One of the most incredible things about HBO’s new show Euphoria is that scene when Rue (Zendaya) has a drug-induced high that causes the entire room she’s in–and the room’s partygoers–to rotate. If you’ve been wondering how the show’s crew accomplished this, Zendaya and writer/executive producer Sam Levinson break it down in this new behind-the-scenes video.
As it turns out, the room wasn’t a trick of movie magic–it was a practical, gravity-defying set.
“Basically, they built this room that rotated completely around,” said Zendaya, referencing the idea Levinson and cinematographer Marcell Rév came up with.
“We built it on a gimbal, so when Rue walks down that hallway, she walks into the bathroom, she does the drugs, and as she walks out, that bathroom breaks away, which allowed our techno-crane to basically dolly into the hallway with her and we keep her in fame as the entire hallway starts to rotate around her,” said Levinson.
Zendaya said the room was “really disorienting” to be in. “Everything is just spinning, and you have no sense of where the real world is in comparison to where you are.” The room made for a more authentic experience for Zendaya, who could draw from what she was actually experiencing to inform her characterization.
Take a look at the video below and make sure to catch Euphoria Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
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Photo: HBO
