The Twilight Saga boasts one of the most famous supernatural teenage love triangles in recent YA literature or entertainment. The immortal teenage heartthrob vampire Edward and the frequently shirtless werewolf hunk Jacob both fall hopelessly in love with Bella Swan. While Bella always seems to lean towards Edward, there are certainly moments when it seems like Jacob may win her heart.
The climax of this love triangle comes in Twilight: Eclipse. Jacob is determined to convince Bella that spending the rest of her life with a vampire is a bad idea and that he is a much better mate for her. This romantic tension sizzles while the vengeful Victoria threatens Bella and Edward. Victoria wants revenge on Edward for destroying her own vampire mate.
All of this romance and action plays out on screen, but there’s a lot of unseen effort that goes into making the Twilight movies appear fantastic on film. Victoria makes her own army of newborn vampires, but behind the camera, there is an army of camera operators, production designers, set hands, costumers, and directors all doing their part. During production, a lot of behind-the-scenes techniques go into making the vampires look strong and fast and making the scenery idyllic for a private romantic moment. Taking these behind-the-scenes peeks at movies shouldn’t ruin your appreciation for the tone and impact of the end result -- instead, it should give you another perspective on the practical work that goes into making a moving convincing enough to pull you into its world.
With that said, here are the 20 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That Completely Change Twilight: Eclipse.
15. WIRE FOREST ACT
The vampires in The Twilight Saga all have fantastic acrobatic powers. We watch them leap over tall trees in a single bound and speed through the air as if in flight. Victoria proves to be very agile while she’s driven by her lust for revenge.
Her superpowers appear effortless in the movie, but capturing that sense of movement on film is very tricky judging by this shot here. The whole image brings the process of movie making down to earth in some way. The forest is surrounded by a green screen curtain on a sound stage. Bryce Dallas Howard seems to be suspended by at least one wire and there are multiple camera crews on various rigs capturing the shot from every angle.
19. ROBERT PATTINSON, KRISTEN STEWART, DAVID SLADE
The flowery meadow is a recurring setting in the Twilight movies. Bella and Edward have some of their most important moments there over the course of their relationship, and a few of those scenes take place in Eclipse. The scenes in the meadow are always private between Bella and Edward... except beyond the frame. Then there are sound crew members and camera operators looking in on the human vampire couple.
Also enjoying the meadow is Eclipse director David Slade. He, Kristen Stewart, and Robert Pattison are all standing as he discusses whatever he wants about the scene. He’s got a copy of the script with “David Slade” superimposed over the pages. Probably the most distracting thing about the photo is the microphone hanging into view on camera-left.
18. KRISTEN STEWART SMILING
The Twilight Saga takes itself very seriously. The movies frame the story as a timeless epic romance and the characters are painted as larger than life romantic archetypes. Kristen Stewart’s Bella almost never smiles in the movies.
Because of that, this shot of Stewart smiling brightly and laughing at something out of frame feels really weird. Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson is standing right next to her with his arms crossed and staring at his feet, maybe even looking glum. The two of them are shoulder to shoulder in this shot and their moods are very different . It’s almost like Pattinson represents the onscreen drama of the Twilight movies on the left, while Stewart represents the behind-the-scenes joyful process of making the movies on the right.
13. CARDBOARD WEREWOLVES
When the Cullens find out that an army of newborn vampires are heading for Forks, they know they can’t hold them all off on their own. With some convincing from Jacob, the werewolves agree to a temporary alliance with the Cullens to protect their mutual home. According to Carlisle, newborn vampires are the most dangerous and powerful type of vampires, so they will all have to train to defeat them.
The werewolf pack meets up with the Cullens in the forest. However, the werewolves were barely on the set if we take a look at this behind-the-scenes shot. The crew had white cardboard cutout werewolves, likely just to give the actors playing the Cullens something to look at instead of staring blankly around.
16. TAYLOR LAUTNER WOLF SUIT
The werewolves in the Twilight movies look impressive, if not always realistic. We get to see Jacob the most in his werewolf form throughout the series. Even after Bella rebuffs his affections in favor of Edward, Jacob still fights for her and her family.
The movie crew and special effects artists used various techniques to bring the werewolves to life on screen. In this shot of a scene where Bella is stroking werewolf Jacob’s head, Taylor Lautner leans forward to give Stewart a physical character to interact with for the sake of authenticity. Lautner is also in a grey skin suit, which is not as imposing as his werewolf form. No doubt the special effects artists used the grey suit as a canvass and filled in the actual werewolf with digital means.
20. BEHEADED VICTORIA
At the climax of Twilight: Eclipse, Victoria confronts Edward and Bella in the woods. She nearly overpowers him, but then Bella distracts Victoria by cutting her arm and tempting them with her blood. This gives Edward an opening to turn the tables on Victoria and bite her head off of her neck.
It’s a pretty harrowing fight for Bella and Edward. Edward nearly gets decapitated himself and has to recover afterwards. Because of this, it’s a bit odd to see Robert Pattinson walking back towards Kristen Stewart with a nonchalant smile, while Victoria’s headless corpse lays in the background. The crew members examining the broken Victoria also lend a totally different mood from the scene as it appears in the movie.
14. DIRECTING SHAPESHIFTERS
In Twilight: Eclipse, Jacob brings Bella to a council meeting of the Quileute Tribe of which he belongs. In the meeting, Jacob’s father Billy recounts a tale of when the shapeshifters first encountered vampires, or Cold Ones, as they call them. A vengeful vampire woman found the tribe’s village and massacred many of its people. The audience sees this scene first hand in flashback as Billy tells Bella the story.
The massacre is horrifying, but not judging by this behind-the-scenes shot. Here, many Quileute actors are laying on the ground as if hurt or dispatched, but their expressions are neutral. Three of the filmmakers are also milling around the shooting location, managing the actors and the props.
17. KRISTEN STEWART & ROBERT PATTINSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Here’s another shot of the fateful flowery meadow with a supposedly private moment between Bella and Edward. It seems like the film crew setting up the camera for a certain shot in the meadow. Again, it feels weird seeing all the technical behind the scenes elements of film making surrounding this scene that appears to be natural and private.
Pattinson and Stewart are enjoying a chat out of character before the camera gets rolling with casual smiles on their faces. But the crewmember holding the clap board is not so happy looking. What could she be looking down at that’s making her scrunch her face like that? Maybe the sun in in her eyes or maybe she’s focusing on another element of the scene.
12. TACKLING A “WEREWOLF”
In the climactic sequence of Eclipse, the Cullens lure the newborn vampires into an open clearing and do battle with them. Shortly thereafter the werewolves join the fray, working together with the Cullens to destroy the rampaging newborns.
Since giving the vampire actors a real werewolf to fight against was out of the question, the filmmakers had to use more practical means. The behind the scenes shot looks a little bit silly but still impressive in a way. Two of the newborns are tackling a weighted sack suspended by wires in multiple directions. The sources of suspension are out of frame but it does give the actors something weighty and tangible to act against for the scene.
11. CROWDED FLOWERBED
Here’s another look at the supposedly private romantic meadow that Bella and Edward enjoy. This behind-the-scenes image really shows how much the placement of the camera makes a difference in the presentation of a movie. If the audience could glimpse just a few inches left or right, they might see all of the filmmaking elements and crew members surrounding the shot.
In this shot alone, there are eight filmmakers and crew members. There are multiple lighting screens surrounding the actors to make sure the scene is properly lit. The two screens on the ground level even have holes in them so the flowers can still naturally bloom in the shot.
10. DAVID SLADE AND BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD
Victoria is a long running Twilight Saga antagonist. We first saw her in the original Twilight even though she was played by Rachelle Lefevre in that movie. Bryce Dallas Howard plays Victoria in Eclipse. Many of her scenes take place in the woods where she draws closer and closer to getting her revenge on Bella and the Cullens.
She’s meant to be menacing and elegant. Though there’s not much menace here, there's still a lot of elegance in this behind-the-scenes shot. Howard stands at her mark while David Slade gives her some direction. The green screen curtain, lighting rigs and camera mounts all surround the actor and director. They wouldn’t want a rampaging Victoria to smash all of that equipment.
9. THE CULLENS SEEK SHELTER
Weather always plays for dramatic effect in movies. With the wilderness of Forks playing such a big part of the setting of The Twilight Saga, weather comes into play for added tension or suspense.
Unfortunately, though, weather also affects making a movie behind-the-scenes. If filming is taking place on location instead of a sound stage, inclement weather can halt production. That at least appears to be what’s happening in this behind-the-scenes shot. Several of the Cullens, including Edward, Carlisle, and Alice, huddle together under what looks like a translucent rain curtain. Pattinson doesn’t seem too discouraged, though. His is the only face in focus and he’s just smiling with his costars.
4. LAKES, RIVERS, AND CAMERA MOUNTS
During Eclipse, Jacob tries to get Bella to confess that she has romantic feelings for him. However, Bella repeatedly tells him that she doesn’t feel that way for him. This conflict comes to a head in one scene by a lake in a wide open valley floor. Jacob can’t accept Bella’s answer that she loves Edward and wants to spend the rest of her life with him even as a cold immortal vampire.
In this behind-the-scenes shot, we can see that Kristen Stewart doesn’t get any privacy with Jacob for filmmaking, either. There’s a whole gang of crew members gathered her and Taylor Lautner them in the valley. Perhaps this scene wouldn’t have come to blows if Bella and Jacob were actually surrounded by onlookers for this conversation.
8. SWAN DIVE
In the climactic battle between the Cullens, the werewolves, and the newborns, Jasper and Alice pull off some impressive acrobatics. They smash multiple newborns and set them up to get pounced on by the werewolves. However, behind the camera, such strength and acrobatics don’t come so naturally.
In one shot, Jasper summersaults over a newborn tackling a werewolf and rips his head off as he spins down. This behind-the-scenes shot of that sequence includes a springboard and a landing mat that surely cushioned the blow for actor Jackson Rathbone. Instead of a werewolf, there’s a weighted sack with a vaguely neck-shaped appendage laying on the ground for the newborn to attack. The camera men are there to capture the spectacular maneuver.
7. THE CULLENS IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA
When the werewolves agree to join the Cullens against the newborn vampires, they all train to fight the newborns specifically. Jasper has fought newborns before, so he instructs the group, giving them two crucial lessons -- don’t let the newborns get their arms around you, as they will crush you easily, and don’t go for the obvious attack. Jasper emphasizes this particularly to the werewolves.
However, based on this shot, it looks like Jasper is lecturing the camera crew rather than the werewolves. This is understandable since the audience has to see his teachings too. This behind-the-scenes shot seems to have been taken as Carlisle is about to introduce Jasper as their joint instructor. One of the crew members can be seen sitting next to a log, looking like he’s in class.
6. FORKS POLICE CAMERA
Charlie Swan is a Police Officer with the Forks Police Department. He keeps a watchful eye on Bella throughout The Twilight Saga. Bella has to visit the FPD office several times over the concerning phenomenon surrounding the unknown existence of werewolves and vampires.
Police may certainly use cameras as equipment in the line of duty, but you may not remember this crane mounted Panavision camera hovering in the parking lot of the Forks Police Department from the movie. The two camera crewmen also didn’t appear in the movie, naturally. Forks is a real town in the state of Washington, although none of the Twilight movies were actually filmed there -- and that includes this filming location for the Forks Police Department.
3. PULLING PUNCHES
Jacob believes that Bella loves him so strongly that he kisses her without permission, which Bella isn't happy about. She’s understandably upset, so she punches him. However, that turns out to be a mistake. Jacob has incredibly durable musculature since he is a shapeshifter. Because of this, Jacob doesn’t get hurt at all, but Bella breaks her hand.
Making sure that Kristen Stewart didn’t actually hurt herself in this scene looks like a whole production in and of itself. Stewart gets ready for the punch while several crew members stand around her and Taylor Lautner. One of them holds the clap board and multiple others are holding cameras. Another crew member looks like he might be laying down porch mats for some reason.
5. ON LOCATION
The scenery in The Twilight Saga is one of the most impressive visual aspects of the movies. The town of Forks and the woodlands of Washington are both beautifully realized locations. They add to the sense of romance and thrills that attract audiences to the series.
However, it takes quite a lot of camera work and visual trickery to capture all of the action that takes place at these beautiful locations. In this behind-the-scenes shot, we get a glimpse of a part of the crew setting up for a shot on a rocky gulley. It’s difficult to tell if those are actors or crew members at the top middle. However, the team is carefully lighting and staging whatever action is about to take place.
2. BIKES TRUCKS AND CAMERAS
Jacob can’t use his werewolf form to get around quickly. He has to keep a low profile as a supernatural entity or he might risk drawing attention to himself. However, that doesn’t mean that he can't ride around in style.
Jacob’s motorcycle appears in several scenes in Twilight: Eclipse. We see him riding it and fixing it at school and in his garage. He’s undoubtedly excited whenever he Bella rides on it behind him. However, as filmmaking demands, Taylor Lautner had plenty of crew members cramping his biker style. In this behind-the-scenes shot, Lautner is standing with his hands on the handles of his bike as if he’s posing for a commercial beside Kristen Stewart.
1. KRISTEN STEWART AND BILLY BURKE
Twilight: Eclipse sees Bella and her friends graduate high school. For some, it seems like the most important event in their lives. However, Bella is much more concerned with deciding what she wants the rest of her life with Edward to look like. Still, though, she is gracious enough go through the graduation ceremony and the class party.
This behind-the-scenes photo is actually from a deleted scene in Eclipse. Immediately after the ceremony, Charlie and Bella are leaving arm in arm and Charlie tells her how proud he is of her. Bella holds her yellow graduation gown over her elbow. In this photo, it’s difficult to tell if the other people are actors or part of the crew.
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