This week Michael Bay celebrated the 15th Anniversary of the first installment of Transformers. While many love to hate the series (and Bay…), there’s no doubt that Bay has put all his crazy mind into it as this series constitutes a significant milestone in many action cinematography methodologies implemented by filmmakers all over the world.

Transformers 1 (2007): Reengineering the robots

The script of Transformers has changed many times even before the production started. Michael Bay as a director, together with Steven Spielberg as an executive producer, wanted to bring the giant robots to the big screen, by making them multi-complex high detailed metal machines in order to grant moviegoers a well-deserved epic battle between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. Many of the robots were undergone a facelift to enhance their power and fighting capabilities. For instance, Bumblebee’s original alternate mode in The Transformers (1984) was a Volkswagen Beetle, but this was revised to a mighty Chevrolet Camaro. This was because Michael Bay felt that the Camaro held a more tough-but-friendly quality than the Beetle. As a tribute to the series, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle appears next to Bumblebee at the auto dealership (and as a joke, he damages it). However, rest assured as Bumblebee appeared as a Volkswagen Beetle in the prequel film Bumblebee (2018 – best Transformers movie ever).

Everything was real apart from the Transformers

To keep up the film’s frenetic mood, most of the action sequences were shot practically, with the actors performing their stunts live on camera. All computer graphics imagery was restricted only to the robots and certain essential scenes. Due to the intensity of the action (a majority of car crashes and explosions), the camera was kept in a box of bulletproof glass. Shia LaBeouf later stated, “The camera’s protected, but the actors are expendable!”. Talking about Shia, the first scene filmed was where Sam is attacked by guard dogs. One particularly fierce dog kept chasing him even after the scene was shot. He later summed it up as “Welcome to Michael Bay’s set. Release the hounds!”.

Another ‘Shia’ story is about the building scene: (at around 2h 5 mins) For the scene where Megatron corners Shia at the top of a tall building and Shia clings on to a statue out of sheer panic and fright, Shia LaBeouf was actually on top of the building wearing a safety harness, but with no safety net beneath him, and so his terror was real. Bay was pretty pleased with that situation.

Extreme action cinematography methodologies

Indeed, that’s how the Bay’s system works —try to keep it as real as possible. Real explosions and real smashed cars = pushing the action cinematography to the limit. In order to accomplish that, camera rigs were invented and new and extreme action cinematography methods were implemented. For instance, a small fast car that can drive 100 miles per hour with crash cams on both sides, driven by racing specialists. The Russian Arms have been extensively utilized and the ARRIFLEX 235 was massively used since its compact form factor assisted to get it into action. As Bay stated: “In order to get the most epic shots, the camera has to be located at the most dangerous places”. You can agree or disagree with this phrase. Nevertheless, you can not deny that many acclaimed cinematographers implement the same methods and concepts. Copycats are all around.

ARRIFLEX 235 as the main weapon of choice

Till Transformers 3, the ARRIFLEX 235 was the main camera that shoot the series. The 235 is a small, robust, and crazy Super 35 camera from ARRI. Bay has bought one and was using it since then in almost every production. The ARRIFLEX was the main camera for the action sequences on Transformers 1-3. From Transformers 4, Bay has moved to RED Digital Cinema cameras. However, when Bay wants to shoot on film, then his own ARRIFLEX 235 is the main weapon of choice. The 235 was intensively used as the perfect handheld camera to shoot action. The camera operators (and Bay between them) were operating the ARRIFLEX 235 by holding it with the help of two side handles. When shooting action, Bay loved to attach the 235’s magazine to his chest, and by holding its two side handles he got steady shots with maximum freedom regarding angles. BTW, this camera was used by Bay to shoot most of its ‘Victoria Secret’ commercials. It was his baby—until he got the RED BayHem (especially made RED Digital Cinema cameras), which owns the very same form factor as the ARRIFLEX 235 (=pair of handles on the side, plus great balancing).

Here’re the cameras and lenses that shot Transformers (2007) – according to IMDB: 

1. ARRIFLEX 235, Panavision C-Series Lenses
2. ARRIFLEX 35 IIC, Panavision C-Series Lenses
3. ARRIFLEX 435 Xtreme, Panavision C- and E-Series Lenses
4. Bell & Howell Eyemo, Panavision C-Series Lenses
5. Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL, Panavision C-, E-Series, Angenieux HR and Cooke Lenses
6. Panavision Panaflex Platinum, Panavision C-, E-Series, Angenieux HR and Cooke Lenses
7. Photo-Sonics 4ER, Panavision Primo Lenses

The Linkin-Park connection

According to Megan Fox, she was attending a Linkin Park concert and when it was over, the band met her personally and stated that they heard about the live-action “Transformers” film, and requested whether they could have a song of theirs in the film, and thus “What I’ve Done” appears in the closing credits. From then, Linkin-Park songs were an integral part of the series. The band has composed a new song for each Transformers movie. For the soundtrack, Steve Jablonsky was assisted by his mentor Hans Zimmer in composing the musical score. Watch “What I’ve Done” – Official Music Video: 

The military connection

Bay loves the Army and for that, he sees it as the ultimate partner. For Transformers, to keep the film realistic and under budget, the U.S. Department of Defense provided their support towards the film’s production, the largest project they have assisted since “Black Hawk Down (2001). The military provided their vehicles and combat planes. They also allowed their F-22 and CV-22 aircraft to be filmed, the first time these planes have been seen in a feature film since “Hulk (2003).  Real soldiers served as extras. Rumors say that in return for the favor, the filmmakers provided an advance screening of the film to the soldiers, free of charge. That Bay-Army relationship enhanced the overall experience of Transformers by making it more real and sponsored as well.

Wrapping up

As explained, love or hate it. Transformers can be recognized as a major milestone in action cinematography. The fast shooting, improvisation, and camera intensity — all those methodologies are being implemented by many famous DPs and directors who don’t want to admit that their shooting style is inspired by watching how Michael Bay shoots and directs. The next Transformers installment is planned for summer 2023 and we can’t wait for that! Although it was not directed by Bay, he has been deeply involved at all stages of the movie. So yes — expect the same high-octane, pure adrenaline injection, and the same camera-kinetic extremity as the other Transformers.

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