I, Robot
Phil Meheux spotlights an android evolution in Bicentennial Man
By Alicia D. Gargaro

Set in the not too distant future, Bicentennial Man opens with the arrival of Andrew Martin, Domestic Robot number 119 (Robin Williams), into the Martin home headed by Sir (Sam Neill). Quite by accident, the family discovers that Andrew's artistic ability and emotional capacity renders him unique among robots. As a result, Sir chooses to introduce Andrew into the realm of human experience. The android's ultimate goal is the shedding of metallic form to become a human being. Like his flesh-and-blood counterparts, however, Andrew's process of enlightenment is one of great discovery, pain, understanding and emotional acceptance.

On a July mid-afternoon, in a converted hangar on San Francisco's Treasure Island, actor Robin Williams effortlessly deadpans through an act somewhat reminiscent of an old Jack Benny routine. Next to Williams, actress Embeth Davidtz stands opposite her camera double in a scene where she plays both a grandmother and a granddaughter. The magic of special effects, however, demands that Davidtz will have to reshoot the scene, next time playing her own granddaughter.

Bicentennial Man is based on a short story by renowned science-fiction author Isaac Asimov and the novel Positronic Man, which was penned by Asimov and fellow futurist writer Robert Silverberg. Intrigued by the film's balance of fantastical and human elements, cinematographer Phil Meheux took a break from his longtime association with director Martin Campbell - on No Escape, Golden Eye and The Mask of Zorro - to collaborate with helmer Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, Nine Months and Stepmom).

"It's almost timeless. Although the story runs for 200 years, that [factor] is really immaterial," explains Meheux. "Two hundred years is useful as a canvas to allow for constant change, and give Andrew a lifetime of emotions to learn and deal with in his quest. Friends come and go and people die. Learning about death is part of learning about life as well, and ultimately understanding that in the end, love conquers all. [Bicentennial Man] has a childlike approach, but it covers mature subject matter."

"We didn't want to overload the film with Star Wars technology," the cinematographer continues. "The film was about the robot's learning curve and what he learns about life. We may get criticisms for not progressing into futuristic set ups, but I didn't want people to say, 'Oh, look at the great beams of Xenon lights screaming down on everybody.' [A high-concept lighting style] seemed irrelevant to what was going on, so we tried to keep that all very subtle."

In working with Columbus, Meheux based his lens and camera requirements on a number of factors, not least of which was capturing Robin Williams' inevitable improvisations without deviating from the shot's design plan. "Right at the beginning, we made a decision to have a second camera running all the time that Robin was in the suit. It took an hour for him to get into it, and 20 minutes to attach the head and all its controls," says Meheux. The duo found it better to cover Williams' material first to allow him room for improvisation. That way, the actor's ad-libs could be incorporated while also covering other actors. This shooting style also meant that at some point everyone should have a single shot. Otherwise, a spontaneous moment might not be useable if it existed only in a two shot, three shot or over-shoulder shot.

"On one occasion, I did allow Chris to shoot opposing two shots, which can sometimes be counter-productive, because it was obvious that this [particular] scene was going to change with every take. I looked at the lighting and what I had done with the scene, and saw that doing opposing angles would be relatively simple. I said to Chris, 'Would you prefer that in this scene?' and he said, 'I'd love that.' So we did do that on a couple of occasions."

Meheux photographed Bicentennial Man with a Panavision Platinum and Primo lenses. In order to get a good gander at the Robot 119, he capitalized on the 27mm lens which "seemed to be a favorite. We kept trying to use something different, but each time we came back to the 27. We started off saying 'lens du jour' and it ended up being 'lens du movie,' which became a source of amusement between Chris Columbus and myself.

Even one of the film's more elaborate sequences utilized the 27mm lens. Set near the picture's end, an impressive set up in the bedroom of Andrew Martin and his mate, incorporated a 40-foot by 7-feet semi-circular wall - a component of technology 200 years hence - that undergoes metamorphosis into a large three-dimensional TV screen. With the actors situated in foreground, the scene was first shot with a motion-controlled VistaVision camera, which tracks forward as the lights dim down. Production repeated the shot after the set wall had been removed, revealing a semi-circular greenscreen illuminated from behind with Kino-Flos. The image of "The World Legislature," with the President speaking in the foreground, is then plugged into this aperture.

"In order to get an effective screen ratio of 5.7 to 1 for the 'television' image, we used three Panavision cameras - with 27 millimeter lenses - in synchronization, which overlapped each other by six feet of the set. To create a three-dimensional effect and hold focus between the background and foreground, we then shot the President separately against bluescreen with the middle camera. It is a poor man's Cinerama," says Meheux with a laugh.

As far as filmstocks, the cinematographer shot mostly with Kodak's Vision 500T (5279) and Vision 200T (5274), employing SFX 200T for blue and greenscreen shots. "We started off doing exteriors on 5248, which is the 100 ASA stock. I found that it didn't quite match in look to the 500 stock, so I moved to the 74. It was also more useful for visual effects to have plates shot on 74."

Weird Science
The Burbank-based XFX, Inc. design team, lead by Steve Johnson and 160 designers and technicians, developed several highly mechanical versions of Andrew Martin's intricate, robotic costume. To determine the robot's look and shape in different colors, tests of filming processes began with miniature scale models. Finding the right structure to give Robin Williams the illusion of being a mechanical figure was a major concern. The immobile costume still had to give the actor the ability to bring his personality and character to life. "When it came to the head, there were a lot of discussions about giving him a friendly look. We wanted to retain some of Robin Williams' facial characteristics, but not make him frightening, as if he was going to fire a ray gun at you like in the old-fashioned horror movies," says Meheux.

After modeling the head, the chest plates became the next body part to be constructed. "The one we liked first was made of shiny chromium, but we could see that it would reflect the boom, the camera, and no ceiling being on the set. We then moved on to a sort of brushed aluminum sheen look, which looked better because light spread around it. Over a period of time, I found that [the costume] appeared best when half lit with reflective light. In other words, we put up a reflective surface like a beadboard or trace frame, and put light into that until we got a fuzzy reflection off the suit's surface, illuminating its contours. It is similar to photographing cars, where the contour of the material actually reflects the light source, therefore showing off its shape and making it three-dimensional. Occasionally, I would use different colors to give more modeling,"

Whenever Robot 119 appears, Meheux made sure to pattern his illumination to exploit a room's inherent sources, such as windows or overhead panels, into which light could be reflected. "I found that he appeared best either side lit or top lit. Unless you want a very dramatic effect, you don't light most actors overhead - you light them front on. But with the robot, casting a soft shadow over the moving mouthpiece helped accentuate his facial structure. He's the first actor I have worked with that looked good in direct sunlight!

"There were also lot of tests regarding the shape and look of the eyes, which would have to be solid but at the same time allow Robin Williams to see. We found that the Robot came more 'alive' if there was a kick in his eyes. If you light an actor, you can put a very small lamp directly on the camera to illuminate the eyes and make them come alive. But with the Robot, if you put [the fixture] dead on the front of the camera, light would disappear up this hole through which Robin Williams was looking, thus creating the risk of illuminating his face inside the head."

To foster a realistic look, the design team decided to create eyes with plastic covers over its openings. Within minutes, however, condensation would form on each orifice, obstructing Williams' view. Ultimately, they sheathed the eyes with black netting because it didn't show up on screen and enabled Williams to see clearly. Now, only the "whites" of the eye needed highlighting. To get a kick into the eye, Meheux had to locate an area sometimes 60 degrees to the side of the head. But the kick sometimes disappeared when Williams shifted his head position. For close-ups, Meheux manipulated a a fluorescent tube or a long, thin piece of beadboard (about eight feet long, two foot wide) so that he could pick up the light wherever Williams turned his head. For wider shots, the cinematographer conceived an elaborate set up of 150-watt peppers, which he dotted around the set and hid into cupboards. He then worked with Williams to figure out the best head position for each eye line.

An electric mechanism fashioned by the XFX team allowed Andrew Martin to blink its eyes and raise and lower eyebrows. "We found that the Robot became more endearing and more human, if it blinked. Along with XFX puppeteer Eric Fiedler, who controlled the eyelids and eyebrows, Robin amazed us by conveying embarrassment, sadness, humor, horror, shock and interest - all with just this limited range. He would never take the head off until everybody was happy with the shot. I admire him tremendously for that because it must have been hell inside there."

Personal Effects
Although Bicentennial Man is not overwrought with visual effects, a number of signature shots add layers to the picture's sense of fantasy. On the wedding night of Sir's daughter, for instance, the father seems rather sad to be losing his favorite child. Turning to the Robot, Sir says, 'Just play it for me one more time.' Andrew opens up his head and projects an image of the father and daughter dancing that hovers over a reflecting pool in the backyard.

"We did that shot from three angles," says Meheux. "In the master angle, the camera starts wide, showing the remains of the wedding party on the back lawn, and goes over the water [of the pool] toward the projected image of the couple dancing. Eventually, the shot passes through the image, ending up on Andrew and Sir sitting side by side and then the Robot's head pops down."

The shot is composed of three elements: the projector beam, the hologram of the couple dancing and actors Robin Williams and Sam Neill. Background plates were filmed first. The VistaVision camera had to move from 50 feet away, across the water through the hologram into a mid-shot of Sir and Andrew viewing the projected imagery. At the same time, the camera had to change position so that the two live actors and the projected image could be seen in the same shot. But as camera moved towards them, the hologram filled the frame and then passed through it, clearing so that the two people are seen separately.

"I worked out that this could probably be done best with the swing of a boom arm on a crane. That move would give us the smoothest effect and avoid building a long, raised track which might give us stability problems," offers Meheux. "Originally, we thought we'd need the full 70-foot arm on the Akela Crane to get the right arc. In the end, we took one of the links off and just used 52 feet's worth. We did have to dolly about six feet to make it absolutely perfect." Rigging the crane required a day, and the crew then set aside half a night to perfect the intricate motion. The crew rehearsed the shooting process during the day, and actually shot the scene at night. Dream Quest Images measured the crane, its height (including the fulcrum's location), took detailed measurements of its position in regard to the set, and then placed red laser pins on the set floor to analyze the camera move. All this information was entered into the computer's software and used in programming the motion- control image of the dancing couple, which was photographed later on a stage backed with bluescreen.

Other effects elements integral to Bicentennial Man are the depictions of Andrew Martin's gradual physical transformation. After returning from a 25-year, worldwide hike in search of a robot like himself, Andrew encounters a robot repair shop run by Rupert (Oliver Platt). By adding artificial skin, Rupert upgrades Andrew to make his appearance more human-like. This retro-fit also requires that Andrew's head be revamped.

With the motion-control camera, production first shot actor Oliver Platt as he picks up a wax replica of Robin Williams' head. In the same shot, the camera pulls back to reveal the headless body standing in a frame. Platt places the head on the body and turns to lock it, all the while having a conversation with the head - as Williams is off screen. Platt then stands back and appears to watch the Robot exit frame and then follows. Using the pre-recorded camera move, Williams was then shot while sitting in the headless body frame. With a playback of the previous soundtrack being utilized for timing, William's body 'comes to life' at the appropriate moment and exits frame.

"The important thing here was understanding that when shooting Robin's head later against bluescreen , we couldn't guarantee to match up any shadow effects accurately and allow Robin to work his ad-libs," says Meheux. "In the master shot, it became necessary to devise a lighting scheme so that Oliver Platt, while holding the head, does not move through any obvious light changes.

"Later in the schedule, we photographed Robin's head against bluescreen with two VistaVision cameras in sync: one head-on, and one favoring the side of his face which is revealed when Oliver turns the head. Robin then repeated his vocal interchange with Oliver using the playback track from which we had erased Robin's previously recorded voice."

Dream Quest Images' visual effects supervisor James Price lauds Meheux's ability to improvise, pointing out the importance of the cinematographer's past experience on such visual extravaganzas as Golden Eye and Entrapment. "We had a number of motion control shots in a number of formats and Phil was great about switching between VistaVision and four-perf to get the shot that he and Chris needed."

To illustrate how Andrew's hometown of San Francisco changes over the course of two centuries, Dream Quest Images enhanced a number of the city's recognizable landmarks. The Golden Gate Bridge received a second level while the sleepy town of Sausalito became dotted with skyscrapers. "There were artist's concepts for everything we did that were based loosely on what was there," notes Meheux. "We'd go out with a still camera and take pictures of buildings and streets and choose the one we thought we could do the most with. Then we'd send a plate unit and do these VistaVision plates. We put the visual effects in where we thought they had the most purpose."

The design team also transformed the inside and outside of San Francisco's tremendously intricate Grace Cathedral. "I tried to make the wedding joyous and upbeat," says Meheux. "The predominance of light is inside of the church at the altar, almost like sunlight is coming in. It is such a big church and the stained glass is so heavy - even with the available light that gets in, you can't really see it very much. What I needed to do was go against that [obstacle] and light up the altar so that it looks like sunlight, but, of course, it isn't. To give the illusion of sunlight through the stained glass, I would occasionally have a lamp projected through a cookie dotted with different primary colors.

Production designer Norman Reynolds (The Empire Strikes Back, Alien 3, Mission: Impossible) designed and constructed the Martin home on two levels. As a cost saving measure, the house was going to be built as a complete structure. Meheux, however, thought that this design might be somewhat limiting during complex effects scenes that featured objects operated on wires or deployment of interactive lights.

"One scene may have soft daylight coming in, another low warm sunlight as if it's late in the afternoon. All of these changes had to be allowed for in the pre-rigging," he points out. "For instance, there was a skylight above the stairs where I rigged 2 20K lamps facing different directions to allow for the movement of the sun. Above that, I had half-a-dozen coop lights for alternative soft daylight. Also to save on rigging time, we had backings made which were lit from the front for day scenes and lit from behind for night."

Shooting interiors in Treasure Island airplane hangars converted into sets left Meheux a slew of obstacles with which to contend. Fortunately, his San Francisco crew was well-versed in working at this makeshift facility. "The local crew had done practically every film shot on Treasure Island, so they knew instantly what sort of rigging was required, where the cables should run and where the power should come from, and that made life so much easier. There is no soundproofing, very little light proofing and no inherent rigging system. If we wanted to hang a lamp in a particular space, we had to think about it at least the day before we did it. It wasn't simply case of dropping a chain or running a pulley from the roof. A Condor had to come in and the man had to go up, strap the mechanism and the motors to the roof and lower it down.

"We had to make sure we planned most things, particularly for the main Martin house set which has to go through many changes. Not only day and night, but also when its interior is altered with the passage of time. Also, what I try to do with my lighting is to have the same room lit slightly differently each time you see it. This subtlety helps the story move forward."

To supplement his Bay Area squad, Meheux brought over from England his gaffer of 18 years, Terry Potter, and hired Los Angeles key grip Michael Coo. Kim Marks who worked as Meheux's second-unit cinematographer on The Mask of Zorro, operated A-camera this time around. "I also took his focus puller, an excellent guy called Pat McArdle, who is world class." In addition, B-camera operator Brian Sullivan shot second unit with assistant Paul Sanchez. "These were really good guys, terrific, experienced and nice to work with," says a beaming Meheux. "Including one of the best dolly grips I ever worked with - Mike Brennan. If the Robot had trouble hitting his mark with his restricted vision, Mike was there to make an imperceptible adjustment."

Looking back on the Bicentennial Man shoot, operator Marks testifies that the collaborative demeanor of cinematographer Phil Meheux's team made for a very positive experience. "With Phil, the picture came first, and he was open to doing whatever we discussed that would make the scene better. When I had any problems with blocking, he would allow me to work it out with the director. Both he and Chris were open to suggestion and respected the crew's individual jobs, letting them practice their craft."

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