So I’ve not been sacked – yet – which means I feel confident enough to write another post for the week.
About a month ago, as I was flying to LA from Hong Kong, I re-watched the Michael Mann classic, Heat.
Making a movie – like making communication – consists of many elements.
Sure, you need a great story and you need great actors who can bring that story to life … but what really elevates the work to something special is a passion for the details.
Or said another way, the craft of craft.
In simple terms, this means the person heading the project doesn’t just appreciate what they don’t know, but they trust the people around them, who do.
They create the time and space for the broader team to do their best work on their areas of expertise. Encouraging debate and discussion to explore how each member of the team believe they can enhance the goal of the project to even bigger and more exciting places.
I think Heat is an example of this.
While Michael Mann wrote and directed the film, he allowed his expert team to be experts … ensuring every scene was as powerful or as believable as it can be.
There are many things I could highlight …
From allowing De Niro and Pacino to ad-lib their cafe scene because he trusted their talent to make the moment something unique right through to making sure the way the actors left the bank [after they robbed it] mirrored how trained soldiers would leave such a building.
[Apparently that scene is still used by many military organizations as a way to train their soldiers on how to leave a building]
But while those things are good, if you really want to see craft in action – and understand the impact it can have on the final product – then rewatch HEAT and marvel at the sound design of the main gun fight … because despite the movie being over TWENTY THREE YEARS OLD, it still stands out for all its majestic power and still continues to make the viewer feel like they’re actually in the scene.
Details matter.
Talent matters.
Craft matters.