I want to talk about this for a bit! About why Gavin reaches not just for Nines hand, but also for his pulse. (Thread) https://twitter.com/azaaarni/status/1249127964639399938

This arose more from a behind the scenes standpoint than anything. The kiss sequence is something that was very much blocked the day of. I don't think there are many meaningful stage directions about it in the script, because it was something they were going to have to feel out.

We were kind of missing something between "you love me" and the actual kiss, if I remember. So I was craving some kind of transition there, something that would actually visually convey acceptance on Gavin's part and his walls coming down.

Unrelated to the narrative, as a director, I knew it was important to get my guys feeling safe and comfortable with each other in a scene of physical intimacy. Not just for their own peace, but also for the camera - to avoid things looking awkward or restrained.

So, I told @MaximilianKoger some minutes before rolling, I was going to take him and Chris aside for a bit for some breathing exercises. Touching each other's pulse points and trying to sync them - a nonsexual and professional way of getting them comfortable with one another.

He went off with Chris to chat and prepare. I helped Brett with the camera staging. A few minutes later the guys ask me to come into their corner and chat.

It's pretty obvious that they don't actually need my help getting comfortable with one another, but Chris has an idea.

They demonstrate to me, the motions that make it into the film - that Gavin reaches for Nines wrist to feel his pulse. And then turns Nines' hand onto his, to feel Gavin's own. Nines raises his hand to Gavin's cheek. And that was the transition we were looking for.

In Detroit Awakening, Gavin tells Nines "if you're alive, you're free." I do think Androids have a "pulse" from their thirium pumps the way we have them. And in that moment, with Nines having almost been killed and lost forever, Gavin reaches for that feeling. A sign of life.

So even though the guys didn't remotely need my guided meditation idea, nor did I have to do anything to really prepare them for that scene, I'm happy that the idea was still utilized in some way. (End)