This was a fun MOCO shot where we follow the swing of James’ mallet against the gong. This type of camera work is an homage to Stanley Kubrick’s scene in The Shining where Jack chops through the door with an axe, and the audience is made to feel the sheer, blunt force of each blow.

But here we witness James resonating from his strike, canceling out the forces of his own tremors. Voice actor Robbie Howlett really sells this with the aid of a vibrato effect, although the line I used was intended for a different scene. Such is the magic of filmmaking. Juxtaposition springs at you from unexpected sources and from all directions. It’s a film editor’s job to reconnect those nerves in new ways, once severed.