Second units

I have no idea the percentage, but I would imagine that many of my “favorite shots” from favorite films have come from the second units. Just a wild guess.

It is those second unit shots that (ideally, anyway) show atmosphere, mood – create a world (not just an actual world but an emotional world), or serve a function to slow things down, the sudden stillness in the middle of action, whatever it might be. Second units – underpraised indeed. So I loved to read this post from Arbogast, about the second unit shots of Dawn of the Dead.

It seems almost a backhanded compliment to say that these compositions are European in their aesthetic. And yet, there it is. A layering, stripped of irony. There’s a fullness here, a sense of life conspicuous in its absence.

Yup. Yup.

There are some pretty funny (horrifying) stories in The Devil’s Candy about how the second unit was basically a renegade outfit, completely beyond the bounds of control (although bringing in some brilliant shots – many of which did not end up in the movie, millions down the drain) – and it’s a really good look at what NOT to do with your second unit.