Filming

Inspired by its use in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, three action sequences in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were
shot using IMAX cameras.[16] Although screenwriter Roberto Orci suggested that the IMAX footage would be 3D,[34] Bay later said he
found 3D too "gimmicky". Bay added that shooting in IMAX was easier than using stereoscopic cameras.[35]
The majority of interior scenes for the film were shot in the former Hughes Aircraft soundstages at Playa Vista.[36] From June 24, the
production filmed an action sequence at the Bethlehem Steel site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which was used to represent a
portion of Shanghai.[8][37] Afterwards, they shot at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.[38] The crew moved to Philadelphia on June 9,
where they shot at a defunct PECO Richmond power station, the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, the Eastern State
Penitentiary, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia City Hall, Rittenhouse Square, historic Chancellor Street (which represents a street
near Place de la Concorde in Paris), and Wanamaker's.[39][40][41][42] The production moved toPrinceton University on June 22.[43] Filming
there angered some students at the University of Pennsylvania, believing Bay had chosen to reshoot scenes at Princeton and script
Princeton's name in the film. However, neither the University of Pennsylvania nor Princeton gave Bay permission to be named in the
film because of a scene that both institutions felt "did not represent the school" in which Sam's mother ingests marijuana-laced
brownies.[44]
Bay scheduled a break for filming beginning on June 30, turning his attention to animation and second unit scenes because of the
potential guild strike.[45] Shooting for the Shanghai battle later continued in Long Beach, California.[46] In September, the crew shot
at Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The two locations were used
for Qatar in Transformersand stood in for Egypt in this film.[47] A scale model in Los Angeles was also used for some close-ups of the
pyramids.[20] Shooting at Tucson International Airport and the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group's aircraft
boneyard took place in October under the fake working title Prime Directive (a reference to Star Trek).[48] Filming also took place
at Camp Pendleton andDavisMonthan Air Force Base.[36]
The first unit then shot for three days in Egypt at the Giza pyramid complex and Luxor. The shoot was highly secretive, but
according to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, a crew of 150 Americans and "several dozen local Egyptians" ensured a
"remarkably smooth" shoot.[49] Bay earned the Egyptian government's approval to film at the pyramids by contacting Zahi Hawass,
whom Bay said "put his arm around me and said, 'Don't hurt my pyramids.'"[36] A 50-foot-tall (15 m) camera crane was used at the
location.[20] Bay stated he found the climax of the first film to be weak, partly because it was shot across five different city blocks,
making the action confusing and hard to follow. On this film, the final battle in Egypt was devised to make it easier to follow the
action.[50]
Four days were then spent in Jordan; the Royal Jordanian Air Force aided in filming at Petra, Wadi Rum and Salt because King
Abdullah II is a big fan of science fiction movies.[51][52] Filming continued at the Place de la Concorde in Paris with second unit shots of
the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.[53] The cast and crew finished principal photography on the aircraft carrier USS John C.
Stennison November 2, 2008.[54]