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22 cgw a p r i l • m ay • j u n e 2 0 2 1 were presented in black-and-white using a 4:3 aspect ratio with significant lens falloff on the edges of the frame, capturing the style of the '50s and '60s sitcoms, respec- tively, such as I Love Lucy and Bewitched. The first episode was even filmed in front of a live studio audience, while Episode 3 has the flair (and color) of the 1970s. Filming for WandaVision initially started at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta but finished in Los Angeles (aer a several-month hiatus due to COVID), using period-appropriate camera lenses, lighting, and live special effects. In fact, cinematographer Jess Hall, ASC, BSC used 47 different camera lenses for the seven time periods covered in Wan- daVision – many of which were modern lenses custom-modified to achieve the desired period lens characteristics. He also incorporated certain composition and cam- era movement popular at the time to convey the various periods. Tungsten lights were mainly used for the 1950s to the 1970s episodes, as was indicative of that time, with LED lighting in episodes starting around 2000. As DeMarco explains, the black-and- white episodes were made using period- specific sets, costumes, makeup, and so forth, so they could be graded in black-and- white (as opposed to filmed in black-and- white). "We wanted flexibility later on, so we chose a modern style of filmmaking in that we used a digital acquisition," she says. When shooting the scenes in black-and- white, Bettany was painted blue, rather than Vision's signature maroon color, since red shows up very dark in grayscale. Also, a little extra shine was added to the metal on his head to make it stand out more from his skin tone. Likewise, the filmmakers looked at era-specific footage acquisition and broad- casting during the 1970s, with the team leaning heavily toward a particular palette during finishing. (For the 1980s, the crew introduced a purposefully flaked red color bleed, which occurred with film-to-video transfer during this time and was a popular look for '80s sitcoms.) As for the effects, according to DeMarco, the first three episodes featured film cuts and rewind effects that were employed along with the practical effects during those peri- ods. For Episode 1 and 3, the VFX crew did a lot of wire work, as special effects and props teams worked together with puppeteers to fly items in and out of the kitchen as Wanda prepared for unexpected dinner guests. Contemporary visual effects were used to paint-remove the wires, smooth the cuts, and, occasionally, create wire gags that were not filmed practically. As DeMarco points out, the charm of the wire work is that you can feel the hand of the puppeteer. It's imperfect; to add imperfection in CGI would have taken a significant amount of time. Effects were kept at a minimum up to and including Episode 5, which encompasses the 1980s, a time when effects were not Effects were used sparingly in the earlier episodes, indicative of the era. The house and the characters undergo numerous style changes. Artifacts were added to reflect the look of sitcoms from the period.