Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1480624
The production decided to start principal photography in the Chamber 9 set, where the boys were found. There were almost two weeks of first unit work scheduled in this set, so starting here would allow the actors to acclimate to shooting in water for many hours a day. It also gave Ron and the boys, almost all local to the Chiang Rai region and new to acting, time to rehearse in the space. By completing the Chamber 9 work early in the shooting schedule, we were also then able to strike the set and repurpose the tank for building Chamber 4. As revealed by GoPro footage seen around the world, Chamber 9 is where the boys became trapped and ultimately found by divers Rick and John. Ron wanted to recreate this footage as precisely as possible, so I was mindful of creating a space where this could be shown accurately. Fortunately, little of the cave structure is visible in the grainy footage, so I was free to spell out the vocabulary of rock form and color here that would then be a toolkit for the rest of the chambers and caves. This was also where the boys were sedated and prepped for their journey, so an area was needed for this to take place, keeping the space tight while allowing enough room for twenty or so people to be in the water at one time. I decided that color-wise, this would be the darkest set, with the rock nearly black in places, to give the feeling that they're almost entombed in this space over a mile from the entrance. The construction team, led by Ross Clarke, and sculpting teams, led by Alex Beere, made great progress and the form of Chamber 9 advanced quickly. This allowed for early set walk-throughs where Ron and the team could consider the best methods to work within the space. This methodology became useful for the construction of all the chamber sets going forward; there was always much discussion of both camera and safety portals based on screen direction, and camera platforms were added for crane use. To meet the needs of the complex spaces, the crew created barn doors in the walls of the sets that when closed, sealed the spaces and when open, allowed for a camera crane and divers and actors to move in and out with ease. This method allowed Ron and Sayombhu the freedom to shoot from any angle with multiple cameras and not worry about having to rely heavily on VFX in the post process. A. CHAMBER 9 MODEL IN PROGRESS. B. CHAMBER 9 REHEARSAL. C. CHAMBER 9 DURING SHOOT. A B C