Behind the Scenes of Birdmen

MichaelBay.com's Nelson has posted a behind the scenes video for the new TV spot Birdmen that will air soon for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The commercial and video covers the helicopter and building stunt jumps that where filmed in Chicago last year. As for the TV spot itself I suspect it will debut on Entertainment Tonight. DJ.BigtymeBeats reports seeing a commercial about a DOTM story they are going to run tonight. On a somewhat related note, Nelson has also tweeted hi-res, large file size images of Bumblebee, Megatron, and Optimus Prime but they are not from DOTM. Thanks to Feris Othman for the heads-up.Read More »

Transformers: Dark of the Moon ET Report

Entertainment Tonight has posted their article of video of the behind the scenes report from the Chicago set of Transformers 3. The video includes set footage, explosions and the sales pitch of the movie from Michael Bay, Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, and Josh Duhamel. Pretty much no spoilers are revealed but the title does drop a "the" with official title being "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" which oddly enough does make a difference. If want to get a little meta, thanks to Colin Hinkle for the picture of behind the scenes of ET filming behind the scenes of TF:DOTM with Samantha Harris in the yellow dress. Also thanks to Teddy83 for the link.

"I think what we were lacking in the second movie was heart," says Shia about the last installment of the blockbuster franchise, 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.' "But, I think with the addition of Rosie and new characters … you still have the magic of the first film, but you have depth in the ending of the third."

"Sam's coming out of heartbreak," explains Shia about the film's emotional center. "He's looking for a rock. He's looking for stability. He's looking for a person who doesn't love him because of his involvement in the wars, or because of his involvement with the robots. … And, so he's looking to define himself and find a person who understands the definition and loves him for him, and he finds it in Rosie."

"The story, I think, is really rich," says Michael. "This is kind of a good old fashioned, kinda espionage 'Transformers' movie." He adds, "I just told Mayor Daley that I'm sorry about messing up his city."

Set Report, Shia Dresses Up Again

Capone over at Ain't It Cool News was lucky enough to visit the Transformers 3 set at the Lake and Wabash parking lot while Michael Bay and company was flipping a bus last week. The article describes some of the action that was filmed, meeting the producers and crew that are involved in making the film and more. To compound the jealous rage I might be feeling, Capone was able to see a "sizzle reel" that shows off footage from the 1st three weeks in Chicago. Click here for the full article.

...the man knows how to make explosions and action look about as badass as anyone. And this sizzle reel was unstoppable, even without a single robot to be seen. Chicago hasn't looked this stunning on film, maybe ever. But watching it get totaled was just too wonderful for words. Bay showed me this reel personally and stood right next to me while we watched it. He knew it looked great, and it absolutely did. The footage also revealed a few things about plot and characters that I'm not going to spoil, and Bay was pretty open about story details that probably shouldn't be shared, including showing me the entire anamatic on his iPad for the sequence he was shooting that day.

Another, shorter sizzle reel Bay played for me later on a 3D monitor featured footage shot in 3D from the entirety of the shoot (not just Chicago scenes), and that looked insane. The man took the time and figured out how to use 3D to better this film.

Pop Sugar also posted the right image from the set, this time from yesterday with Shia LaBeouf wearing a suit so it seems the street closures along with Sam's parents visiting probably has something to do with his job (I guess at Hotchkiss Gould Investments). So it seems the next day or two may be low key filming as establish his non-Transformers life for the film.

More Shockwave & Soundwave, Extended Bay Video and More

Thank to new pictures from mtoeset, we have verification that Shockwave joins the Decepticon cause. As the picture show with clarity, this has to be Shockwave with the cyclops eye and I think purple color but the large red lightning (which caused the helmet look in previous picture) makes it difficult to tell for sure. The head next to him is of course Soundwave (also spotted the other day).

The cut-outs are used for special effects, camera coverage and actor eye-lines and suggest that both characters enter the action at ground level in some form or fashion. The real question is since Shockwave's G1 alt mode was a Cybertronian gun and his appearances after that was a Cybertronian tank, what will his alt mode be now? To view the rest of mtoeset's pictures which includes Bumblebee, Ratchet and the cast at work, click here. Thanks to Feris and DJ BigTyme Beats for the link.

Nelson from MB.com has now posted the extended edition of his Transformers 3 Chicago set video. According to TFW2005, the differences is Rosie talking to Tyrese, Bay and company greeting the crowd, a look at the Ferrari 458 Italia & Mercedes-Benz E350 Autobots, a scene being shot, and a brief look at TF3 teaser poster.

As for more videos, the one after the extended MB.com video is a compilation video that shows of a Chicago transfan capturing a lot of new footage I have not seen before. The beginning shows the probable stunt double for Shia running down the street, jumping over and under cars. After that you get a look at them filming at Hotel 71, from office windows, and a slideshow of more photos. Thanks again to DJ Big for the link. The second shows Shia LaBeouf in Chicago meeting the fans, taking pictures and signing autographs. Thanks to Josh P. for the link.Read More »

TF3 Chicago: Official Behind the Scenes Video and More

Nelson has posted the promised video that go along with his set photos and report. The video shows Bay and cast shooting a scene and later interacting with the crowd while. Thanks to Teddy for the link.

As for the picture to the left, that comes from Seibertron.com's karellan. I believe it is same blue Transformer doohickey from the Hotel 71/Trump Tower video from the other day. Usually when this kind of object is built, it means that a cast member physically interacts with it in some way (touches it, sits on it, whatever). The solid blue color is so that ILM can insert the CGI Transformers piece in its place during post-production. Basically you are looking at the foot, half foot, something of a Transformer for the movie. The site theorizes it might be part of a combiner but there is so little context it is anyone's guess.

Last are even more videos from Wacker Street this weekend. The first video from Seibertron.com is yet another angle, this time from high in the air, on the Bumblebee at the intersection scene with half that soldiers continuing to fire because couldn't hear the cut. After that we have videos from TFW2005's sannman. Six videos total (embeds and links below) they seem to show a below street level angle of the same scenes but incorporates a little bit of tank footage from before the intersection scene (at least guessing by the sounds and explosion) and shows that the firefight isn't just from the ground but soldiers in office building windows (that look a lot like the office tilting prop).Read More »