How do you emphasize to the audience that something is important? Well, you could always cut to a close-up, but how about something subtler? Today I consider ensemble staging — a style of filmmaking that directs the audience exactly where to look, without ever seeming to do so at all.

Eight Ways to Get the Audience to Look at a Character:
1) Let Them Speak
2) Make Them Brighter or Bring Them Closer
3) Let Them Move (Especially Hands or Eyes)
4) Put Them in the Center of Frame
5) Turn Them Towards the Lens
6) Separate Them from the Group
7) Isolate Them by Moving the Camera
8) Have Other People Look at Them

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Music:
Freddie Joachim - Sauced
Taro Iwashiro - You Gotta Turn Yourself In
Freddie Joachim - Strawberries
DJ Shadow - Why Hip Hop Sucks in ‘96

Recommended Reading & Viewing:
David Bordwell - Hands and Faces Across the Table (There Will Be Blood): http://bit.ly/1YB44Ye
David Bordwell - Modest Virtuosity (Panic in the Streets): http://bit.ly/1QZaevi
Alexander Mackendrick - On Filmmaking: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0571211259
DP/30 Samuel L. Jackson (2012) Django Unchained: http://youtu.be/QMyjYCuYKEM
DP/30 Samuel L. Jackson (2015) The Hateful Eight: http://youtu.be/Reb74Elx83E