WHEN GOOD ENOUGH ISN’T: HOW THE TINIEST DETAILS CAN MAKE A PROJECT (AND GET YOU AN OSCAR NOM)
Joe Letteri, Oscar nominated for his visual effect contributions to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, told Co.Create, “Getting the details right is important because it’s like the idea of the weakest link in the chain: If something, no matter how small, feels wrong to an audience, it can take you out of the film.”
Audiences may not consciously know, for example, that they’re hearing the tick of Abraham Lincoln’s actual pocket watch midway through Steven Spielberg’s 12-time nominated biopic. They may not realize that Keira Knightley’s undergarments in Anna Karenina are structured for metaphorical import to resemble a bird cage, or that the crack of the bullwhip heard in Django Unchained gained deep impact thanks to recordings done in the Rocky Mountains.
Check out the full story for a look at how a few of this year’s Oscar-nominated perfectionists enriched high-end spectacle by micro-managing the small stuff.
