May 26, 2012

The Key to Midnight Movie’s Most Striking Images

A Director’s Storyboard Comparison

by Jack Messitt | Published September 21, 2009

(Page 2)

2 – Radford Sharpening His Knife: While probably the signature shots of the movie, these were actually pick-ups. The shooting script had included a great knife “introduction” in the scene where Bobby is killed. But due to some safety issues on set, I was not allowed to shoot them. So when I got to the editing room, this was an expected hole that I thought I would have to live with.

Once I started dreaming up new shots, this was a hole that I was really excited to fill and these storyboards were a lot of fun to come up with!

Because we had broken all the original knives by the end of principle photography, Lunar Effects made me two new signature knives. The first was another “hero knife”—this one for close-ups—and the second was designed specifically for the grinding effect.

Being an aluminum alloy, the hero knife did not send as many sparks during the grinding as we wanted. So the FX guys welded several magnesium plugs into the blade of the knife. When that plug hit the spinning grinder wheel, we had the effect we wanted.

Seeing those sparks fly really sold how sharp that knife was. And the shot of Radford’s eyes being lit up by the flying embers was just what I was looking for.

I devised several set-ups around Radford’s basement grinder. To really give the knife some edge, I originally planned for Radford to test his knife on a dog he had hanging in his workshop. It was going to be a gruesome introduction to the power of the knife.

But again, our budget became my enemy and the dog went away. Too expensive. But even without canine intestines, we were able to give the knife the hero introduction it deserved.

And more than that, I was able to intercut this footage to enhance several more scenes in the film: The Dark Beneath‘s introduction to the Killer became a lot more fun and upped the ante on Bobby’s walk through the mystery house. And Bridget’s walk through the basement at the end of the film was brought to a whole new tension level by intercutting that footage.