How would you classify this film?
The survivors of the plane crash cheat death because of Alex’s vision. But several of them are killed in freak accidents that Alex also visualized. Can he save the others? It’s a ride film that doesn’t fall into any particular genre. There are around 150 effect shots, but the idea is to make the characters and story believable. 

How did you differentiate Allex’s visions from reality?
John Willett (production designer), Jim, Glen and I agreed that whenever death has been cheated, the images would be slightly skewed. Everything is just a little bit off. The sets are slightly different, and composition is a little off-center. Colors are less saturated and contrasty. We used the word flavorless to describe colors when the world is out of balance. I’m not sure it worked altogether.

How did you create those subtle differences in looks?
Arriflex had just introduced the newest version of the Varicon that allows you to vary contrast as you shoot. You use it to ‘flash’ the film. That erases some of the blackest tones that make colors seem a little more pastel. You can dial how much you want to pre-flash the film while  you are rolling which we did when Death was about to arrive.

I also used a Scorpio lens control system, which allows you to integrate the shutter, iris and frame rate. I lit the sets when possible for exposure at T-8 to 11 and used the shutter to close the stop all the way down from T-2 to T-11 during these incidents. That subtly brought the background into focus to suggest something was about to change... reality’s shift.

What were some of the effects shots?
We had a huge window in the airport lounge set, and composited shots of a 747 into that space. The background plate is film of a 12-foot model, and there were some smaller models when the plane blows up as it is takiing off in the distance. They also built a full size 747 interior with a big section on a gigantic gimbal with a huge green screen outside the windows on one side. In the crash sequence, the set rocks and pitches. There’s an explosion and part of the wall blows out. They built a fabulous rig which we used to pull actors, chairs, everything through that hole in the wall. They removed the rig in digital post. It looks totally realistic.

Did you shoot the green screen elements yourself?
I did. I shot some tests and decided to use the Kodak Vision SFX 200 film for matte work. It is designed to cleanly separate actors and objects in the foreground from background screens. Ariel (Velasco-Shaw), the effects supervisor, supported that decision, because it allowed him to pull cleaner mattes and save time in compositing. The plate glass window in the boarding lounge is blown out during the crash. We had a black screen behind the window. We used black because there was a lot of chrome and other surfaces that would have reflected light off a green screen. The shards and particles of broken glass also showed up better against a black background.

Did you change anything in the way you showed the audience the changing relationship between the boy and girl as their romance evolved?
Early in the film, we used wider angles when they were in scenes together, which distanced them from one another. As their relationship got closer, I used longer lenses that make them seem closer to one another in the frame. 

What about your film choice and lab?
I wanted as much exposure latitude and as little grain as possible. I used the Kodak 500T film for night scenes and the Kodak 9293 in daylight. They intercut smoothly with the 200- speed film I used for effects shots. Rainmaker, in Vancouver processed the negative and provided dailies.

How did you use the two cameras?
About half the time the A camera was on a Fisher crane with a Power Pod. We used it for wider master shots. Case Hotchkiss operated the A Camera and he’s a master at making the most of a remote head. The B Camera had a 100 or 135mm lens covering certain characters or action. There were a lot of effects shots, but we also used some effective low-tech techniques. For example, we used a reverse magazine for stunts, like when something was supposed to drop on an actor. That allowed us to use a rig to pull the object off the actor. That is a lot safer and more realistic looking than dropping objects on stunt people.

What was the reason for all of the night exteriors?
It was a creative decision. Night is scarier than day. 

Is it totally frightening?
It is a pretty scary movie but there are some tongue-in-cheek giggles, so the audience is never quite certain what is going to happen. Jim and Glen didn’t want any artful shafts of moonlight coming through windows, smoke or spooky shadows. It is not supposed to look like a  horror film.