“Blade Runner 2049” What is the secret to the overwhelming visuals created by genius cinematographer Roger Deakins? ?

2049 after the “major power outage” reminiscent of post-earthquake Japan

What happened during the "Great Power Outage" incident is also depicted in the anime "Blade Runner Blackout 2022" directed by Shinichiro Watanabe , which is one of the spin-off short stories that connect the previous work and this work. Replicants rebelled and caused a major power outage in Los Angeles in order to destroy the servers that were managing their data.

The major difference between Los Angeles in Blade Runner 2049 and the previous film is that it still carries the damage caused by the Great Blackout, which nearly reset civilization. People no longer have the guarantee of a stable supply of electricity, which is essential to their lives, and the entire city has become darker than in Blade Runner, where the neon lights were bright. It somewhat resembles the scenery of Tokyo, which was forced to save electricity immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake. However, the real Tokyo quickly regained its garish brightness.

Ridley Scott is known for his visuals that make use of excessive lighting, and when you rewatch Blade Runner, you can see how the flood of light in the chaotic futuristic Los Angeles determines the image of the city. I can see that you are there. Not only are neon Signs and electronic bulletin boards all over the city, but even though there is no light source outside the building, light sometimes shines through the windows. Simply because Scott thought it was cooler.

However, in the world of Blade Runner 2049, there is no longer such a source of light. As if in response, the visual style is more stoic, with fewer colors and heavy use of shadows. To begin with, if Scott is the "master of light," Deakins is a cinematographer who could be called the "master of darkness." In fact, I hear that Deakins never used any unreasonable light sources on set, even if Villeneuve requested it. Scott is the type to add lighting as soon as he thinks ``I want light coming from that place,'' but Deakins asked Villeneuve, ``Where in the world is that light coming from?'' and was not convinced. It seems that the proposal will be rejected.

"Blade Runner 2049"

There are many similarities and differences between ``Blade Runner'' and ``Blade Runner 2049'', but the difference in their approach to light is very large. From the beginning, neither Villeneuve nor Deakins had any intention of surpassing their legendary predecessor. However, we want to create our own new Blade Runner without losing respect for the previous work. Perhaps one of the most important tactics essential to achieving this goal was a lighting and photography plan that would portray the fantasy future world in a completely realistic manner.

Incidentally, the visuals of Los Angeles in the spin-off short 2048: Nowhere to Run, directed by Ridley Scott's son Luke Scott, feel more like the original. The cinematographer here is Pierre Gil, who also did a great job in `` The Upside Down '' (2012). Please watch this together with ``Blade Runner 2049'' to compare the work of outstanding cinematographers.

Text: Akira Murayama

Born in 1971. Writes articles for magazines, newspapers, movie sites, etc. Representative of “ShortCuts,” a review site for distribution-based works.

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"Blade Runner 2049"

Distribution: Sony Pictures Entertainment

*Information at the time of article publication in November 2017.