section_path: Production/Filming
section_name: Filming
paragraph_text: Filming
  
  Principal photography took place entirely in France, with an all-French film crew except for cinematographer Benjamin Kračun and composer Raffertie (both from the United Kingdom). Studio scenes were filmed at Epinay Studios in Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France near Paris —the historic studio where Jean Cocteau shot Beauty and the Beast (1946). Exterior scenes doubling for Los Angeles were filmed on the Côte d'Azur, including locations in Antibes such as the Anthéa Theatre, which doubled for a hospital, and the Marineland parking lot. Palm trees were filmed in Cannes with additional scenes shot in Nice, Carros and Saint-Laurent-du-Var. France was selected to accommodate the film's extensive shooting schedule due to practical effects work, with the country's 40% Tax Rebate for International Productions (TRIP) providing an additional incentive.
  
  Fargeat selected Kračun as cinematographer after being impressed by his work on Promising Young Woman (2020). He shot the film primarily with the Alexa LF, for its accurate capture of skin tones, and used vintage, spherical Canon K35 lenses to accommodate the large number of close-ups in the film. Other lenses included Angénieux Optimo zooms, Leitz Thalia, macros from Cooke Optics and Arri and a Leitz M 0.8 for the body-camera work. Red V-Raptor and Komodo were also used: the former for visual effects, with its high resolution 8K sensor, and the latter for the body, requiring a helmet rig.
  
  The film was shot in continuity when possible, adopting what the crew called a "lab shoot" approach in its final month. The "lab shoot" was used to capture insert shots, typically assigned to a second unit with a reduced crew. The most time-consuming prosthetics shots were filmed during this time period, including close-ups of injections and a back splitting open. Fargeat storyboarded all the prosthetics and birth sections before production began, focusing on the birth scene first during pre-production. This helped estimate financial costs for the prosthetic dummies, how many to build, and the extent of their body details. The birth sequence took 15 days to film. Fargeat even went so far as to perform an actual syringe injection of the activator on her own arm, doubling for Demi Moore in the shot. Crew sizes fluctuated significantly throughout production, ranging from just 6 members for the lab shoot, 8 for exterior scenes, and over 200 for complex practical effects sequences in the studio.
  
  Kračun initially considered using a safety wire to drop a camera past a series of lights for the infinity tunnel sequence. Ultimately, he devised a simpler solution: two horizontal bicycle tires surrounded by LED tube lights, spinning together at the same speed around a stationary camera to create an infinity tunnel effect. He decided to film the fire in the shape of a dragon on the studio floor practically, capturing it from above. The footage was then blended into the scene where Sue is seen by the window.
  
  For his lunch scene with Demi Moore, Quaid consumed approximately 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) of shrimp.
  
  Margaret Qualley lightheartedly described learning the choreography for The Substance as a "nightmare" and was overwhelmed by performing with professional dancers who had already memorized the moves which she was new to. Although trained as a ballet dancer, she explained that "that specific kind of sexuality doesn't lend itself to " and that she'd "never again". Qualley began the rehearsal with Fargeat present but left the set to go to the bathroom and cry. Fargeat decided to leave the rehearsal as well; Qualley instead chose to learn the moves in a private lesson, allowing her to practice in her hotel room and build confidence as she felt deeply ashamed by the whole series of events. Nonetheless, on the day of the shoot, her anxiety led her to get " wasted first thing in the morning" by smoking cannabis and drinking tequila. In a live Q&A after the film's release, Qualley expressed happiness in getting to perform the dance, as many previous scenes had been slow-paced and required minimal movement or expression, making the dance sequence a welcome change.
  
  Moore found Fargeat to be a "very visual director" with a focus on symbolism. While Moore was accustomed to starting scenes with wide shots to establish the scene's space, Fargeat instead began with close-ups. Moore found that "the actor's part of it is not as... important" to Fargeat: "it's not necessarily where she's as focused". Moore described this as "not good or bad, just kind of different". Fargeat praised Moore's body language in the film; Moore chose to express Elisabeth through subtleties, such as her eyes and other simple expressions. She worked with a movement coach over Zoom for her character's later scenes, where she is forced to move quickly while hunched over due to physical disfigurement.
  
  During a one-week break while only Qualley was working, Moore contracted shingles and lost 20 pounds (9.1 kg) during the production.
  
  Initially, two days of exterior shooting were planned in Los Angeles. However, after Kračun filmed test shots of palm trees early on during filming, Fargeat realized she could use these shots as tableaux, and eliminate extensive exterior shots. Ultimately, the only part of the film actually shot in Los Angeles was the still backdrop (photographed by Rosco Digital) in the Canyons.
  
  The special effects team utilized around 21,000 litres (5,500 US gal) of fake blood and a fire hose. The shots of the audience being sprayed with blood in the climax were achieved in one take. Kračun was surprised by the amount of blood remarking, "Coralie said at one point, 'I want to have fire engines full of blood spraying the audience,' and I thought, 'Oh, maybe that's just a French way of saying there's going to be a lot of blood,' but no, she really wanted a hose full of blood in the audience, in the theater, and it was going to be a lot of blood!"
  
  Filming of the theater scenes took nearly three weeks; it became a significant technical challenge of how to control the spread, pressure, and quantity of blood, how to waterproof the filming equipment, and how to keep everyone safe. Showers were set up outside the theater set for the extras. During the shoot, Kračun hid himself in the audience and filmed while Fargeat operated another camera and controlled the hose. Once Fargeat and Kračun were on set covered in blood, they hugged each other and said, "We did it".
  
  Principal photography took place entirely in France, with an all-French film crew except for cinematographer Benjamin Kračun and composer Raffertie (both from the United Kingdom). Studio scenes were filmed at Epinay Studios in Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France near Paris —the historic studio where Jean Cocteau shot Beauty and the Beast (1946). Exterior scenes doubling for Los Angeles were filmed on the Côte d'Azur, including locations in Antibes such as the Anthéa Theatre, which doubled for a hospital, and the Marineland parking lot. Palm trees were filmed in Cannes with additional scenes shot in Nice, Carros and Saint-Laurent-du-Var. France was selected to accommodate the film's extensive shooting schedule due to practical effects work, with the country's 40% Tax Rebate for International Productions (TRIP) providing an additional incentive.
  
  Fargeat selected Kračun as cinematographer after being impressed by his work on Promising Young Woman (2020). He shot the film primarily with the Alexa LF, for its accurate capture of skin tones, and used vintage, spherical Canon K35 lenses to accommodate the large number of close-ups in the film. Other lenses included Angénieux Optimo zooms, Leitz Thalia, macros from Cooke Optics and Arri and a Leitz M 0.8 for the body-camera work. Red V-Raptor and Komodo were also used: the former for visual effects, with its high resolution 8K sensor, and the latter for the body, requiring a helmet rig.
  
  The film was shot in continuity when possible, adopting what the crew called a "lab shoot" approach in its final month. The "lab shoot" was used to capture insert shots, typically assigned to a second unit with a reduced crew. The most time-consuming prosthetics shots were filmed during this time period, including close-ups of injections and a back splitting open. Fargeat storyboarded all the prosthetics and birth sections before production began, focusing on the birth scene first during pre-production. This helped estimate financial costs for the prosthetic dummies, how many to build, and the extent of their body details. The birth sequence took 15 days to film. Fargeat even went so far as to perform an actual syringe injection of the activator on her own arm, doubling for Demi Moore in the shot. Crew sizes fluctuated significantly throughout production, ranging from just 6 members for the lab shoot, 8 for exterior scenes, and over 200 for complex practical effects sequences in the studio.
  
  Kračun initially considered using a safety wire to drop a camera past a series of lights for the infinity tunnel sequence. Ultimately, he devised a simpler solution: two horizontal bicycle tires surrounded by LED tube lights, spinning together at the same speed around a stationary camera to create an infinity tunnel effect. He decided to film the fire in the shape of a dragon on the studio floor practically, capturing it from above. The footage was then blended into the scene where Sue is seen by the window.
  
  For his lunch scene with Demi Moore, Quaid consumed approximately 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) of shrimp.
  
  Margaret Qualley lightheartedly described learning the choreography for The Substance as a "nightmare" and was overwhelmed by performing with professional dancers who had already memorized the moves which she was new to. Although trained as a ballet dancer, she explained that "that specific kind of sexuality doesn't lend itself to " and that she'd "never again". Qualley began the rehearsal with Fargeat present but left the set to go to the bathroom and cry. Fargeat decided to leave the rehearsal as well; Qualley instead chose to learn the moves in a private lesson, allowing her to practice in her hotel room and build confidence as she felt deeply ashamed by the whole series of events. Nonetheless, on the day of the shoot, her anxiety led her to get " wasted first thing in the morning" by smoking cannabis and drinking tequila. In a live Q&A after the film's release, Qualley expressed happiness in getting to perform the dance, as many previous scenes had been slow-paced and required minimal movement or expression, making the dance sequence a welcome change.
  
  Moore found Fargeat to be a "very visual director" with a focus on symbolism. While Moore was accustomed to starting scenes with wide shots to establish the scene's space, Fargeat instead began with close-ups. Moore found that "the actor's part of it is not as... important" to Fargeat: "it's not necessarily where she's as focused". Moore described this as "not good or bad, just kind of different". Fargeat praised Moore's body language in the film; Moore chose to express Elisabeth through subtleties, such as her eyes and other simple expressions. She worked with a movement coach over Zoom for her character's later scenes, where she is forced to move quickly while hunched over due to physical disfigurement.
  
  During a one-week break while only Qualley was working, Moore contracted shingles and lost 20 pounds (9.1 kg) during the production.
  
  Initially, two days of exterior shooting were planned in Los Angeles. However, after Kračun filmed test shots of palm trees early on during filming, Fargeat realized she could use these shots as tableaux, and eliminate extensive exterior shots. Ultimately, the only part of the film actually shot in Los Angeles was the still backdrop (photographed by Rosco Digital) in the Canyons.
  
  The special effects team utilized around 21,000 litres (5,500 US gal) of fake blood and a fire hose. The shots of the audience being sprayed with blood in the climax were achieved in one take. Kračun was surprised by the amount of blood remarking, "Coralie said at one point, 'I want to have fire engines full of blood spraying the audience,' and I thought, 'Oh, maybe that's just a French way of saying there's going to be a lot of blood,' but no, she really wanted a hose full of blood in the audience, in the theater, and it was going to be a lot of blood!"
  
  Filming of the theater scenes took nearly three weeks; it became a significant technical challenge of how to control the spread, pressure, and quantity of blood, how to waterproof the filming equipment, and how to keep everyone safe. Showers were set up outside the theater set for the extras. During the shoot, Kračun hid himself in the audience and filmed while Fargeat operated another camera and controlled the hose. Once Fargeat and Kračun were on set covered in blood, they hugged each other and said, "We did it".