``Unstoppable'' Tony Scott's final masterpiece. A sense of dynamism and reality in a simple structure

Mix animal sounds with the sound of a runaway train

The runaway train's locomotive, which has a bright red body, ironically has the car number ``777.'' Also known as "The Beast". The train makes a loud roar as it travels along the tracks, but this sound is actually a mix of the sounds of animals such as elephants and rhinos.

I see, it's strange because when you listen closely after knowing this, the roar sounds like a "scream" filled with animal survival instincts and madness.

Compared to the gigantic size of this 777, the locomotive ``1206'' that Denzel and Chris board and rush to the scene is relatively small. There is no hope of winning if you are fighting each other with power. That's why the combination of the two pilots is so important. The two vehicles facing each other on the railroad tracks are very similar to the giant Goliath and David confronting him with a single stone.

"Unstoppable" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Shoot with multiple cameras with a small number of takes!

In addition, it was necessary to keep production costs as low as possible for this work. What should I do to shoot all the shots with a limited budget and number of days? Scott, who has been at the forefront of the film industry for many years, proposed based on his own experience that the film should be completely live-action, minimizing the use of expensive CG. On top of that, we had to use multiple cameras equipped with various lenses at the same time to capture as much footage as we needed without wasting any time, even with a small number of takes.

For example, in the case of a scene in which the train is running, multiple cameras will capture the train from cars with cranes running parallel to the tracks, and cameras may also be fixedly installed on the side of the tracks or directly below the tracks, or even near the train. There are shots taken of the train's cockpit looking into the train's cockpit from a helicopter flying over the sky, and sometimes a super-telephoto camera developed by NASA captures close-up shots of the two leads' facial expressions.

Furthermore, a circular rail was laid around the cockpit, and the camera rotated around it, creating the dynamic rotating footage that is a trademark of Scott's work.

Rotating many cameras at once with a small number of takes not only saves time and money, but also reduces the stress on actors performing the same scene over and over again. It also created a situation where he could become absorbed in acting.

During the editing process, the vast amount of footage recorded in this way is colored at will, just like paint. Tony Scott often uses the phrase ``I started out as a painter'' in interviews and audio commentary, and for him, making a film is exactly what it means to be able to paint as much as you like on a huge 90- or 120-minute canvas. It may be an extension of painting production.