You can scold S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, that he is not the same as before or scold that he is just the same as before. You can complain about bugs, optimization, criticize the plot and throw mud at the position of the developers. I’m not denying any of this, but I want to focus on one brilliantly executed element of the game – the cutscenes.
It would seem that a good cut-scene is when there are a lot of plans, a variety of techniques, at least editing, in the end. However, here we always watch the performance from the point of view of the hero. But in it you need to set the mise-en-scene, dynamics, and the eyes of the main character are also a camera. Just not traditional as we imagine a camera operator with a Steadicam or holding a tripod. I’ll tell you about the director who staged these scenes, what energy is in filming and how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 maneuvers between first-person action and spectacle in front of the player’s eyes.
Version in video format, but you can still watch it more clearly.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 uses a subjective camera, the protagonist’s point of view. The ideal choice for this task was Ilya Naishuller, who directed “Hardcore.”. Initially, the Russian director became famous for several videos for his rock band. The videos were shot in the first-person action genre. The main character crushed packs of default dummies like PAYDAY or Left 4 Dead accompanied by rock notes.
The public enthusiastically accepted the work of the young director and therefore he decided to take on the full-length “Hardcore”. A helmet with a 3rd GoPro was attached to the head of the leading actor and they let him destroy Moscow in the company of Sharlto Copley. By the way, it was not for nothing that I mentioned PAYDAY, because the authors of the film, as part of the promotion, released the hero Copley in the game itself in collaboration with Overkill.
The similarity of Naishuller’s works with https://fancyreelscasino.uk/login/ games is not accidental. During the promotion of his next film Nobody, the director shared interactive sources of inspiration with Anton Logvinov. These are the above-mentioned Call Of Duty online multiplayers and everything where you shoot, crush and destroy crowds of enemies. By the way, the film with Bob Odenkirk pays even more homage to video games than Hardcore. The main character of the film is a retired CIA officer who lives a boring life undercover and ekes out a miserable existence. However, when he has to return to the weapon, he, without squeaking his heart, like John Wick, takes up the guns. The protagonist does this with the same pleasure with which we return to our favorite shooters – this is how Naishuller described the film.
Let’s go to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. Naishuller acted as motion capture director and was responsible for cut scenes. In this material I want to highlight how they were filmed, staged and what is the main secret of the entertainment of many cut scenes. Of course, this is subjective. Some people may not like the inserts in the game. But from my vantage point, especially when I’m filming, I see that I can praise.
By the way, rofl, after 40 hours I still haven’t finished the game. After the patch, it loads and plunges into complete darkness after thirty seconds. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is a frankly crude product that I do not recommend buying. However, I don’t want to join the haters who raze all its aspects to the ground, but I want to focus on constructiveness.
Naishuller understands that the camera in a film is the viewer’s eyes. Cameramen in conjunction with directors control not only where, but also how you will watch what is happening. For Naishuller, the principle is literal – the camera is literally the eyes. However, our eyes wander and focus on different things. The developers didn’t just attach a motion capture camera beacon to the artist’s head, but skillfully manage attention. When energy is needed, what is happening is dynamic, but when performance is needed, the hero’s eyes are already a theater stage with its own mise-en-scène.
Speaking of them. Mise-en-scène is the arrangement of actors in the frame or stage of a theater. Their distance or proximity to the viewer, as well as the distance between each other, serve a narrative or practical purpose – to place emphasis, hierarchy, or to make everyone plainly visible. In cutscenes S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 rarely flashes a lot of characters, as was the case, for example, in Metro: Exodus. However, the distance between the hero is often a key character in the scene. Heroes violate personal space to feel discomfort, express their dominance, or be more persuasive.
To prevent what is happening from turning into theater, we are reminded that we are in a three-dimensional space. That’s why the heroes go back and forth. This is a change of plans instead of editing. The same applies to the mise-en-scène in the context of changing sizes. Consider this a kind of intra-frame editing. The standard of such a scene is the fight between Skif and Richter against the Monoliths.
There is a rule in cinema that every frame should provide new information. In the fight scene, two characters are fighting at the same time, and therefore if we were watching the fight of one Skif, then the action with Richter would take place off-screen. In order to give information about what is happening in the second brawl, Skif looks around and we can follow the course of the fight at Richter.
We see that he also fights, also has fighting skills, and that when Skif finishes with his opponent, he does not switch to another, but invades an already ongoing battle. In addition, this is additional suspense, because we are waiting for the resolution of not one, but two brawls.
However, the above fulfills a practical task, but what about creativity?. Naishuller’s handwriting can be clearly seen in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. Let me remind you that the director is also a gamer, especially loving online shooters. From our own experience, we know that no matter how serious the setting may be, players always treat errands with humor. It’s in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 manifests itself in small things. This isn’t what you’d call Marvel-style barbs. A certain ease in relation to critical situations is manifested in small things.
In "Hardcore" you can remember similar things, including the final EZ from a helicopter. This deprives what is happening of unnecessary pathos, which can play against the scriptwriters. Little things like this remind us that we are not looking at mountains of muscles, but people.
Another important emphasis in Stalker 2 cutscenes is the light. What is happening is especially reminiscent of theater, since the characters are often illuminated from above, creating a bright light pattern while the background remains in darkness. From this point deep shadows are created. This is due to the weak light of bunker or industrial lamps, and therefore looks convincing and creates good contrast. Almost all scenes have a dynamic light pattern that changes the picture.
Naishuller clearly understood that watching all the cut-scenes of dirty post-Soviet interiors would be boring, and therefore dilutes it with light dynamics and the direction of the player’s view. Thus, the scenes acquire a change in plans, sizes, contrasts and generally look cheerful. The director’s signature is his humor, which skillfully keeps a serious plot from sliding into strained pathos. Staged S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is very close to "Hardcore". GSC Game World chose the right director to create the atmosphere of the story between kilometer-long runs and rare shootouts with a lot of backtracking and softlocks. I repeat, it doesn’t make the game better. But I think it’s unfair to ignore the work of creative and motivated people.