Spoiler alert: This story contains major spoilers for the ending of The Missing, which is currently in theaters.
Missing, the latest release from Sony Pictures Entertainment, is told entirely through computer screens and smartphones.
Storm Reed is daughter June, played by Nia Long, who goes missing thousands of miles in Columbia and uses the latest technology to track down her mother.
The sequel to Nicholas Johnson and Will Merrick’s 2018 thriller Searching asks editors Austin Keeling and Ariel Zakowsk how to tell the story and build tension as June races against time to find her mother. I was faced with the challenge of creating it.
Mr Keeling said: Playing with the editing process, I was able to choose how to cover June’s laptop and how to communicate it in the most effective way. ”
FaceTime, Ring, and the iPhone are just some of the film’s technology storytelling devices, but co-directors Johnson and Merrick didn’t actually shoot on the iPhone. Merrick said: [footage] It looks like. I was able to get as much depth of field as I wanted. “
They approached the computer screen like a movie, holding a beat each time June received a new message in her inbox, or slowly panning the camera across the screen for the next reveal.
Zakovsk points out that a key factor in telling the story from June’s perspective was not just how she used the technology, but the speed at which she used it. , teens move at a faster pace, so that had to be reflected in the storytelling. “The speed at which the mouse traverses the screen, how fast you type, how many different things you do at the same time, all came from the idea of what an 18-year-old would look like compared to a 40-year-old. I’m using my computer.”
And while the film isn’t a direct sequel to ‘Searching,’ the creators made sure to include Easter eggs that bring back 2018 films, such as the true crime show ‘Unfiction,’ which June watches with her friends. The episode they saw in “Missing” is about the disappearance of Margot Kim, who went missing in “The Search”.
As far as Twist Johnson says, “We could put all the clues in front of you. Here’s a text from Seb Ohanian [who is the film’s producer] “It’s clear your mom lied. Your dad isn’t dead. He’s ruining the whole movie for you.”
Johnson also revealed further clues about his father’s character.
