What kind of monster is this Martin Scorsese guy who, after vilifying Marvel movies, goes and releases one that boils down to three and a half hours of pure special effects?
Stop there, cowboy. You know that no.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EThb2OGf8Pw
For better or for worse, The Irishman is a film that has made history for many reasons. It's the longest theatrical release in the last 20 years, it's Martin Scorsese's longest film, it's the first time we've seen De Niro, Pesci, and Pacino together, and yes, in case anyone hasn't noticed, the special effects are striking. Unique.
And also historical.
Robert De Niro, before and after the special effects of The Irishman
Beyond the much-discussed debate about the appropriateness of the de-aging techniques used in The Irishman, today at Postposmo we want to focus on the fascinating account offered by the person ultimately responsible: the Argentinian Pablo Helman , supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the company in charge of the miraculous (and, given their conservative approach , unprecedented) visual effects of The Irishman . Spoiler alert: Scorsese's special effects have little in common with those of Marvel. Scorsese's films remain untouched by green screens. We highlight nine delightful details about The Irishman 's visual effects, taken from the captivating interview (in English and a must-read) that Pablo Helman gave to the specialized publication FX Guide.
9 curiosities about the rejuvenation effects of The Irish
The Scorsese-style de-aging process would have been the ultimate nightmare (or the ultimate golden dream, depending on your perspective) for any special effects professional. A perfect storm of impossibilities that, in the hands of the talented Pablo Helman and his team, has become the vehicle for writing a new chapter in the history of film post-production.
“You know, I'm not that Kind of an actor
Surely, the moment when Pablo Helman accepted that he was about to sail unexplored waters occurred during the two-way conversation he had in 2015 with Martin Scorsese and the star (but also producer of The Irishman) Robert De Niro.
"You know, I'm not that kind of actor. I want you to develop a system that doesn't have markers on my face . I don't want to wear a helmet or anything like that. And I want to be on set with the right lighting, working with other actors," Helman recounts De Niro telling him, after which Scorsese simply agreed with the actor, adding: "Why don't you think about it? And when you come up with a system, give us a call."
It was 2015, more than three years before filming began on The Irishman , and Helman couldn't have imagined what was coming. The only additional thing (in terms of the actors) used in the de-aging scenes were those tiny positioning guides that we can see in the following example image:
Joe Pesci and his rejuvenation in The Irishman
The idea was not to rejuvenate Pacino, De Niro and Pesci.
While one of the main criticisms of the de-aging process in The Irishman has been that we all remember the appearance of Tony Montana or the young Michael Corleone (and that this guy who calls himself Frank Sheeran looks like anything but a young De Niro) , Helman assures us that this was part of the plan; that Martin Scorsese's intention was to de-age the characters, not the actors.
the super camera
Since the actors wouldn't have any markings on their faces (like Andy Serkis' Gollum or that fabulous Tony Stark de-aging scene in Captain America: Civil War) , the key was to capture as much information as possible with the cameras. The main (though not the only) architect of this miracle was the creation of a super-structure composed of three cameras: a main camera flanked on each side by a camera with infrared light rings. The entire setup weighed thirty kilograms and had a diameter of thirty inches. And because Scorsese is Scorsese, to film the dialogue scenes in his usual style, two of these super-structures were needed.
Super camera (1 + 2 infrared on the sides) used to film The Irishman
Moons and smoke, out
Given the unique nature of infrared light, all the scenes involving vehicles presented some challenges. Because of the lead in the windshields of many cars from the 50s and 60s, the windshields had to be removed from all the scenes in The Irishman where de-aging effects were to be applied. The same applied to the cigarette smoke, which had to be digitally added.
pink cadillac
The first time the Irishman team tested their revolutionary new de-aging equipment was with Robert De Niro, who dared to reinterpret the famous pink Cadillac scene from Goodfellas:
Hands
Not only have Pesci, De Niro, and Pacino's faces been rejuvenated, but also countless hands (a particularly laborious process, notes FX Guide ). After all, " it is in the eyes and hands that one can see the path traveled, the lives touched, and how little remains of us as humans ," as the poet said.
1750 takes
In total, 1750 shots were filmed with de-aging effects, all in 4K resolution. Only three scenes were shot with a Steadicam. Although Scorsese was able to give Helman advance notice of the pre-production work on about 50 scenes (which greatly helped prepare and expedite the de-aging process), several scenes were completely improvised, such as the long conversation about the smell of fish in the car . Yes, Helman confirms that this dialogue wasn't in Steven Zaillian's original script (which grew from the initial 130 pages to 160). Jimmy Hoffa's outburst in Miami due to a 15-minute delay was also improvised.
eye bookstore
Between 2015 and 2017, the ILM team built an entire database of facial features. A comprehensive library of faces, divided by age, where, for example, you can access Robert De Niro's eyes at age 46 in just a few clicks. It features an artificial intelligence system that, once the parameters are entered, selects the best features for a specific scene. In total, in The Irishman, we see Robert De Niro at ages 24, 36, 41, 42, 47, 55, and 76 (his current age). Every time Martin Scorsese reviewed a scene, he did so with almost all the special effects already applied, Helman says: "I never heard Martin say anything like 'the likeness isn't there,' and the only thing he would say to me would be something like 'I think we need more texture in the skin,' etc."
The priority of the original material
Helman confirms that no body doubles were used (something that would have greatly simplified the retouching of improvised scenes). Furthermore, not all the de-aging effects were three-dimensional. In the flashback where we see the younger Frank Sheeran from *The Irishman*, Robert De Niro's body was adjusted using 2D compositing to make him appear younger and slimmer.
Martin Scorsese's premise was always to work with as much original material as possible.