The Wizard of Oz as a Michael Bay Film // Chernowski and Celli

We decided to convert the Wizard of Oz into a Michael Bay film. In order to do so we changed a lot of camera angles, props, and effects. The types of movies that Bay usually makes is a world away from the classic tale of The Wizard of Oz. Michael Bay is known for his intense action films. In order to incorporate this intensity, we chose to have more camera movement and angles in this conversion. Being made in the late 30’s, the Wizard of Oz simply didn’t have access to the same tech that modern day directors do, making it  a very stationary film. We included more panning to stimulate movement in the film. An abundance of movement in camera work is key in a Michael Bay film, as he focuses a lot on how he can stimulate the feeling of action even if things are stationary. We included many more cuts, whip pans, and zooms even in dialogue heavy scenes in order to keep the viewer attached to the screen, as Bay also does. And, there is no Michael Bay film without a shaky close up and excess explosions during a scene. We took Dorothy’s reaction to the Wicked Witch of the West’s entrance and threats more fearful and dramatized to create this effect.

A major technique Bay is known for is the classic Bay shot. This shot has the camera spinning around the character as the character only moves vertically and often locks their eyes in one direction. The camera also spins upwards, showing the detailed backgrounds and making the character smaller. This is in every Michael Bay film and we felt it was absolutely necessary to include it. This kind of shot is really complex, as an abundance of technology is needed in order to make this shot seamless. This shot is what inspired us to change The Wizard of Oz into a Bay film, as we felt that the incorporating the Bay shot when Dorothy first lands in Oz could really showcase how alone and lost she felt in this empty city. We also made the backgrounds in Munchkinland more detailed in our drawings during this Michael Bay shot.  However, we changed the colorful towers and twisty staircases into more of a hut and village set up to create a different tone for the film. We thought it would be too cheerful if we kept the setting exactly the same, and wouldn’t really convey the same feeling as the rest of Bay’s movies.

And of course, what is a Michael Bay film without excessive explosives. This is a man known for creating movies with such high explosives budgets, which we immediately knew needed to happen. Instead of Glinda descending into a colorful, cheery Munchkinland as a bubble, she blows up in a desolate and eerie city. Dorothy, instead of being the cute basket swinging girl from Kansas, is now a gun slinging badass, determined to get her and her dog back home where they belong.