Cinematography is so important for a movie. Without it, it would just be sounds and images. But having the vision to film from certain locations, and in ways that would incapsulate the theme of a story, is the essence of a good movie.
The story in the script was very dark, and post apocalyptic. So everything had to be in sync. The main music was finished early by the main composer (and actor) Mark. That helped to shape the feeling of the movie in a way we never thought possible.
We had to start from something. It could have been only the story boards, or only the script. But in essence, everything in this movie had som symbolize decay, hopelessness and emptiness.
The heroes are not just alone, they are as if alone in the world. They struggle to survive, and to make that transition and tension real, the cinematography had to be just right.
We had to focus on the clothing of the main characters, we had to focus on the bad guy outfits. The locations that surround them. Fire and smoke, dirt and wilderness.
The main theme of the cinematography was basically Jason Vorphees vs. into the wild. In other words, the dangers and fears of horror versus that secluded feeling of being alone in the forest. Alone and surviving, just like it was written into our bone marrow.
This goes even as deep as the flash back moments, the apocalyptic intro. Everything has to connect. we had to complete this vision of vast solitude and inventive spirit that transcends from within.
