Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Chapter 12)

Chapter 12 has Nadeem Razmaadi training while Garraka escapes his prison.

Cast[]

Listed as they appear in film.

Entities[]

Equipment[]

Items[]

Orb of Garraka

Vehicles[]

Ecto-1

Environmental[]

Death Chill

Places/Locations[]

Plot[]

Nadeem was taken to the second floor of the Firehouse and coached by Ray and Podcast into guiding the flame from a lighter into an unlit candle. Nadeem thought that was impossible but Ray recalled he stopped believing in that word a long time ago. Nadeem pointed out he went to senior prom as the back-up for someone's brother. Ray cited a history of people doing the impossible like the strength of Samson and speed of Achilles. Podcast cited the perfect pitch and sick dance moves. Nadeem was still skeptical and was shocked to see the flame move to the motion of his hand. Ray mentioned the Burning Bush, the flame brought by the Djinn from the Seven Earths, and that which flowed from the hair of Sambō-Kōjin, the Japanese god of the hearth. Podcast inched the candle a little closer since it would be Nadeem's first try. Nadeem still believed they were all going to die. Gary knocked on Phoebe's bedroom door and started talking, unaware she sneaked out, about how life was rough, unpredictable, and crazy but family was the one thing that was there for you no matter what and sometimes it was not blood relatives that reminded you you have a home. He ended repeating he thought she was really great.

In reality, Phoebe was at Washington Square Park. She set her chess pieces. Melody soon appeared. As they walked down a sidewalk, Phoebe confided in Melody and told her every time she did what she thought was right, they came down on her like she screwed everything up. Melody thought that was ridiculous and Phoebe agreed. Phoebe saw the irony that the only person that got her was a ghost. Melody remarked it was too bad the two of them existed on different dimensional planes. Phoebe added "separated by quantum physics." Melody it was always something. Phoebe revealed there was a way for her to be a ghost for a bit but it was experimental. Melody noted she would not want to risk it. Phoebe noted it was non-lethal. Melody joked that was a bonus. Phoebe admitted it just required a little bit of light breaking and entering and some advanced science. Melody was concerned it would get her in more trouble. Phoebe rhetorically asked what else they could do to her. They departed the Williamsburg Bridge bus terminal.

After some light breaking and entering in the evening, Phoebe gained access to the Paranormal Research Center and entered with Melody. Phoebe booted up the Ionic Separator while Melody stared at the Orb of Garraka. Phoebe explained the Separator would temporarily split her spirit from her body and allow them to exist on the same dimensional plane for two minutes then she would regain consciousness. Phoebe went into the Separator. Her spirit was extracted and she emerged from chamber II in spirit form. Phoebe quoted Melody's "Boo" from an earlier encounter but she noticed something was wrong. Melody apologized. Garraka took control of both Phoebe's spirit, and by extension body, and made her recite the chant to free him from the orb. Melody explained Garraka could control only ghosts and not humans. Phoebe's ghost-walking was a loophole that Garraka exploited to gain his freedom. Melody claimed Garraka was her only chance to see her family again because she believed he could open the door to the Other Side. The orb rose up from the desk and completely disassembled into pieces. A black smokey mass was left and spread across the room. Phoebe was freed. She and Melody looked up at a pair of eyes and heard Garraka say, "Your world will shatter. Bones and ice. My empire will rise." Melody vanished and Phoebe was back in her body. Garraka manifested his corporeal form. Lucky slid a Trap toward him and opened fire with an upgraded Proton Pack but the stream had no effect on Garraka. He froze the stream and it fell to pieces on the floor. The pack froze and turned off. Lucky began to freeze as Garraka left the building.

Trivia[]

The Firehouse second and third floor sets were at Winnersh Studios in the United Kingdom.^[1]
The lighter Ray strikes bears the Manhattan Adventurers Society logo.
Nadeem reveales he went to his high school senior prom as a back up for someone's brother.
Gary brings up the confrontation at the police station.
Washington Square Park was recreated using lidar scans and photogrammetry. The matte painting team blended in blue screen plates with film tiles of cars in motion, photographs, and moving lights. Additional layers like the park bench and foliage provided an additional layer. The background by Melody was pre-treated with heat distortion and slightly desaturated and tinted. Melody was added in then color corrections were done. The team then worked on Melody's final look in the scene. Lastly, Phoebe and a blend of computer generated and practical chess pieces were composited on top.^[2]
The chess scene was filmed at Russell Square in London.^[3]
Phoebe and Melody's walking scene was filmed outside Original Nails at 85 Peachtree Street SW #3030 in downtown Atlanta, Georgia on December 5 and 6, 2023.^[4]
At the 1:15:23 mark, there is a shot of the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal in Brooklyn.
One of Gil Kenan's favorite non-character shots was a night plate shot in New York by the second unit of the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Bus Terminal.^[5]
For filming, the exterior of the Paranormal Research Center was the Lyons Pool on Staten Island.^[6]^[7]
The Paranormal Research Center set was at Winnersh Film Studios in Wokingham, United Kingdom.^[8]
A motion controlled camera was used to film the part when Phoebe ghostwalks out of the Ionic Separator.^[9]
Originally, Garraka's form was going to revealed gradually from a vapor with the suggestion of eyes to the completed form.^[10]
Garraka's visual concept was produced by DNEG then Sony Pictures Imageworks did the build and animation.^[11]
Jason Reitman came up with Garraka's name during script writing.^[12]
Garraka's design was influenced by classic monster films like ones by Ray Harryhausen in "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad".^[13]
Celeste O'Connor was unaware the Proton Stream fired at Garraka would be frozen when the scene was filmed.^[14]

References[]

↑ whitelock_design_limited 4/21/2024 Luke Whitelock writes: "Secondly this set was built at Winnersh studios and my ground floor set was based at Shinfield which was a 10 minute drive away so I couldn't oversee both sets and another Art Director (Tom Weaving) came on board to take over and oversee the finishes."
↑ Sony Pictures Imageworks – VFX "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire | SIGGRAPH 2024 Production Session" 18:00-19:50 10/2/2024 Ben Aguillon says: "For the chess match, since it was shot against a blue screen in London, we ended up recreating Washington Square Park from lidar scans and photogrammetry. Our matte painting team led by Andrew Bain who's joining us here today. He'll share with us a little bit later. They did a great job putting everything together. They blended film tiles of car motion, photographs, moving lights, and other features to keep the background alive. They also provided additional layers like the bench and foliage on 3D cards to help with parallax during camera moves and then our comp team jumped in and pre-treated the background with heat distortion from the effect sim and slightly desaturated and tinted the area behind Melody then Melody was extracted from the blue screen plate, color corrections from the temp plate were added with slight adjustments to compensate for background changes and to keep continuity. A little bit of heat distortion was applied to her. Not too much. Mostly around her edges. And then an ethereal treatment was added, driven by the flame sim and brightness changes in the actor's plate which created those elongated highlights. A smoke pass was added strategically to add or reduce contrast in specific areas. And to finish off her look, the flames were added including occasional warm color accents for contrast. You can see our compers added peachy hues in some of the flames. And finally Phoebe and a blend of CG and practical chess pieces were composited on top."
↑ Universal Extras "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" retrieved 4/21/2024
↑ atlanta_filming instagram 12/6/2023
↑ Gil Kenan (2024). Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire- Commentary (2024) (Blu-ray ts. 1:15:19-1:15:33). Sony Pictures. Gil Kenan says: "We're about to see one of my favorite, random, non-character shots in the film, one that was filmed by our second unit... on a night plates shoot in New York."
↑ Spook Central "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Production Notes" 3/22/2024 Eve Stewart says: "We knew we had to have an exterior for this aquarium in New York, so we found a big, round building on Staten Island that we could use as the exterior. That, in turn, informed the very aqueous shapes and corridors and arches we have designed inside. And it seemed natural to have empty fish tanks for the ghosts to live in."
↑ Adam Savage's Tested YouTube "Adam Savage Tours The Ghostbusters Research Lab Set!" 00:36-00:48 3/26/2024 Eve Stewart says: "Well, we saw a really brilliant exterior on Staten Island/ A round building which Gil and I, well mainly Gil, fell in love with and then I really bought into so I just imagined what the inside looked like."
↑ horacestunts instagram 4/6/2024 Kevin Mangold writes: "Research Lab Winnersh Film Studios, Wokingham, UK."
↑ beforesandafters "Making slimer, a sewer dragon and those Mini-Pifts for 'Frozen Empire'" 21:49-22:06 4/29/2024 Jason Greenblum says: "There was one shot I think they used motion control for and it really helped and it was the one where she came out of the separator and had the two of them together, but every other shot was handheld or on a dollie so it was all recreated."
↑ beforesandafters "Making slimer, a sewer dragon and those Mini-Pifts for 'Frozen Empire'" 23:22-24:30 4/29/2024 Jason Greenblum says: "Originally, the idea for him was that he was going to reveal in that initial moment when he gets released from the orb as 90 percent vapor. Maybe you would see the suggestion of eyes. Maybe where was some shoulder. Something in there but it's going to be just all vapor but it evolved into this thing where he was torso and a lot of vapor and then as he realized in this world he would get more and more formed, it was--effects is always a challenge. They don't work. They take more time than you expect them to. There's challenges you didn't expect. And I think with Garraka, it was no different. How thick was the vapor? How much movement would it have? And landing on the final result turned out nice the way the vapor had an otherwordly feel and cold and the parts of adding the icy quality to him and his Death Chill breath."
↑ beforesandafters "Here’s how practical Slimer puppetry was mixed with CG for ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’" 4/29/2024 Line reads: "DNEG produced the concept for Garraka, with Imageworks handling the build and animation."
↑ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Vh7kM2gpU A Trip to the Movies with Alex Zane YouTube "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - Spoiler Talk with Director Gil Kenan!" 10:05-10:38 3/21/2024 Gil Kenan says: "But in starting to create the mythology for the characters, I remember it was Jason who uttered the name Garraka for the first time. He pulled that name somewhere out of his Reitman mind. I drew Garraka in the margins of our script while we were writing. And that initial sketch is very, very close to the character you see on-screen."
↑ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Vh7kM2gpU A Trip to the Movies with Alex Zane YouTube "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - Spoiler Talk with Director Gil Kenan!" 11:42-11:56 3/21/2024 Gil Kenan says: "I used references going more to the sort of classic film monsters like Ray Harryhausen's The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. Moments to me that had a Staccato terror to the movement."
↑ Sony Pictures Imageworks – VFX "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire | SIGGRAPH 2024 Production Session" 34:14-34:17 10/2/2024 Chris Messineo says: "The actor didn't know that this would freeze solid."