The “War Manager” Finale, section 9 on Apple TV+ series, called “The Black Desert.” And director Jason Momo Does not hold back when it comes to how “black” and “desert”-as that attitude is for the show’s climatic, 30-plus-minute battle between the forces in Hawaii and Maui.
Clash sees Cliff Curtis’ Spurned Chieftain Keōua, now high on her own delivery as the selected volcanic gods, on one side; Since Kaina Makua’s reluctant, kind -hearted King Kamehameha and Jason Momos revenge War Manager Ka’iana on the other hand. The massive armies squeeze up on a deserted lava field, which is not exactly the type of place you want to fight with very sharp spears and minimal padding.
It is also not necessarily the type of place you want to draw a movie herd in eight days of shooting intense audiences and stunt sequences. But the series’ cinematographer Matthew Chuang told IndieWire the place that the “War of War” team found was simply undeniable as the Place for the battle where the Kingdom of Hawaii really came into being.
“We were looking for possible places for this, and we encountered this lava field – this huge Lava field on a cliff by the side of the water. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a lava field before, but it’s like walking on the moon, “Chuang said.” It is so tagged, and the ground has these tops and cracks, and it is really sharp. If you put your hand on the lava you can cut yourself. ”
It took the scouting team about 30 minutes to go into place around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park where they would eventually film, because the ground was so sharp. But Momoa particularly stressed that they would find solutions to work and gain power for the place safely, so that the show could visually emphasize the importance of the battle on Hawaiian history. “He wanted to shoot it on Hawaiian country, do you know?” Said Chuang. “So they got geologists to come in and looked (at the site), with production, on how we could get our equipment there, and they made it possible.”
However, with geological information about the safest places to film and how to get tools in and out, Chuang and Momoa were still forced to test a lot of camera and special lighting equipment to ensure that they could resist marathons, all day and night. Chuang made the right story decision for the show to embrace a naturalistic style overall and build frames that constantly surround the characters in the landscape or set them strongly against it. But that meant that production during the battle shooter really had to share and conquer to get the coverage they needed.
“We had five units at the same time. Jason brought in (the other” War Manager “managers) Brian Mendoza and Justin Chon to help him direct certain sequences. We shared the lava field for different areas to get the forces to knit, then collide, then a section for some characters to use, and we divide it in the way,” ” “It was a huge business.”
Momoa, who leads Kamehameha’s forces from the front, had to balance spear and pump through Keōua’s army on the camera by coordinating other devices that follow other characters through the bloody cirrum. You can expect this to require a huge amount of planning and communication between the camera and the stunt team, and it did. But when he reflected on the experience, Chuang was struck by how it took a full judicial press from the entire “War Manager” crew.
“It was all planned, but at the same time incredibly crazy. Everyone on the crew, from costumes to makeup to stunts, everyone happened at the same time. All the passport and transport – everyone needed to meet to make this possible. Sometimes we would start at 3 in the morning and prepare at night. Since the sun came up, we started shooting all these sequences.”
Black Desert’s brutality is a big part of what makes the sequence feel so visually distinct; It sharpens as the light changes, then becomes dark and fiery and almost infernally when the night falls, and when fighting must cry against each other through the glow of the lava coming out of the earth. Chuang said that when it comes to the lava work, the visual structure allows the camera and the act of breathing a little-to not need the kind of shaky comb or rapid movement that forces a feeling of intensity. Instead, it comes from the environment and the actors on the screen.
It is a visual strategy that Momoa responded to even before Chuang got the job. “The key (to shoot the lava) is to have fog and smoke and atmosphere in the light. One of my greatest impacts in general is this photographer, Todd Hido. His stuff is this silent, moody, memory -based work. When I talked to Jason about coming to shoot the show, we had just met for the first time over Zoom, and I mentioned Todd. He was like, ‘Oh, I love Todd! He is a friend. “Said Chuang.
Todd Hido was not the only friend of the show on “War Chief.” Just like Apple TV+ Series Was about to shoot section 9 Battle sequences, Moku`āweoweo, the Caldera summit from Mauna Loa, broke out for the first time since 1984. The production had to stop for a day to make sure the air quality was safe and it would be safe to film.
“We went out there and started looking for anyway, and it was actually a really good prep -day because everyone could come there and settle. But yes, that volcano had not exploded in 40 or 50 years, and then the day we quit (shooting) ended it,” said Chuang. “Jason and Hawaiians thought it was a sign from the gods, like a blessing, do you know? So it was really amazing.”
“War Chief” is available to stream on Apple TV+
