Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1010570
1 0 0 P E R S P E C T I V E | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 footage from New Zealand and start to align his story with the locations. I then edited together the footage from the helicopter scouts to match the action beats he had outlined. We soon narrowed down all the phenomenal locations and began to formulate a visual narrative of the event. I next spent a week sketching out the entire helicopter sequence. I always start with rough thumbnails which enable me to quickly work out the pacing and composition of every shot in a sequence. I appreciate the irony of using a twenty- cent blue Paper Mate pen to design a multi- million-dollar action scene. Chris and I would then have subsequent meetings where we'd review, adapt and tweak the sequence to his liking. Once the thumbnails were approved, I had to work very quickly to deliver because so many departments were waiting on the storyboards to help better define their own monumental tasks. Producers, art, camera, stunts, arial, visual effects, previs, locations and of course, producer, actor and stunt pilot Tom Cruise all needed to review and weigh in on the designs. After multi-department input and subsequent revisions, the information incorporated in the storyboards eventually was so precise I even knew the exact camera lenses Rob Hardy and Chris intended to shoot with. A sequence that is as complex and demanding as this one could never have been achieved without these precise storyboards. I believe the best storyboards should look like a screenshot from a finished film that is drawn months before the scene even goes before the lenses. In order to achieve this, I attempt to gather as many resources as possible before putting pen to paper. Touring the locations with Chris is invaluable as the geography of a scene is very important to him. Beyond that I discuss and gather location photos, designs from Peter Wenham's remarkable Art Department, and any references available to accomplish the accurate depiction of the director's vision. After all the hard work is done, it's always such an immense thrill when the storyboard so closely matches the final shot in the film. A. THE HALO SEQUENCE WAS THE VERY FIRST SCENE CHRIS AND I WORKED ON BACK IN LATE 2016. HE HADN'T EVEN FORMULATED THE FILM'S STORY YET, BUT WE KNEW ETHAN WAS JUMPING OUT OF A PLANE AT TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND FEET NO MATTER WHAT. B. THIS WAS A KEYFRAME TO SEE WHAT A 14MM LENS INSIDE TOM'S HELICOPTER WOULD LOOK LIKE. A B