How did director Tony Gilroy and cinematographer Robert Elswit light and shoot that unbroken tracking shot in Michael Clayton's climactic confrontation between George Clooney and Tilda Swinton? In this clip from the They Shoot Films podcast, we break down the sequence beat by beat--from George Clooney's "Shiva, the god of death" line to Tilda Swinton's collapse to her knees in the background--and dig into the practical filmmaking behind it: shooting on a real location (the third floor of the New York Hilton), rigging twelve 20K lights on scissor lifts three stories up, and diffusing them through curtained windows to flood the room with soft key light.
Part of our full-length episode on Michael Clayton (2007), covering Tony Gilroy's screenplay and direction, the film's production history, and its themes.
Full episode link: https://www.theyshootfilms.com/michael-clayton/
Tags: #MichaelClayton #georgeclooney #tildaswinton #cinematography
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