An absolute loner, I use Instagram only to access the infinite number of filmmaking accounts that I follow. One sequence that often pops up on my Instagram timeline is the mirror scene from Robert Zemeckis’ Contact, with captions such as, “How is this happening?” “What magic is this?” "Technical marvel in cinema,” “filmmaking genius,” and more. Every time it came up on my feed, I would read through the comments (because I can be lazy sometimes) in the hopes of stumbling upon the answer, until I didn’t, and decided to decode it myself. So, in this article, we’ve decoded how cinematographer Don Burgess brought Zemeckis’ innovative vision to life with pure technical acumen. The SceneThe scene starts with a tub of popcorn scattered on the floor. Young Ellie (Jena Malone) rushes up the stairs towards the bathroom with the camera following her. She goes straight for the medicine cabinet, grabs a bottle of pills, and rushes downstairs. The camera stays on the cabinet mirror. Uncovering the Secret Behind Contact’s Mirror SceneLet’s break the scene into parts to understand better.1. The Frontal Follow Contact (1997)Source: Warner Bros.The frontal follow is a fairly simple shot, in theory. A steady cam operator follows young Ellie running frantically up the stairs and then across the corridor, towards the bathroom. Now, practically, there were a couple of challenges in filming, especially the steady-cam follow up the stairs, owing to the weight of the apparatus and space crunch. So, Burgess opted for a 65mm Beaumont Vista...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday