THE DETROIT TRANSFORMERS 4 SET

I walked down to Grand Circus Park in the heart of downtown Detroit today to check out the set for Transformers 4. This is as close as I could get.

The set is a replica of a portion of Hong Kong.

 

The set was cordoned off and there was no action or activity.

I was impressed how elaborate the set was- debris everywhere, building size ads and realistic structures. The budget for this film is $170 million and you can tell, just by this set alone, how that amount of cash can be burned through like a stack of old newspapers.  Maybe it’s a bellwether of the future: co-financing with China. Transformers 4 is being co-produced the China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises, along with Paramount. Movies of this magnitude and genre play well and make a lot of money in China. Just look how Pacific Rim is doing there.

Yes, the Transformer franchise is made for kids, but it’s interesting and very impressive to see the production from a technical point of view. A lot of objects and props on the set could have been rendered with CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) alone, such as the massive piles of rubble, destroyed buildings and full building size ads. But they weren’t.

When CGI is added in post-production the real props will make a huge difference.  I’m going to try to get some better shots from beyond the pagoda later this week before the set is torn down and will post them here.

The Transformer series has developed into a huge franchise, and it’s satisfying to see big films shot in Detroit again.