Freekstorm VFX Blog

It’s been a helluva week. Too many poorly kids at home from school and not enough work and filmmaking being done. The movie highlight of my week was curling up on the sofa and watching Twilight again....yeah, yeah, I know, the special effects were a bit cringe-worthy and the story was entirely predictable. However there is a reason that this, the first movie of the series, was a phenomenon and it had nothing to do with girl-next-door-meets-hunky-vampire and definitely nothing to do with Robert Patterson. (Sorry Robert!) In fact the entire success of this movie hinged on one thing: the cinematography. Oh yes, make no mistake – it was all down to what went on behind the lens, specifically those ultra-cool camera angles and lighting effects.

Elliot Davis, the Director of Photography in the film, is a genius. He really knew how to use the camera to capture the mood and feel of the vampire genre. (Of course, Catherine Hardwicke might have had something to do with it too.) Heck, some of that heavily-desaturated-almost-black-and-white lighting was so darn good that my great old hairy Aunt Hilda would look like sex on a stalk with those effects. It would be difficult for anyone to look bad with that lighting. So cool, so sexy, so atmospheric!



It wasn't just about lighting pretty actors either. Most of the film was visually stunning. The gorgeous mountain landscape helped enormously of course, but there was also very clever use of colour. Remember when a heavily desaturated Edward flipped up a bright red apple with his foot and caught it – how’s that for a snow white/poison apple/forbidden-fruit metaphor? No wonder teenage girls all over the world swooned en-masse. Or remember the scene where Edward and Bella were lying in a sunlit meadow of vibrant green? Such clever use of selective colour and framing techniques! Yep, the framing was very nicely done. Elliot certainly knows his stuff.

But what really made me love the film was the way the camera was used to enhance the characters of Bella and Edward. For example, remember the way the camera shook slightly at the start of the film when Bella first appeared, emphasising Bella’s awkwardness and insecurity at starting at a new school? The lighting at this stage was very middle-of-the-road ordinary, nothing special, just like our heroine. But then when the audience glimpsed Edward....mmm...Edward....now that’s when the really clever stuff began. The camerawork became steadier, the camera angles became more interesting, the shots were more tightly framed and the lighting on Edward’s face became so heavily desaturated that it was almost monochrome in places. Combine this with a great deal of slow-mo, clever make-up and sultry looks and hey presto! Our hero was transformed into every teenage girl’s ultimate fantasy.



Yes indeedy, all ordinary girls like you and I can be seduced by a mysterious and sultry young vampire – all we need is clever lighting and groovy camera angles. So forget Robert Patterson. I mean, I’m sure he’s really nice and terribly sexy and all that, but the guy who really blew my socks off was behind the camera, not in front of it.

Elliot Davis’s attention to detail is the sexiest thing about Twilight. He put a huge amount of time and effort into cinematography and editing - and it shows. He turned a distinctly average teen romance flick into a well choreographed and visually beautiful piece of artwork which was both charming and edgy in equal amounts.

Labels: cinematography, reviews