Location as Movie Star

Written by: Murray Suid

Hollywood, producers seek familiar stories with a twist. In “Comme des Loups” (“Like Wolves”) French filmmakers Benjamin Lapierre and Alexandre Gaudou demonstrate mastery of that “give me something old but also new” formula. This two-person film company—which goes by the name “Little Walk of Fame”— is gaining attention worldwide for the quality of their productions (made with minimal resources)and for their sharp wit. The movie showcases the team’s skills in silent-film acting. But Lapierre’s and Gaudou’s cinematography also demonstrates the power of location as movie star. Note that the first minute of this movie focuses entirely on the setting.

In the following interview, Lapierre takes us behind the scenes of this complex chase movie. If you understand French, you will enjoy the “Making of” video included below.

Interview with Benjamin Lapierre

MMM: How did you get the idea for “Comme des Loups”?

Lapierre: This is the place that inspired us, we wanted to do a manhunt in this abandoned factory, but we insisted that there is a twist in the end. We chose to treat the climax with humor.

MMM: How did you script the action?

Lapierre: Unfortunately, we had very little filming time and we were not able to visit the venue before the shoot, so everything was improvised. We only had the main elements to guide us: intro, pursuit, research, climax.

MMM: How did you handle the shooting when you and your colleague Alexandre were both in the frame?

Lapierre: There was no one else but us on the set. So either the camera is on a tripod, or there is a cut in the motion to simulate that there are two of us.

MMM: There are some excellent camera moves, like pulling back early in the movie. Were you using a stabilizer or dolly?

Lapierre: For the very fluid movements of the camera we use a steadycam: DJI Osmo Mobile 2.

MMM: How long did the shooting part of the project take?

Lapierre: The filming took us a day without pause, without eating. But we lost a lot of time in the morning to plan our shoot because we had not prepared anything.

MMM: “Comme des Loups” illustrates the concept of location as movie star. How did you find that fascinating place?

Lapierre: This factory has existed for a very long time in our childhood city. We have known it forever. Access to the public is unfortunately forbidden. We may have shot more or less illegally, but it’s a filming secret that we can not divulge.

MMM: There are many editing apps such as iMovie and Final Cut. Could you say why you chose Luma Fusion?

Lapierre: We really want to prove using LumaFusion that we can get rid of cameras and computers for some shooting. The huge advantage of LumaFusion is that it can be used on iPhone. We can work video editing on the bus, on the train, in a waiting room, anywhere. It is a philosophical choice to show that it is possible, to show that it is accessible to everyone because everyone can have an iPhone. LumaFusion application is very cheap, and we really want to encourage people’s creativity, show that with very little we can do a lot.

MMM: The sound track works well with the visuals. Could you talk about how you put it together?

Lapierre: The whole soundtrack is produced on iPhone, either by downloading sound effects on the internet on free sites or by composing the music on an iPhone application called Launchpad.

MMM: During the production did you encounter any unexpected big problem?

Lapierre: The biggest problem we encountered is the sound. During the running phases we hear the wind whipping the microphone. We had to completely remove the tracks and replace the sounds in post-production on LumaFusion.

MMM: You’re creating an impressive body of work. Do you have a clear destination in mind, for example, to make feature movies?

Lapierre: For the moment we want to explore a lot of themes and genres in the short film. This allows us to learn and improve. We hope someday to produce a feature film with our technique—just using an iPhone and small equipment.