On the 17th of April 2013 the pre-opening screening of "Inseparable" took place in the movie theater "Pravda" at FILM.UA Studio. The first to see the full version were those who lived in this project for more the one day – the film grew gathered at the studio: actors, producers, makeup artists, art directors, drivers, set workers – everyone! The director of the film Vitaly Vorobyov and director of photography Pavel Kulakov came from Moscow. All were united by the joy and excitement of meeting before the premiere.
After watching the film, we spoke with executive producer Catherine Shvets:
- Tell me, please, what was the most difficult and most interesting during the shooting?
- For us, the most important and complex was to recreate the mood of the time, the mood of the 80s.
It was very important to choose the characters, hairstyles, costumes and of course the location for filming.
For a long time we were looking for a place to shoot the city of Pripyat. After all, it is important not only for it to visually similar to Pripyat, but also the fact that the old buildings looked like new ones. We chose the city of Slavutych.
Thanks to the administration and the people, the buildings and streets of the city still look as clean as in the year of its founding - 1986.
In Slavutich we shot a lot of streets, squares, avenues and forests.
We had to repeatedly turn off electricity to submerge the city in an ominous darkness. Block the streets to create the illusion of empty evacuated city.
The second difficulty in the project was to create graphic scenes in which POSTMODERN was engaged.
It is about creating plans of Chernobyl before and after the explosion, the explosion itself, some of the scenes with helicopters.
It is interesting to prepare for such scenes, discuss them, shoot.
Follow how storyboards are created and after it animatics - this is how the scene will look like in motion.
Then shooting starts, models and texture of objects are developed, background is processed, movement is added. And here you see the helicopter falling on you, it is absolutely real!).
.jpg)
We worked hard on the details of the Chernobyl station. It looks completely natural due to hard work of designers.
.jpg)
- Where the film was shot? What criteria guided the group in choosing locations?
- The shooting took place in Ukraine.
Chernobyl station we were shooting in Kiev, partly in Troeschina, helicopter base, near Kherson, Moscow - in Kiev and Lviv, Pripyat - in Slavutych.
Again, I repeat. For us it was important to find a location that would show the mood of that time.
- For you, as a producer, which is preferable: to shoot in the pavilion or on location? And for a group?
It’s hard to say. It all depends on how interesting the scene is.
The pavilion is interesting to shoot in good, textured sets. The pavilion is quieter, warmer and cozier. But the problem of the pavilion is that D.O.P. must set the light to transmit natural street lighting. It needs a good lighting designer. Because of the poor lighting and bad work of the art director, set in the films often seem to be cardboard.
Shooting on location is harder and takes more time. After all, you need a lot of special transport to bring people and technology to the point, it is also difficult to prepare the location.
However, it adds depth and vitality. Here everything is natural.
We haven’t shot Inseparable in pavilion. A lot of shootin on location, a few interiors. I think we were lucky with the weather.
- The story takes place in 1986. Director, and many viewers remember this time. What is more complex: to make a film about the distant past, searching for materials for recreation only in archives or yet to make a film about a time in which "there are living witnesses"?
- Indeed, we're afraid of criticism from "living witnesses" of that time. There always will be people who want to criticize a movie, make it clear that they know more about this.
On the other hand, it were "living witnesses" who helped bringing the film to life. I'm talking about all kinds of advisers - military, doctors, pilots, specialists in radiation safety.
But let's also not forget that we're making a feature film, not a documentary. Therefore, if something in the film is exaggerated, it is extremely artistic vision of the authors of the film.
- On the role of the main characters, Alya and Pasha were chosen very young children who don’t have much cinematic experience. Was it difficult to work with them on the same set?
- The guys are great. This is the case when the work they do, possesed them completely. We were able to work for several hours without a break, in the field, under the sun. Always knew the text perfectly, offering their own versions. Completely unpretentious in the real life. We are very happy with them.
- And how was working with the actors, who are real stars? Yulia Rutberg? Yuri Nazarov?
I think that with all the actors in the film we were lucky. They are serious professionals who maintain the common cause.
- Are there interesting numbers? For example, how many extras were enabled? Maybe due to the complexity of the scenes the shooting lasted for 24 hours instead of 12?
The largest number of extras we have attracted to the scene of the evacuation of Pripyat, more than 200 people.
Almost 8 months we worked on graphic scenes of the film.
Several dozen of special vehicles were involved in the shooting of the film, ranging from the Ikarus buses, which were collected throughout Ukraine, ending with tanks and BRDM machines.
- Maybe there is something that you would like to share with the audience? What's left behind-the-scenes?
First, I am very glad to work with director Vitaly Vorobyov. This is a professional who knows exactly what he wants and gets it. Without yelling and hysterics. And it is always justified.
I want to commend the work of D.O.P. – Pavel Kulakov. He is a very talented person. He knows simple ways to achieve a beautiful image.
And we are very lucky with the composer Maxim Koshevarov from Peter.
Very hard working, good peson. Wrote for us a lot of great tracks.
It is always important for the music to adorn the movie without dragging the attention. Here, we have achieved the right effect.
In general, the music for this film is my private pride! I love to listen to it!
