PRODUCTION ENCOUNTERS
I NVADERS SPACE WORDS Katie Kasperson Has a new genre landed? DOP Tim Cragg talks shooting cinematic sci-fi documentary Encounters A lien invasions, UFOs, outer space – our collective fascination with extraterrestrial life began long elements to tell stories, resulting in a part-true, part-fiction TV film that’s best described as a ‘cinematic documentary’.
before films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and ET popularised the concept. Though based on folklore and anecdotal accounts, these titles were classed as ‘science fiction’ – in other words, not to be taken seriously. A new Netflix miniseries, Encounters , covers four historical reports of foreign contact in Wales, Zimbabwe, the United States and Japan. Though it’s based on real events, Encounters uses supernatural
“We looked at the idea of children being sort of lost in imagination. It was all about their excitement and wonderment at what they were seeing, rather than what they saw itself.” The documentary details real-life, first-hand accounts of cosmic contact, ranging from 1977 – the year Close Encounters came out – to 2011. “We very much wanted, whether they’re children
AN INCREDIBLE SCIENCE- FICTION DOUBLE FEATURE Produced by Steven Spielberg’s own company, Amblin Entertainment, Encounters pays tribute to the iconic director’s work. “It’s like an homage almost to Close Encounters ,” explains DOP Tim Cragg, who worked closely with the series director Yon Motskin.
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