Shazam! Director Gives Hilarious Filmmaking Class in Behind the Scenes Footage (WATCH)

How do you solve problems in the movie-making business? It's a very good question with almost limitless answers. Bottom line: any cinematic undertaking presents a unique set of challenges for every single frame that ultimately shows up onscreen. Director David. F. Sandberg explains as much in a nifty video essay centered around the production hurdles of 2019's Shazam! (now streaming on Peacock).

The Lights Out helmer presents two scenes from his successful comic book film to answer certain questions like "What if crew members get caught in a shot and it's too late to digitally remove them?" or "How do you film a group scene when one of your principal cast members is busy working on another project?"

Director David F. Sandberg Uses Shazam! to Teach a Lesson in Filmmaking 

For example, a bunch of production members ended up in the background of the sequence where Shazam (Zachary Levi) runs away from Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) in the mall. The gaffe was discovered too late in the post-production process, which meant a VFX team had to improvise by pasting bags and a mop in front of them, effectively turning these nonchalant bystanders into customers and janitorial staff.

Sandberg, who pricelessly parodies Cinema Sins, devotes even more time to the scene where Billy Batson (Asher Angel) runs away from his foster home. While this moment in Act III may look seamless, several problems arose from two major factors: the actors' costumes and the absence of Faithe Herman (Darla, the youngest member of Billy's foster family), who was working on another project at the time.

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Much of the emotional lead-up to Sivana's kidnapping of the kids was born from necessity rather than intention, and it's fascinating to learn how it all came together in the end. It's similar to why the shark is hidden throughout most of Jaws. The script, storyboards, or your own intuition may call for one thing, but the obstacles of reality may force you to go in an entirely new direction — even if it defies basic logic.

"You're gonna have some sort of problem to solve in every scene," Sandberg concludes. "But that's kind of the fun of it. And when you come up with a solution that actually makes things better, it's awesome. Working with movies has kind of ruined video essays and film analysis a little bit for me because you just never know if something was part of a brilliant plan or if it just happened to turn out that way because a problem had to be solved on the day."

Want to hang out with Billy Batson & Co.? Shazam! is now streaming on Peacock.