The camera tells the story. Previs is all about camera work and strong placement of your camera and choice of lens is so important to the process. Here are some of my thoughts on the shot design in Red Smoke, I wanted to talk more about this as it’s so much fun creating shots.
This shot came from something I noticed in the edit and something I’d wanted to put into the film but for some reason or another, never managed it. The idea here was to break up the shots, as the Bug is closing the distance on Nico, I alternated shots, Nico, Bug, Nico, Bug and it felt repetitive in the edit, so I decided to break up that with a shot, behind Nico. This was my chance to add in a gunslinger shot from the old west, it was all about the silhouette and the Bug occupying the left of the frame. These are two versions, originally I had a low angle, showing Nico in a strong pose, spent bullet casings falling through the frame. After a few runs through in the edit, I decided to boom the camera up and finish on more of a medium, nice to get a read on Nico and it cut much better with the next shot.
Across the cut, you can see that having Nico in more of a medium and placed, screen right, helps to marry her position in the next shot. We cut to her reverse, she’s not completely the same scale but this isn’t an exact science, some of this is feeling, I may do a small 2d plate scale to help match her size but these shots are fast and I also like the fact that she feels smaller in the frame, helps push the helplessness of her situation.
Predator
Predator has such a ridiculous sequence when Dutch’s team just obliterates the jungle. I wanted to channel some of Bill Duke’s sheer rage and fear as he unloads into the jungle. I only envisioned one close-up of Nico looking badass as her mood quickly changes as she realises the bullets are having little effect. The framing and a little of the stance are something I was referencing for my shot.
Robocop
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Allen, here from Robocop, crawls over to Boddicker’s dropped rifle. I liked the FG vs BG in the shot, I wanted to have Nico realise that she needed to get to her rifle after the collision with Bug. The rack focus sells the distance and makes it feel much further away than it is. Reaching for the gun and missing is an idea in lots of films, Robocop was just the first that came to mind.
Jurassic Park
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Laura Dern in Jurassic Park was something I always remembered as a kid, trying to get away from the raptor, I wanted that in Red Smoke. It was a perfect way to build tension as Nico tries to escape the Bug. I kept my camera moving to further increase the kinetics of the beat, a little handheld action, and a push-in helped show the facial expression and her terror as the Bug closed in.
The Terminator
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The T800 unrelentingly chases down Biehn and Hamilton in The Terminator is iconic, funnily the Terminator also has a damaged leg, in the film is gives them time to escape and close the door but Nico’s limp in Red Smoke is there to slow her approach to the cave and create some real tension. The angel of the cave shot is directly referenced, just the cave walls not the doorway act as the framing device.
The Thing
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I was looking at how directors have framed up small objects, here is a shot from The Thing showing dynamite. It’s always good to research a shot before lensing it up. I’m just drawing on shots I have in my memory bank of great films.
T2: Judgment Day
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Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Pride and Prejudice
The Thing
The Rock
This reference was all about the colour, and the smokey heat. I tried to light the cave up as the grenade detonates. Anything in a film can be of reference, keep collecting images.
The flare was the essence of the film’s title, Nico tries in vain to use a red signal flare. Nic Cage in The Rock was the scene that came to mind here, it’s over the top but fantastic. Russell’s stoic leader also helped give me some ideas on how it might look at feel. Any excuse to rewatch these classics.
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After Nico lights the flare, and after the initial shot of the bug swarm I wanted a shot where Nico, sees the swarm in the distance. I wanted something graphic to push that feeling that she is on her own, on that cliff edge. Two films came to mind, one where Cate Blanchett stands watching the Spanish armada burn, her clothes billowing in the stormy air, the shot is breathtaking. The other is much more tranquil but again, you feel that real sense of isolation, the figure of Kieria Knightly cutting out from the sky is something I wanted also.
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The Searchers
Drawing inspiration from films I love is something that gets me excited when producing visualisation. I wanted something akin to John Wayne in The Searchers, both the stark contrast and the strong figure against the sky. This shot was also a great place to transition into the oncoming swarm, I was really happy with the dusty nothingness that enveloped the frame.
The sequence where Nico seeks shelter in the cave from the Bug is littered with movie references but one aspect of the sequence I wanted to chat about is the 180 rule. I was very happy with how I was able to get around it. In the entire sequence, the camera is present, framing Nico from her left side but at the end when she gets to the cave entrance the camera shoots from the opposite side of the 180 line. I was able to get around this by using the Terminator shot as a point of reset.
Throughout this beat I kept the camera adhered to the 180 rule. The dolly profile shot starts to sow the seeds of shifting over to the other side of the line. It’s another centered shot, closely followed by the overhead, this not only reestablishes the geography but it’s also a way to show the line of action, the camera is still planted on Nico, left side, and maybe argued another center-placed shot framing.
Profile shot, into the centered shot showing the cave. Line of action rule still holding. Showing the cave dead center, helps plan my camera move, a little snooker here (UK readers will understand that term)
Restablishing geography here as well as reinforcing the 180 line. Then onto my reset frame, this is a more locked off and long shot, to give the audience time to forget where the camera was.
With the position switch, we successfully cross the 180 line. Having a reset frame essentially works like a palette cleanser and we are free to move the camera to where we need it. I wanted to frame Nico's entering frame from left to right as it started to cement the idea that things were going wrong for her and this worked better than using a Dutch angle to convey that notion. We have to think of the camera not only characters and story but also the established laws of camera movement, it’s fine to break the rules but like anything you have to lay the groundwork before you do.