How an omniscient camera can be used to create suspense – and the practical pressure that can place on a production.
“It’s barely two minutes long, but it has 94 cuts across 73 different camera setups, and it’s still able to maintain almost perfect visual clarity and continuity.” Daniel Netzel‘s analysis of shot composition and sequencing in Panic Room (2002) reveals why director David Fincher‘s popcorn thriller was his hardest film to make:
David Fincher previsualised the film so meticulously and controlled the look so tightly, that director of photography Darius Khondji left the film after six weeks, and was replaced by Conrad W. Hall. Here’s an hour of behind-the-scenes of the intense production (via Cinematographers on Cinematography):
Further Viewing
The title sequence in Panic Room utilises motion tracking in visually striking ways: