Throughout his career,
Christopher Nolan has directed some incredible sequences.
With "Tenet",
he pushed the visual language of action set pieces
by blending forward and reversed motion.
But the real lesson we can take away from the "Tenet" airport fight
as a matter of perspective.
How did Nolan and his team create two versions of the same fight
from two different points of view?
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This is your spoiler warning for "Tenet".
Let's get inverted.
Without getting too deep into the plot and the rules of time inversion,
all we need to know is that the protagonist
has an encounter with a mystery combatant.
Who turns out to be his future self.
Later, we see the same fight with the roles reversed.
And in each scene, we view the fight from a different perspective.
Perspective is important because it is how our connection and empathy
for the characters are created.
We are meant to see what they see and understand how they feel about it.
In a chaotic scene, such as this, we could easily lose that connection,
leaving us with empty action and no investment in the outcome.
So how does Nolan establish unique perspectives between the fights?
Let's review these elements, starting with composition and framing.
Using very basic and simplified composition rules,
we tend to reserve the center of the frame for the most important element in a shot.
This is especially true during action scenes
so we can remain focused
despite the rapid movement and editing.
In both fights,
the blocking is constantly changing.
But there are specific moments where the subject is purposefully center framed.
Consider this moment in fight one.
And the equivalent shot from fight two.
It's the same moment, but each version aligns us
with a slightly different perspective.
Along with framing Nolan also uses different coverage for each fight.
In moments like this,
the camera is positioned on the opposite side
of the 180-degree line established in fight one.
These angle changes help make it seem like a different fight
allowing the audience to be more receptive to a different perspective.
This is how you can use the camera to inform perspective.
Now let's talk about how editing plays a similar role.
Tenet's editor Jennifer Lame helps push this idea of perspective.
While many of the shots in both fights are two shots.
There are also moments when we cut to singles of the primary subject.
These brief shots help tip the scales of perspective toward the intended subject.
Let's look at this moment in the hallway.
In both fights,
we get dirty singles on the primary subject as the suit throws pouches,
and as a soldier defends against them.
By cutting to more individualized shots,
we can more easily connect with the subject in that moment.
But switching between two shots and singles,
it's just the beginning.
Nolan goes a step further by adding in POV and reaction shots as well.
The combination of a POV shot with a reaction shot
are used to help guide the fight's progression.
The best examples of this comes here.
In fight one, we get POV and reaction shots from the suit
as the gun and cartridge invert towards them.
During the same relative moment in fight two...
the soldier looks to the other room, waiting for his double.
And then again, as he escapes into the turnstile.
Though, brief these moments, give the audience a concrete perspective.
If these subtle compositions and shot types weren't enough,
Nolan adds a new layer of perspective.
While the visuals provide most of the information,
the sound design is working just as hard
to align us with a certain character's perspective.
If we listen to fight one, we can hear a
more objective approach to the sound design.
We hear it as if we were also in the room.
The turnstile humming,
assembling the gun,
the inverted bullet strikes.
And most of the vocalization we hear comes from the suit is grunts and groans.
Now let's listen to fight two, which is decidedly more subjective.
We don't hear the scene as if we were there.
We hear it through the soldier's ears,
the muffled dialogue,
the compressed air of his gas mask.
And his vocalization when stabbed.
These subtle sound and image choices, help reinforce the idea of perspective.
None of these techniques are very obvious.
And they wouldn't be as effective if used individually.
In combination, we are given two distinct perspectives to the same fight.
We rarely see two identical scenes presented this way.
But the lesson still stands.
When you're shooting and editing any scene
think about perspective.
"- We should do this again sometime."
- What are the fight scenes handle perspective like this?
Tell us in the comments.
Use StudioBinder to shot list and storyboard for your own perspective.
The link is in the description.
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