Designing the technology of BLADE RUNNER 2049

"Designing the technology of 'Blade Runner 2049'" by Nick Summers. Engadget 20 October 2017. Yahoo! Finance .

In his essay on Videology (in SF film), Garrett Stewart stresses the thematic significance of omnipresent video screens, computer terminals, and such in SF film; Nick Summers discusses the practical aspects of the job done by Territory studios to get such working screens on film. "These are screens, or visuals, that the actor can see and, depending on the scene, physically interact with during a shoot. They have the potential to raise an actor's performance while creating interesting shadows and reflections on camera. Each one also gives the director more freedom in the editing room. If you have a screen on set, you can shoot a scene from multiple angles and freely compare them during the edit. The alternative -- tailoring bespoke graphics for specific shots -- is a time-consuming process if the director suddenly decides to change perspective in a scene."

(For early work on interactive computer screens on screen, note THE BONE COLLECTOR, 1999, directed by Phillip Noyce: the computer images on the computers on set were managed by technicians on computers on a lower level to the set. Source: Erlich visited the set and listened to the Executive Producer explain what they were doing. For possible companies who developed this technology for THE BONE COLLECTOR, see here:.)

More generally and more specifically, Summers discusses how in key scenes in BLADE RUNNER 2049, "[…] technology or machinery is used as a plot device to push the larger narrative forward." He also mentions Territory's work on EX MACHINA, THE MARTIAN, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, and PROMETHEUS.

RDE (Dresbach), 21/23Oct17.