2nd Unit Director? 2nd Unit Director? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ 2nd Unit Director!

Everything is in place.  The Cinematographer has given the appropriate instructions to the camera operators.  The actors/actresses are in place and have fully rehearsed their lines.  The Director is quiet but is studying the upcoming scene with acute intensity, and nods to his Assistant Director (AD).  The AD asks “Is everybody ready”? And then the AD says, “Roll sound”.  After the cameras are turned on and sync up with sound, camera operators shout “speed”.  Then the slate is clapped in front of the camera to give the editor an image of where to sync the sound to the picture.   All of the aforementioned is the combined efforts of Unit Production Managers (UPM), Assistant Directors, and camera/sound crews to capture what could be just a few seconds of footage.   The Director of a film already has the weight of the world on his/her shoulders to give his respective financer (a movie studio) the best possible product for distribution.  The Director certainly needs the help of UPMs and ADs, but some Directors go a major step further by utilizing 2^nd Unit Directors.

2^nd Unit Directors often capture aerial and action sequences in remote locations that the Director sometimes may steer away from to concentrate on key dialogue intensive scenes.  2^nd Unit Directors have their own crew who mimic what the main unit is accomplishing on the majority of the movie shoot.  Their camera crews are careful to have their shots (including lighting, film-stock, and camera movement) match the main crew’s efforts. 

Remember the desert chase sequence in Steven Spielberg’s classic Raiders of The Lost Ark?  Or how about Jason Bourne driving an Audi off the rooftop of a New York building while fleeing a hailstorm of bullets in The Bourne Ultimatum?  Sure Spielberg is a great director and Paul Greengrass is a good director.  But their 2^nd Unit Director(s) deserve the credit for the aforementioned action sequences.  From what I have gathered from online articles and Blu-ray/DVD commentaries, Spielberg predominantly does not use 2^nd Unit Directors.  However, Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino are the only major directors (at least to my knowledge) that have never used 2^nd Unit Directors.  They indeed have UPMs and ADs that assist their vision, but Nolan and Tarantino are involved in every scene.  Nolan donned a scuba tank and wetsuit to oversee the under water sequences of Inception.  Imagine the dedication that this man has put into the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises.  Tarantino fans can rest assured that no gut-wrenching swordplay scene in the Kill Bill series or memorable Nazi annihilation scenes in Inglorious Basterds was the work of a talented unsung hero.  

A great book to read on the roles and responsibilities of a film crew can be found in Frederick Levy’s “Hollywood 101”. 

Our 4th Most Anticipated Movie of 2012 Receives An Official Title: Skyfall

Today Cinematic Impact followed the brief yet fairly informative Bond 23 conference courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures, and EON Productions.  007 fans can breath a sigh of relief about a few terrible rumors.  For starters the movie will very much be action based, despite the budget being 15 million less than Casino Royale and 65 million less than Quantum of Solace.  Obviously the bankruptcy of MGM had influence on the smaller amount of cash being dished out, but well choreographed gun fights, hand-to-hand combat sequences, and chase scenes in a 2 hour movie can be managed for under $100 million.  Skyfall has a budget of 135 million.  Chris Corbould (Casino Royale, Inception, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises) will be back as the special effects supervisor, so expect the technical standards bar to remain high.  Furthermore, Daniel Craig will not be sporting a Paul Bunyan/Grizzly Adams beard for the film. 

Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, and Naomi Harris have been confirmed as the newcomers to the MI6 spy series.  Harris will not be playing the relationship desperate yet sophisticated Miss Money Penny.   Bardem is confirmed as the main antagonist, and Fiennes (who was not present during the conference) could be a second villain. 

Not only has Mendes stated that there will be numerous surprises in this Bond outing; he is going to personally supervise all action sequences.  Yet we cannot confirm if Mr. Mendes does not use a 2^nd unit director as fellow directors Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino direct every single frame of their films.  The director, cast, and crew have experienced problems with the Indian government in regards to filming high-octane scenes.  The upcoming The Dark Knight Rises and Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol also under-went crafty negotiations to get scenes filmed in India. 

Here’s to hoping that Sam Mendes and 9-time academy award nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins stick to film format for Skyfall.  Deakins shot the critically panned 2011 film In Time digitally, a first for the Hollywood veteran.  Skyfall does not need to suffer visually as Michael Mann’s Public Enemies did courtesy of the wedding video quality Sony F23 digital camera. 

Skyfall begins filming on November 3, 2011. 

Update on Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 9:45PM by Travlis Hallingquest