Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Photography major - The behind-the-scenes production of The Fifth Element

The behind-the-scenes production of The Fifth Element

Origin of conception

The title of the film "The Fifth Element" comes from the four elements of the ancient Greek theory of material composition: earth, air, water, and fire. In the Middle Ages, the theory of the four elements once served as the theoretical basis for alchemy. Alchemists believed that ordinary metals could be turned into gold by changing the proportions of these four primitive properties in matter. In addition, these four elements together can produce the fifth element, which is human.

Creative Team

In order to bring the future world to the big screen, production designer Dan Weldan organized a team of top designers and illustrators to start The long preparation process involved close collaboration with the makeup department and costume designer Jean-Paul Gautier. In addition to Dan Weir and the famous French illustrator Jean-Claude Mezière, Besson also took a fancy to seven artists, and the entire design process lasted for one year.

Nick Dudman, who has worked as a makeup artist on films such as "Batman", "Interview with the Vampire" and "Alien 3", was responsible for producing the film's full-scale costumes, automatic puppets, and exteriors. Starman’s space suit and a large number of various organ props. The scenes of the future city in the film are composed of models and digital special effects. The special effects director is Mark Stetson, a special effects wizard who has produced more than 100 films such as "True Lies" and "Interview with the Vampire".

The soundtrack for the film is Eric Serra. As an important figure in the French music scene, Eric Serra brought the 007 series into the 1990s. He composed the score for "007: GoldenEye" The soundtrack has become a modern classic in 007's music.

The filming process

After the crew completed a week of filming in Mauritania, the main filming of the film began on January 8, 1996. The exquisite set in the film was in the London Pine Forest. Set up in the studio's 9 sound stages. It is worth mentioning Besson's directing method. He is as hands-on as a cinematographer, always present in the scene during shooting, especially in close-ups, modifying the actors' performances while shooting. Except for Gary Oldman, who had worked with Besson before, the rest of the actors were surprised by Besson's directing method.