Secrets Behind The Making Of 12 Years A Slave
12 Years A Slave is the film that put Academy Award winning actress Lupita Nyong’o on the world stage. Her first feature film, which earned her Best Supporting Actress in a Supporting Role and won an Oscar for Best Picture, was directed by Steve McQueen and written by John Ridley. Based on Solomon Northrup’s virtually unknown 1853 book chronicling his horrendous journey from being a free man to being kidnapped, stolen from his family, and sold into slavery in Louisiana, 12 Years A Slave is an uncomfortable and terribly important narrative. Because of the film, and thanks to the effort of Steve McQueen, Northrup’s book is now being taught in high schools throughout the country. Here are some secrets behind the making of 12 Years A Slave.
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Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Storyboards
In film production, scenes and sequences are typically storyboarded, a process wherein camera shots are pre-visualized in detail by artists prior to shooting. But director Steve McQueen is allergic to both storyboards and shot lists. “For me, it’s all about trusting the location and the actors, and embracing what you find,” he told Vulture in a 2013 interview.
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Set Design
In-depth plantation sets were built for 12 Years, sets that had to meet McQueen’s 360-degree rule. He needed to be able to shoot anywhere on set, 360 degrees.
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Background Noise
The sounds of insects – cicadas, frogs, birds – practically became another character in the film. The sound mixer, Kirk Francis, recorded the sounds of these insects in a field near the Louisiana set.
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Kara Walker
Though storyboarding wasn’t on the table, artist Kara Walker’s work was referenced by McQueen and his crew, specifically her work’s anger, humor, honesty and shadow play in depicting the history of slavery.
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Simplicity and Beauty
Sean Bobbit, 12 Years’ cinematographer, kept themes of simplicity and beauty in mind. “We wanted to use the natural beauty of this world as a counterpoint to the degradation of slavery,” he told Vulture.
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Long Shot
In one of the film’s most horrendous and uncomfortable scenes, Solomon, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, is left hanging in a tree; his feet barely touching the earth. This is the one sequence that Steve McQueen actually visualized prior to shooting.
A Fire Next Time
In both the book and script, Patsey is described as being effortlessly sensual. Lupita had difficulty interpreting that description, but got a little help from James Baldwin’s masterwork, The Fire Next Time. “To be sensual…is to rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in everything that one does, from the effort of loving to the breaking of bread,” she said.
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Drama
Legend has it that 12 Years screenwriter John Ridley denied McQueen a co-writing credit on the film. Supposedly the two have been feuding ever since.
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Editing
One of the most frustratingly difficult scenes to edit, according to Joe Walker, was the scene in which Solomon boarded the steamship after being kidnapped. Needing some relief and fresh ideas, Walker “got really, really stoned,” then started editing the sequence while listening to Dutch composer Louis Andriessen’s “De Snelheid.” McQueen was more than pleased with the result.
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Pass Out
Actor Michael Fassbender, who played drunk plantation master Epps, actually passed out when shooting the rape scene, a testament to both his intensity and level of focus, according to McQueen.
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Louisiana
McQueen said he couldn’t have shot 12 Years anywhere else but Louisiana. It was the only location that he considered because it’s where Solomon Northrup was actually enslaved. And the state’s film incentives helped to keep the budget at $22 million.
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The Heat
12 Years was shot in the dead of summer, with over 100 degree temperature. Lupita referred to the heat as a vital element in the story, one that helped move her into character.
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Animal Wranglers
Since some of the scenes in 12 Years were shot near swamps, snake and alligator wranglers were hired to keep crews safe from wild animals.
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All You Gotta Do Is Say Yes
When Alfre Woodard received a call from her representation informing her that Steve McQueen wanted her to be in his next film, saying “yes” was a no brainer. In fact, she said yes to the role of Mistress Saw prior to reading the script.
