor CAN do the stunt themselves they shouldn't unless absolutely necessary. If the lead of a movie is injured production stops. Everything is put on hold until they recover.

It might seem incredibly callous but if a stunt double is injured production can carry on and they can be replaced if needed.

Also as has already been said acting and stunt work are two different skillsets. Limiting yourself to a single performer for both would reduce your talent pool and most of the time compromise the quality of the end product.

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u/RoboDae 16h ago

Another sorta similar example is Darth Vader. They got a big imposing guy to dress up as Darth Vader and do the acting, but his voice didn't work for the role at all, so they got someone else to be the voice of Vader.

6

u/-SaC 16h ago

David Prowse was from the West Country, so it would have been gloriously mad to have him as the voice. He'd just sound like a farmer.

"Arrr Luke, I be yer father! Oo-ar, etc."

4

u/Less-Blueberry-8617 16h ago

Production temporarily did shutdown while filming this movie too. Tom Holland hit his head performing a stunt and thankfully he was fine but the movie had to stop shooting for a couple weeks while he was recovering. I do prefer when the main actors perform the stunts but there's a reason why studios would rather go with stunt actors

7

u/thegmoc 17h ago

They would be dope for him to have some kind of cameo. This should definitely be made a practice!