Director of OUR WORLD Discusses Justin Bieber’s Growth: ‘He’s In An Amazing Place’
By Movieguide® Staff
According to the documentary’s director Micheal Ratner, Justin Bieber’s newest project, OUR WORLD, serves as a comeback to music, joy, and human interaction.
In November 2020, Beiber approached Ratner about an outdoor concert, but COVID-19 was not the only challenge with the pop star’s idea.
“Justin Bieber, he called he said, ‘I want to perform the first full performance for the first time in three years. He called me, it was November 2020, and he said, ‘I’m gonna do this performance on the roof of the Hilton,’ I didn’t know there was a venue up there and there wasn’t of course,” Ratner told Movieguide®’s Evy Baehr Carroll.
“It wasn’t just capturing a performance, it was capturing the creation of a venue, of pulling this off in the most bizarre of times in 2020,” he added. “We just hit the ground running. I couldn’t believe that we were filming it in 40, 45 days, and for the very reason it seemed so impossible to pull off, was the reason why there was such a big opportunity to make a really compelling and fascinating piece of content.”
Pandemic-related regulations made filming the project a new experience for Ratner. However, the director said adaptability is the name of the game in documentary filmmaking.
“Justin really did buy in and had the idea to self capture stuff alongside me,” he revealed. “We had our crew, Rory Kramer, who’s amazing and we really went and we were able to create a system where through all forms of filming, whether it was self capture, or our tiny, tiny crew when appropriate—juxtaposed with like the super glossy 30 cameras set up the night of the show—I think that’s cutting between all of that is what makes the film have an identity and feel really unique and special.”
“In documentary, you better be prepared to roll with the punches, you better be ready to adapt and be malleable. I think that very frequently we live with ‘you get what you get,’ and if you missed the shot, so be it. Is the audio there? Is the shot okay? I’m cool with stuff that doesn’t look perfect and I’m cool with a line that’s a little awkward, because that’s just real,” he added.
Ratner noted that loyalty is central to both the production of the movie and the story of OUR WORLD itself.
“Loyalty is such a key pillar and theme in this film and in Justin’s life,” Ratner said. “The show is being done with people who have been in his life for 10 to 15 years. That’s a big statement for anybody, it’s a really big statement when the person that you’re talking about is only 27. He’s been surrounded by the same people and he’s been loyal and grown with those people.”
Bieber’s last docu-series, SEASONS, highlighted some of the darker parts of Beiber’s life. Ratner said that OUR WORLD continues to tell the story of Bieber’s life by focusing his joy on human connection and music.
“When I met him [Bieber] at the beginning of SEASONS, he was in a very different place than he is today,” Ratner said. “He’s in an amazing place. I think that docu-series we were trying to deconstruct and sort of help take away some stigmas that are out there in the world about mental health whereas this film, ultimately, is about joy and an hour and a half that you can start to get away and escape the craziness of the world right now.”
“COVID is certainly a character in this piece and it’s something that everybody’s navigating around, but ultimately when you watch this film, you’re gonna find yourself tapping your feet and singing along,” he continued.
“Human beings aren’t meant to be kept apart until they can’t leave their houses and interact with one another, so any form of collaboration, especially creativity, and music, and all these things coming back it was incredible to see.”
Read Also: Justin Bieber Shared SEASONS to Help People Struggling With Health Issues
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +2