``Dante's Peak'' How was the powerful disaster scene created in an era when CG was underdeveloped? (Part 2)

"Dante's Peak" synopsis

Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan), a volcanologist who comes to investigate Dante's Peak, a dormant volcano that is said to have an extremely high possibility of earthquakes, discovers signs of an eruption. Harry complains that if things continue like this, the entire town could be engulfed by lava, but his fellow researchers don't believe him, so he talks directly to the mayor, Rachel (Linda Hamilton). Just as Harry is about to explain, a large earthquake hits the town, causing the townspeople to panic and flee. When I went outside and looked up at Dante's Peak, I saw gray smoke rising high from the top.

Continuing from the first part, he will talk about ``Dante's Peak'' (1997), a movie that seriously deals with volcanic disasters. This time, I will talk about behind the scenes of the shooting. * Click here for the first part

Index

• Location: Wallace, Idaho
• Special effects on set
• Special effects are handled by Digital Domain
• Dante's Peak modeling
• freeway collapse
• Representation of lava flow
• mudflow scene
• Mountain collapse and pyroclastic flow scene

Location: Wallace, Idaho

Volcanologist Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan), who was holding an emergency evacuation briefing in the gymnasium, escapes with the town's mayor, Rachel Wanda (Linda Hamilton), and the town is already in a state of panic. A large earthquake destroyed the town hall and church, and the freeway, the only main road, also collapsed.

Executive producer Ilona Hertzberg scouted potential locations for filming, along with production designer Dennis Washington, who worked on The Fugitive (1993), and location scout Ken Rubine. Wallace, in Idaho , seemed to be the best fit for the situation. It once flourished as a mine, but is now deserted, with some old brick buildings remaining. Best of all, it is surrounded by mountain ranges, which saves you the trouble of matte painting. Additionally, the Interstate 90 viaduct ran through the middle of the town, which was necessary for the story.

"Dante's Peak" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

"Until the eight-week shoot is complete, we will be closing major roads, rerouting traffic, temporarily relocating residents, and scattering ash, but it's okay," Hertzberg said. Is that so?'' (From the statement of executive producer Ilona Herzberg, published in Cinefex, No. 69, March 1997), and confirmed this with the local film commission. However, they said, ``We have experience with long-term location filming in `` Heaven's Gate '' (1981), and we have experienced ash from the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, so we don't mind as long as you clean up properly.'' We received very positive responses.

To liven up the deserted town, Washington installed awning tents over actual stores, decorated closed stores with merchandise and advertisements, and even planted street trees. To make the scene of a building collapsing realistic, they expanded existing buildings such as the town hall using actual building materials such as bricks. Even after filming began, the townspeople were extremely cooperative, with actual Wallace residents appearing as extras at the frontier festival, award ceremony, and all-town general meeting in the gymnasium. Also, in the panic scenes, the dangerous scenes were performed by professional stuntmen, but the people in the background were civilians.

Special effects on set