Global Media and Russian Cinematography 

Global media is very important to consider, as this topic may appear in the exam. I chose Russian cinematography for observation because Russian movies are not always bad. Furthermore, some of the movies such as "Nightwatch, Daywatch and Leviathan" made a big deal in Europe and even in America. I want to talk more about those movies and the impact it had on audience, as well as the interesting details which need to be mentioned.

Day Watch and the previously released  Night watch are superb films for Russian cinematography. Both titles have been blockbusters in Russia. 

The world of Night Watch is portrayed in a strange and familiar mixture of "Blade" and "The Matrix." Modern day Moscow is pictured as a dark, cold, unfriendly place. Lots of Matrix comparisons will be drawn simply due to the cinematography and costume design, but it’s all superficial stuff that’s now expected in any movie portraying a dark, dank reality.  One of the biggest problems with Night Watch, is that it leaves far too much unexplained. Sure it could all be excused by saying that it’s part of a planned trilogy( however, there was only two films) and that other aspects will be explained later. That’s fine if you are trying to create that is hard to understand  around something, like “What is the Matrix?”, but when the viewer is left sitting and not getting the idea of the movie, such as in the case of Night Watch, then the movie, perhaps, is not that good.

There are also things, which make the film interesting to observe. Though it only cost $4 million it does not look cheap, production values are high and visual effects used effectively. According to audience reviews, none of the performances disappoint. Konstantin Khabensky(the main actor) gives a good show as protagonist. There are also some cool smaller moments, as in a scene where Anton must use a mirror shard to fight with a vampire that can only be seen by his reflection. 

Vladimir Lechenski, (visual effects supervisor), in his interview said said: 

"Actually, we shot both movies together. Sometimes the action is in winter and sometimes in summer and we just combined our schedule. We then did post-production for Night Watch, and a year later we did post-production for Day Watch. And finished in January 2006. It got released in Russia and did essentially $34 million, the biggest ever for a movie in Russia, after Night Watch did $16 million, which was the previous record. Before that, the max was $3 million."