How to Flip a Set

Featuring Footage YouTube Wouldn't Allow

From the silent era to streaming, from indies to blockbusters, filmmakers have been flipping sets upside down for over a hundred years. This video essay came from a casual discussion with a friend about how the characters ran along the walls and ceiling in Inception.

I told her they just flipped the hallway over, and she asked, “How do you turn a hallway upside down?”

“Well, they obviously built the set, it’s not a real location.”

“It’s obvious to you, because you’ve had too much film school.” Then she gave me a little stare in case I didn’t pick up the hint that I have a whole YouTube channel for explaining these sorts of things.

So I did a deep dive into rotating sets, which took way longer than I had intended. The result is the lengthiest video essay I’ve ever made. It covers six movies in detail, and takes illustrative examples from a dozen more. It’s a doozy.

YouTube hit me with some copyright objections, because a few of the interviews I found have background music from the movies in question. So, paid subscribers get a slightly longer video with more first-hand accounts. The free video will be uploaded to YouTube later this week for free subscribers.

If you just can’t wait, you should subscribe today!