The sci-fi series Severance tells the story of Mark Scout – an employee at the biotechnology firm Lumon Industries – who volunteers to undergo a complex medical procedure called severance. This operation severs work memories from personal memories, essentially creating two separate versions of those who undergo it.
On paper, it sounds like the perfect way to manage your work-life balance but, as Mark quickly learns, not being able to remember half your day can cause a lot of problems. Severance was one of the best TV series of 2022, featuring some great performances, a mind-bending plot, and very creative cinematography.
One of the coolest things subtle details about the series is the transition between “innies” (those in work) and “outies” (those outside work). Recently executive producer Ben Stiller shared the secret difference between the worldviews of the innies and outies on Twitter.
Basically, if you’re going from an innie to an outie, the camera ‘zolly’s’ out. This is done by zooming out on a subject with a camera while at the same time dollying the camera towards the subject. It has the effect of making the background look like it’s coming in closer while the foreground fades away.
Meanwhile, when an outie becomes an innie, the opposite is done, and they zolly in, making the background get smaller while the foreground becomes bigger.
If you can’t get enough of Mark, Helly, and Dylan’s office lives, check out our guide to the Severance season 2 release date, or we have articles on the fantasy series House of the Dragon season 2 and Rings of Power season 2.