Roger deakins wolfcrow1/21/2024 ![]() “That concept has to be embodied in the one shot. “You have to build the shot/reverse shot into the movement of the camera and the actors,” Deakins explained. For instance, the standard shot/reverse shot pattern that most cinematographers use to flit between two sides of a conversation automatically became impossible. The demands of Mendes’ unorthodox formal premise completely rewrote the visual language that Deakins had perfected over the years. But mostly, what you see is exactly how we shot it.” A couple of times, we get a great take, and the first part of one will be good and the last part of another’s good and we find a natural place to join them. Then there were also places where we knew we could put in a joint if we needed to. We had specific points where we knew we’d break, and sometimes it was because we’d finished with a location and needed to go somewhere else to continue a piece of action. ![]() “There’s a balance between wanting to keep the shot going and the possibility of it falling apart if you push it further. “Sam and I sat down and worked through the whole thing, gradually figuring out the action, locations, and sets,” Deakins said. He found himself newly aware of the space between his shots, and the complicated work of hiding it. When he shot the military picture Jarhead for Mendes back in 2005, Deakins tackled the trials of shooting in sequence for long days out in the desert (“running around all the time, sweating bullets,” as he remembered it), but 1917 posed entirely novel tests of his skill. He’s not being standoffish this is the sensitivity of a magician asked to reveal the mechanics to his tricks, a natural defensiveness of trade secrets. Photo: François Duhamel/Universal Pictures “No, I don’t really want to talk about that specifically,” he told Polygon in October, after a New York Comic Con panel promoting the film. Just don’t needle Deakins for an exact number. In actuality, the film is composed of several long takes sutured together through slick tricks of editing. Their new World War I drama 1917 has a structural hook: Through a herculean technical effort, Deakins and Mendes stylize the period epic to resemble a single, unbroken shot following a pair of emissaries as they carry a warning of a German ambush. ![]() The living master found himself at a crossroads: Where does Alexander the Great go when he has no lands left to conquer?ĭeakins returned to England, and to his Skyfall director Sam Mendes, for the most colossal challenge of a rich, storied career. Then, thanks to the hyper-sterile neon-hued lensing of the sleek Blade Runner 2049, he finally scored himself an elusive gold statuette. Cinematographer Roger Deakins had worked with world-class auteurs, innovated new techniques, and inspired countless imitators, but until 2018, still hadn’t bagged that pesky Oscar.
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