Transformers 4 Render Art for Optimus Prime With Teases of Bumblebee and Grimlock

Render art posted on ACToys forums provides the first solid look at Optimus Prime along with bit of a tease of Grimlock's dino mode and Bumblebee. The art suggests that the designs for the robot modes maintain the movie line's complex look yet seems much more streamlined with larger plate pieces that remind me of Transformers Prime. It isn't enough detail to reach final conclusions but so far I am not hating it.

I wonder if streamlining means less complex CGI transformations resulting in budget savings. This isn't to mean the viewer would be cheated visually. For example Optimus Prime in TF1 to 3 was made up of over 10,000 fully realized CGI 3D pieces put together and rendered even those most of those parts are invisible to the viewer. If Prime were "just" made up of 7,000 pieces (or whatever the final number is), I doubt anyone would notice since most of that detail is hidden. Of course this assumes that streamlining means less when require even more parts. So what do you think of the new designs?

Transformers 4 Building Small Town in Detroit

MLive.com looked into the set being built in Detroit along Washington Boulevard at Clifford and learned a little bit more. The currently theory is an China like area is being built and this nugget of info seems to help that idea. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.

A guard watching the site, representing Wolverine Security, told me last week the Transformer's crew is building a town, surrounding existing buildings like the old United Artists Theater and David Whitney, that will be a part of the film.

The security guard, who declined to identify himself, said work on the "town" is expected to be complete by crews sometime in July.

Images From A Transformers 4 Farm Set (Updated)

New photos from a potential set for Transformers 4 has popped up on Instagram. Taken by blackdaggerbrotherhood from Austin, Texas the images (below) show a farm set. Its exact purpose is not known but the user applied a lot of hashtags to go with the pics, the key ones being #transformers4, #fbi and #chase. I don't think filming has started there, just that the site is being prepped for it. Thanks to Mauri D. for the link.

Update: Mauri spoke with blackdaggerbrotherhood and he said he was part of the crew that built the roads around the barn, house and pond for a chase scene while "did not do any of the cosmetics on the building ...will be assisting the stunt crew with ramps and stuff." Sounds like a lot of fun.

Walhberg's Character Named, TF4 Prepping in Austin

Examiner.com is reporting that Transformers 4 is expected to start principal photography "beginning late May, 2013" and as started looking for extras in the area and LA for the film. In addition, while summarizing the casting of the film, they provided the name of Mark Wahlberg's father character as Flynn Vincent joining the only other named role of Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer). Details on the Austin extras casting is here. Thanks to Sam and Wynton for the heads-up.

Transformers 4 Heading to Texas; Bay Scouts Chicago

You can add Austin, Texas area to the list of locations that Transformers 4 will be shooting this summer. According to Dallas News (via Seibertron), sometime in June the production will be in the small towns of Lockhart, Taylor, Elgin and Pfugnerville. In Taylor the plan is to close downtown and a railroad overpass with a car explosion set for Robinson Park. For Lockhart, the Caldwell County Courthouse will be used. The cities are part of a chase between the Autobots and Decepticons through Central Texas. Filming is expected to start in June (location unknown) with production hitting Detroit, Chicago, Hong Kong, and other unknown locations in China.

Speaking of Chicago, Bay was spotted scouting locations in the city on April 25th. Locations he and his crew checked out include LaSalle Street near Randolph Street up to the Board of Trade Building. Not sure what can gleam from that story wise but mostly reinforces that TF4 is coming soon to the area. Thanks to Wynton R. for the links.

Transformers 4 Heading to Hong Kong in September

Twitch.tv has posted an (unconfirmed) overview of the shooting schedule for Transformers 4. It seems the movie will have an almost five month shooting schedule from June to October. The production will be in Chicago and Michigan for June, July and August plans not specified, then in September head to Hong Kong, and then mainland China in October as part of the co-production agreement between Paramount and the country. The site said that Michael Bay is interested in shooting in Sham Shui Po district west of North West Kowloon which is described as "one of the oldest and most densely populated areas of Hong Kong." Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.

Bay Comments on Shooting Locations for TF4

In two separate articles, Michael Bay discussed Transformers 4. Nothing was revealed about the story but he mentioned that he starts filming in Detroit in late May/early June, that GM cars will continued to be part of the franchise, and that there are plans to film in Hong Kong.

Also here is the last version of the TF4 Autobot logo created by Pixel Rally's Jeffrey Marshall. Just like the previous two, these are not official logos from Hasbro or Paramount but maybe they should consider how good they look. All three of them can be found here in various sizes. Make sure to give him and his site credit if use them elsewhere.

Detroit Free Press:

“I’ll be there in a month and a half,” says the director of his plans to shoot a big chunk of the fourth “Transformers” movie in metro Detroit.

“We’re going to be shooting at stages, we’re going to be shooting around the city, we’re going to be shooting at GM a bit,” says Bay, who knows the city well and credits it with having a lot of good locations.

Transformers 4 Prep Has Started in Michigan

Transformers 4 is getting ever close to the start of principal photography sometime in late May as the Michigan Motion Picture Studios has begun to build sets for the film. The 535,000 square foot facility in Pontiac, MI is just one of many locations that Transformers 4 will be filming at. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.

As for this very cool Autobot logo with a touch of color, it was created by Pixel Rally's Jeffrey Marshall. It is not an official logo from Paramount or Hasbro. If use it for something, make sure to him and his site credit. A few his alternate designs can be found here.

"They are in the process of pre-production right now," Wenson told MLive Detroit, when asked if Bay's film crew is in town. "They are filming in several other states, too. The majority of their shooting, I believe, will be done in the state of Michigan.

"In addition to working on our stages, they’ll also be working throughout the state at different locations. We’re really excited that they’re here. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to service another film.”

Transformers 4 to Shoot in IMAX Format

IMAX has announced at CinemaCon that they and Paramount have a five picture deal to shoot film sequences using IMAX cameras, including Transformers 4. Standard film is shot in 35mm while IMAX is 70mm. The last time Michael Bay filmed in true IMAX was for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It is suggested only on some sequences will be shot in real IMAX, not the entire film. While Transformers: Dark of the Moon was shown in IMAX theaters, it was not naively filmed that way. Transformers 4 is already planning on being shot with Real 3D cameras.

In the video interview (below) with Collider, Michael Bay spoke about returning to the IMAX format for "showcase scenes" as TF4 will be the first to use the next generation of smaller, better IMAX 3D digital cameras. He also said he would not being shooting in 48FPS (as used by The Hobbit).

Transformers 4 Passes on GM Plant

A few weeks ago it was reported that Transformers 4 production team was scouting the GM Weld Tool Center in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Now Michigan Live is reporting the team has decided to pass due to scheduling conflicts. The plant is closing in July but apparently production needed to to use the site before then. Of note is a comment about there was also some discussion about leaving some equipment behind for part of the film." It seems that while TF4 needed the space minus employees getting in the way, it also wanted the industrial equipment for whatever the set would have become. Bay loves his big machines so be interesting to see what site they chose instead. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.

Transformers 4 Production Spotted in Pontiac, MI

According to a tweet from Matt_Boyd, "Yellow signs for a production named 'E7' off the highway near Raleigh Studios in Pontiac, Michigan." The yellow "E7" signs where used to mark the production locations of the three previous films (pic example from ROTF) so not a leap to assume this is for Transformers 4. Since its still early for principle photography to start, its likely pre-production prep but 2nd unit could be getting an early start. (via OLV)

Transformers 4 Filming in Real 3D

Michael Bay's Shoot for The Edit twitter account has confirmed "#transformers4 to be filmed in 3D." Since this is Bay I am taking the small leap that this means with real 3D cameras so no post-production conversion that can be hit or miss depending on money budgeted for it. The news isn't exactly a surprise since Transformers: Dark of the Moon was also filmed in 3D and the 3D craze remains for Hollywood with no signs of going away.

Transformers 4 Scouting GM Plant

Now that we know that Michigan and the Detroit area is one of the states that Transformers 4 production will be filming the question now is what locations. According to MLive.com one of them might be the General Motors Tool Center in Grand Blanc Township. The plant is going to be shut down in July so after that it would give Bay the freedom to what he wants without daily operations getting in the way. TF4 crew scouted the locations but no contracts have been signed so this just one of probably many places that Bay and company are looking at. Thanks to Sam N. for the link.

Transformers Verified for Detroit with Plot Details

The Michigan Film Office has issued a press release verifying that Transformers 4 is returning to the state to film. Based on the $20 million tax credit on the rather precise figure of $81,933,992 that is expected to spent filming TF4, it indicates that the production will spend a significant amount of its schedule in the state. Previously Transformers and Transformers 3 production spent a few weeks in Detroit area filming various scenes. With the release is an interesting new description on the plot of the film.

As humanity picks up the pieces, following the conclusion of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Autobots and Decepticons have all but vanished from the face of the planet. However, a group of powerful, ingenious businessman and scientists attempt to learn from past Transformer incursions and push the boundaries of technology beyond what they can control – all while an ancient, powerful Transformer menace sets Earth in his crosshairs. The epic adventure and battle between good and evil, freedom and enslavement ensues.

I suspect Unicron fans will be all over the last two sentences.

Transformers Sponsoring Formula D Racer

Wrecked Magazine is reporting that Hasbro's Transformers will sponsor Otto Graven and his "Ultimate 86" Formula D Scion FRS vehicle.  While not stated, chances are this will be the vehicle that Jack Reynor's race car driving character will have for Transformers 4. It might also clear a copyright hurdle as all the vehicles used in Transformers 4 would have to be signed off on by their corporate creators. (via TFW2005)

Transformers 4 Returning to Chicago

While a Detroit shoot still has not been confirmed, it seems Reel Chicago has been able to verify that Michael Bay and his crew is heading to Chicago once again for Transformers 4.  According to the site,  "Neither the production schedule nor cast has been completed, although Chicago location scouts have been hired and the L.A. production staff is expected to land here en masse in June and reportedly will shoot from July through October."  Back in January Mark Wahlberg had slipped and said he was house hunting in the area for a four month rental.  Bay had previously filmed in Chicago for Transformers: Dark of the Moon and had nothing but praise for the city. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.

Transformers Returning to Detroit?

A Michigan Live article seems to indicate that the city of Detroit wants Transformers 4 to film there. I think. To call it "reporting" would be a gross exaggeration as the article asks if Transformers 4 will be filming in the city but the Michigan Film Office spokeperson Michelle Begnoche replied "There is nothing I can confirm at this time. I will certainly keep you posted if that changes!" The chances of Michael Bay returning to Detroit is relatively high compared to most cities since he filmed there for Transformers and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Also the film takes place four years after the last movie so still in the same continuity. Any case filming is expected to start this summer and since Bay likes to keep his films in the US as much as possible, it will be interesting to see what locations emerge as production progresses. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.

The AllSpark Returns for Transformers 4?

Is The Cube, aka the device that gives Transformers life, returning to the big screen in Transformers 4? Possibly, at least based on an NPR article about set decorators whose attention to details helps bring a set to life. One aspect of the article focuses on Transformers 4 set decorator Rosemary Bradenburg (image left) who along with Paramount archivist Randall Thropp (jokingly recoiling in fear) look over the hero AllSpark Cube prop used in the first Transformers film. Based on below it sounds like it just be used as a easter egg for fans but maybe more. (via TFW2005)

Sometimes, objects have to be made for a film by Hollywood's many artisans. Some of these pieces are housed and protected at the Paramount Studios Archives in Hollywood. There's a faux Russian nuclear launch device and a telephone from Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, along with various items from the Transformers films, including an 8-inch cube made to look metallic — it's really a wooden box — and patterned with wavy lines and mysterious symbols. It's called the AllSpark Cube, introduced in Transformers (2007) as the key to the robot alien civilization.

ILM VFX Supervisor Jeff White Returning for Transformers 4

While we have not heard much on the Transformers 4 front, it doesn't mean things are not in motion. In another interview with Collider, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor discussed his team's Oscar nomination for The Avengers and commented briefly on starting pre-production on Transformers 4. No details provided but still interesting to read his perspective on the franchise. His interested in his take on working on The Avengers, the entire interview is here.

Where do you go from here? What are you working on next?
WHITE: I’m starting pre-production on Transformers 4, which has some really exciting stuff in it. And then, we’ll see what the future holds. Certainly, if the opportunity came to work on the next Avengers, I’d definitely jump at it.

When you work on sequels, do you always get nervous about topping the last film?
WHITE: We worked so hard to get to where we were on The Avengers 1. Now, we’ve got this basis built for The Hulk and we learned a lot, along the way. We’re actually really excited about all the things that we could push forward on, in the future. It is always fun that, with the Marvel projects, everyone seems to want to one-up one another. With Iron Man, he already had two great ways of putting the suit on and taking it off, but for The Avengers, Joss came up with two entirely new ways that were even cooler. That’s certainly part of any sequel. It’s gotta be bigger and better. But, the great thing about Joss is that it won’t just be a bigger film to be bigger. He’ll really dive deeper into the characters. That’s what’s so fun about working with him.

Transformers To Film in China?

It seems the rumor of a Thailand rumor isn't enough. Now Vulture is reporting that Paramount and Bay are planning to film Transformers 4 in China. The tone of the article suggests it is almost a done deal with the Thailand production simply being used as either as a negotiating tactic or additional shooting location.

There are several reasons being cite for the potential location choice. One is the growing box office numbers of China whose number of screens grows every year (35% revenue increase last year). Another reason is to curry favor with the Chinese government to get better treatment for Paramount films. Apparently the China government has been playing games with the release schedule either delaying movies significantly (Skyfall to next year) or suppressing box office totals by forcing moves to compete against each other (Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises released in same August weekend). Also China has instituted a quota for foreign films so I guess they figure an on location shoot will avoid them being impacted by it.