Director Paul W.S. Anderson, responsible for cinematic sagas based on video games like Resident Evil, has described it as scandalous for a filmmaker to tackle an adaptation without knowing the original material. For him, it is essential to be a fan and immerse oneself in the game to capture its visual essence and DNA. This philosophy seeks to respect intellectual property and understand what fans value, thereby generating goodwill toward the film project.
Immersion as a Technical Preproduction Tool 🎮
Anderson extends this requirement to his entire key technical team, especially production designers and cinematographers. His method is straightforward: they must play the original video game or, at minimum, watch complete playthroughs. The goal is for them to internalize the aesthetic, color palette, architecture of the settings, and lighting atmosphere. This immersion serves as a mandatory technical documentation phase to accurately translate the game's visual language to the cinematic plane.
Mandatory Course: "Level 1: Learn to Crouch on Set" 😄
Imagine the first day of shooting an adaptation. The cinematographer, after his training, demands a putrid green filter for a diaphanous scene. The production designer rejects a modern piece of furniture because it breaks the coherence of the 1998 safe room. And the assistant director only gives instructions by shouting Run! It's the Tyrant!. The set might look like a role-playing server, but at least there won't be complaints about a helicopter with the wrong logo. Fidelity has a price, and sometimes it's hearing the sound of a herbivore during catering.