Interview with Chris Swift, the Legacy Effects on set Coordinator for Iron Man 3 #Ironman3event Great Iron Man Suit information.

 During the Iron Man 3 press trip we got to chat with the Legacy Effects on set Coordinator for Iron Man 3, Chris Swift. He was a great guy who took time out of his busy schedule to tell us a little bit about the Iron Man 3 suit.  

Here are a few of my favorite questions from the interview. 

Question: How long did it take to make the Iron Man suit?

Chris Swift: It took us about three months to work out the first prototype.  But that one (suit) had legs to it.  So after the first movie, because Iron Man’s supposed to stand about six foot -- six foot four to six foot six depending on who you ask.  Because they wanted it (the suit)  that tall, Robert doesn’t quite fit the bill.  His -- he’s is, uh, just about my height.  So he’s about -- he’s about ten inches too short.  So we can’t really stick Robert in a full suit with those legs. Because his feet end up right about where the ankle is.  Right about at mid-shin or something like that.  So we had stunt guys that were tall enough to fit into that suit that would utilize the legs.  But after that it didn't make much sense.  They wanted to basically just make them all (the suits) around Robert.  And then they would digitize the legs from waist down.  So that’s the way that that works.  They make suits that go from the waist up complete.  And then everything from the waist down they stretch the legs digitally and just add those in. 

 Question: When did you start doing that?

Chris Swift:  On the second movie was when that was implemented.  So the first movie was the only movie that actually had full practical suits all the way down to the to the feet.

 Question: You guys learned from the first one it’s much easier to do it without the legs and the flexibility of the actors and being able to do certain poses and something

Chris Swift: Sure.  Well what I'll say to that is every time we’ve done the suits we make them better. We figure out a problem, then we see what the problem was on that one.  That first one (suit) was a nightmare.  And it was really heavy and it was hard to get into.  And it killed the actor, and the stunt guys trying to get into it.  If we had to make it again today we could make it and we could make it a lot better and a lot easier and a lot simpler and a lot faster to get into.  It just made more sense just make them all Robert’s size ‘cause we know he’s gotta be in it.  And then the rest of them we’ll just digitally add that in.  And that just seemed to be a better way of doing it.  That way they weren't paying a lot of extra money for different sized suits. 

Question: And in the new movie, how long does it take you guys to make them? 

Chris Swift: it’s hard to answer that is because every time they do an Iron Man suit, they redesign it.  And the wonderful designers here at Marvel, have been designing the suits from the very beginning.  They do the most awesome job of designing things.  But they’re designers, not practical builders. And the practicality to building a suit to make it work and functional that necessarily isn’t taken in consideration if you don’t understand what that’s all about and you don’t do it, uh, when you’re designing something.  So then we have to take the design that’s given to us that looks so great and go, ooh, wow, and how do we make this move?  You've got bars going right across where something would move.  So now we've gotta re engineer this and re figure it out how to make -- how to maintain that look and still make it practical to where somebody can wear it and move around in it. 

Question: So does Gwyneth actually put on her own Iron Man suit?

Chris Swift:  No, she put on Robert’s suit.  Believe it or not, Gwyneth fit the suit really well because Gwyneth’s actually quite tall.  And she’s really super built and strong.  I was really surprised that it fit on her.  And funny -- funny story with that is that everyone bet me that I was not gonna get Gwyneth in the suit because, you know, just the fact that it’s a big iron lung kinda suit. I was determined ‘cause everyone -- every fan wanted to see Gwyneth in the suit. I'm determined to get her in the suit.  And, went and talked to her about it.  And she was so cool.  She was really cool about the whole thing.  Let’s see…  Once she got in it, she had a ball. I couldn’t get her out of it.  She was running around and fighting with her kids.  And she didn’t want to come out.  It was funny she was the belle of the ball in the suit.  So it’s wonderful.  It was a fun moment.

I loved the backstage information about how the suit came to be. The story about how Gwyneth Paltrow played with her kids in the suit, that was adorable! I know I would love to try out the suit, and run around with my daughter. I hope you enjoy reading this interview, as much as we enjoyed asking these questions. I want to thank  Chris Swift for taking the time out of his busy day to talk with us, such a nice guy. 

Susan S. Disclosure: The reviews and or opinions on this blog are my own opinions . No monitory compensation was received. I was not required to write a positive review. Your experience may differ. The opinions I have expressed are my own I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising .