Can you imagine thrillers where no guns are fired?
No action sequences with vehicle crashes?
Only conversations.
You get to know what happened based on the questioning
A set of 4-5 police officers take turns to ask questions.
It's psychological warfare
Each episode has a different suspect being questioned
The setting is always the same. The questioners and the accused in one room
The observers in the other.
The camera shifts, pauses and goes deep.
It's called Criminal and commissioned by Netflix in UK, France, Spain and Germany
How is the action sustained?
With taut writing, direction and performances.
Little touches in the set design. A bright red line frames the rectangular window between the questioners and the observers.
And that's worked into the title design.
In the word Criminal during the title sequence, the red rectangle takes the place of the two 'i's.
The interplay between the police officers and their working relationship is the only thing we see.
We don't get to know them as people.
If you like muscled and toned bodies grunting while they smash their fists into each other, don't even bother.
Here, the violence is in the words. And the mind.
8 years in 4 minutes
It captures change.
Singapore's skyline and neighborhoods evolving.
Not a single human in any of the shots.
Unless, of course, you count the little dots in some frames.
Cranes move in perfect synchrony dancing in the dark
Traffic weaves lines of light that ebb and flow like a river.
Buildings get covered with vertical gardens.
Or light up and shimmer in the evening sunset.
Each sequence would have taken years to shoot.
The cameras placed at a strategic points and triggered to shoot a frame every few minutes or hours at multiple locations
Getting permissions and then stitching it all together in a seamless narrative.
It looks like a sequence from Bladerunner.
A futuristic paradise of skyscrapers and residential blocks.
Rising and then changing with the patterns of light and dark washing across the exteriors.
You marvel at the skill and dedication of the people involved.
They knew what they were getting into.
It would have involved meticulous planning and execution for years
Keith Loutit is the filmmaker.
An architect who documents changing cities.
He worked in collaboration with the government, other architects and property developers.
To build a visual time lapse chronicle of change
The Boss Factor
The paycheck is important.
But the Boss factor is crucial.
There's no point in getting good money and a bad boss.
I don't need to go into the details. Everyone's had at least one.
Instead of researching salaries at the company you hope to join, learn more about the person you will work for.
Talk to the people who have been on the same team.
If you get the wrong vibes, the biggest paycheck isn't worth it.
You'll save yourself a whole lot of stress by simply avoiding the experience.
There's a difference between being aggressive and being focused.
Between acceleration and riding a rollercoaster.
In the early years, a toxic work environment has a permanent impact.
No matter what is achieved in terms of success, the aftertaste lingers.
Instead, look for the people who lead by example.
Abdul Kalam kept repeating the story of his boss, Satish Dhawan
When the mission failed, he was the one who faced the press
When it succeeded, the team went out in front.
He created a collaborative culture that continues in India's space program
His teams went on to manage by the same example
Careers aren't built by paychecks alone.
It's not winner takes all
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