PHOTOJOURNALISM 101: Photo Captures a Day on the Man of Steel Set

Photographer Susan Gittins oftentimes manages to snap shots of films in production in Vancouver, and Man of Steel is no exception. While writing for the Vancouver is Awesome site, she offers ino on what she saw and shares the photographs she managed to take.
   “Director Zach Snyder is so secretive about his new Superman movie that crew must check their cell phones before entry into Mammoth Studios in Burnaby and paparazzi had to climb trees in Ucluelet last month to catch glimpses of the filming,” she writes. “So it came as a shock last week to see the Man of Steel himself and shirtless to boot on a big green screen set on the North Shore. Henry Cavill, the first non-American to play the iconic role of Clark Kent/Superman, is best known to me for playing Charles Brandon on The Tudors. While Brandon [Routh] is a handsome rake he didn’t look buffed-up like this so kudos to Cavill and his trainer Gym Jones. These aren’t CGIed muscles as some of the abs in Snyder’s 300 are rumored to have been.

   “I was without a working Blackberry on Tuesday morning when a friend told me that someone had tweeted about a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flying at the Man of Steel green screen set,” Gittin adds. “Filming had begun. I headed for the seabus not expecting to find more than the usual green screen stunts with no cast. When I got there late morning I spotted two paps below me on the Lower Level Road arguing with RCMP about their right to be there. Man of Steel had hoped they could keep photographers back up where I was by citing safety concerns, but the paps won because the roadway is public property.
   “I soon understood why the paps had fought for that vantage when a shirtless man appeared on set. I photographed the Henry Cavill rescue scene as best I could for about twenty minutes, maxing out at 48 x digital zoom on my Canon compact, until Cavill retreated to his trailer next to the railroad tracks (on the right of the photo above). The Man of Steel set photographer got the closeups of Cavill’s amazing physique. I haven’t been able to confirm but the scene looked like a rescue from a floating Alaskan oil rig. Between takes, Cavill wrapped himself in a big black coat, hanging out below the stage with the extras.”
   For much more info and additional photos, please click HERE.