Gladiator II
star Paul Mescal reveals that camera operators would dress up as Roman soldiers due to Ridley Scott's filming strategy. Coming 24 years after the beloved original GladiatorScott's sequel follows Lucius de Mescal as he becomes a hero of the Colosseum. Gladiator 2 Reviews were generally positive from critics, with praise aimed at the film's action sequences and epic scope, and it's now been revealed that Scott used an abundance of cameras to capture it all.
During THRActors Roundtable, Mescal talks about Scott's filming strategy in Gladiator 2remembering how many cameras the director used for different scenes. While a more intimate scene might use five or six, the Lucius actor reveals that Scott would have a dozen more involved fight sequences. Putting so many cameras in one scene required some intelligence, and Mescal recalls that the camera operators wore Roman soldier gear to blend in. Check out Mescal's comments below:
In the cell scenes, he would put in as many cameras as possible – maybe up to five, trying to fit a sixth in the door. Whereas when you're filming the battle scenes, there are 12 […] Twelve cameras, easy. Camera operators dressed as Roman soldiers […] This way you save time with the number of shots you are going to do because the coverage is there. But you also gain a sense of freedom because continuity goes out the window.
What Scott's Gladiator 2 Filming Technique Means for His Career
A contributor had harsh words about Scott's use of multiple cameras
Scott is currently 87 years old and showing no signs of slowing down. He continues to release new films, with The Last Duel and House of Gucci arriving in 2021 and Napoleon coming in 2023. His method of using a dozen cameras to film an action scene allows him to make epic, immersive films quite quickly.
Gladiator 2 cinematographer John Mathieson recently criticized Scott's filmmaking process as “very lazy“calling the director”quite impatient“for wanting to capture footage as quickly as possible. He also took aim at Scott's use of CGI, which wasn't just used to enhance Gladiator 2The Roman setting and add opponents to the Colosseum, such as a rhinoceros and baboons, but to remove cameras, equipment and crew members who ended up in photos from one of the dozens of cameras used.
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Gladiator Franchise Rotten Tomatoes Scores |
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|---|---|---|
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score |
Rotten Tomatoes audience score |
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Gladiator |
80% |
87% |
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Gladiator 2 |
71% |
82% |
While Mathieson may not be a fan of this multiple camera technique, especially since it makes lighting a scene quite a challenge, it doesn't appear that Scott will change his methods in the future. Scott has already expressed interest in making a third film that continues Lucius' story after the Gladiator 2 finishing up, and he has a variety of projects in various stages of development.
Our Take on Scott's Gladiator 2 Filming Technique
How Gladiator 3 Could Be an Improvement
The answer to Gladiator 2 was somewhat tepid compared to the original, starring Russell Crowe, but it wasn't Scott's filming technique that was arguably the sequel's biggest problem. The film's flaws can probably be more fairly attributed to the scriptwhich lacks the emotional highs and lows of Maximus' story. With Gladiator 3 potentially on the way, Scott's filmmaking technique appears to be here to stay, but hopefully Lucius' story ends up being a little more compelling.
Source: THR