1 00:00:06,140 --> 00:00:08,780 Hi my name is Tony and this is Every Frame a Painting. 2 00:00:08,980 --> 00:00:11,389 So this channel’s been going well, which means it’s about time 3 00:00:11,389 --> 00:00:13,340 -Time for a confession? 4 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:15,000 Yeah, time for a confession. 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,500 I have stolen more ideas from this film than from any other 6 00:00:17,779 --> 00:00:20,779 -F for Fake -F for Fake 7 00:00:21,779 --> 00:00:24,170 -Ladies and gentlemen, by way of introduction 8 00:00:24,370 --> 00:00:26,580 -this is a film about trickery 9 00:00:27,870 --> 00:00:29,000 -and fraud 10 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:31,240 -about lies. 11 00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:35,010 Wait sorry I’m doing this wrong. Can we start over? 12 00:00:38,410 --> 00:00:41,710 This is an essay film by Orson Welles. It’s called F for Fake. 13 00:00:41,710 --> 00:00:43,739 And it's one of my personal bibles. 14 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:46,300 Everything I know about editing, I learned from this film. 15 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,300 But today, I want to talk about one basic thing: 16 00:00:51,300 --> 00:00:54,900 -We found out this really simple rule that maybe you have all heard before 17 00:00:54,900 --> 00:00:57,000 -but it took us a long time to learn it. 18 00:00:57,500 --> 00:00:59,040 When you’re structuring a video essay 19 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:01,000 there’s one thing you really want to avoid. 20 00:01:01,500 --> 00:01:03,400 -I think that’s about it. -And then? 21 00:01:03,750 --> 00:01:06,200 -No, that’s it. -And then? 22 00:01:06,700 --> 00:01:10,300 -Then nothing else cuz I’m done ordering -And then? 23 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:12,000 -If you tell a story that’s 24 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:15,200 -you’re in big trouble. 25 00:01:15,420 --> 00:01:19,000 This is the #1 mistake I make in my own work. 26 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,400 Like here. Watch how repetitive this is. 27 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:23,500 -Choosing to take the money. 28 00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:25,000 -Choosing not to fight back. 29 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:26,500 -Choosing to hide their emotions. 30 00:01:26,500 --> 00:01:28,000 -Choosing not to trust someone. 31 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:29,500 -Choosing to wait out the discomfort. 32 00:01:29,500 --> 00:01:30,300 -Choosing to get-- 33 00:01:31,700 --> 00:01:35,450 This is a list you could put in any order. That’s why it’s so boring. 34 00:01:35,750 --> 00:01:39,170 -What should happen between every beat that you’ve written down 35 00:01:39,170 --> 00:01:42,080 -is either the word THEREFORE or BUT. 36 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,500 -So what i'm saying is you come up with an idea that's like, this happens 37 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,500 -What are those? -My pubes. I got em from Scott Tenorman. 38 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:51,300 -and THEREFORE this happens. 39 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,000 -Cartman, you don’t buy pubes. You grow them yourself. 40 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,300 -You're saying pubes are worth nothing? -Yeah. 41 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:58,000 -BUT this happens. 42 00:01:58,200 --> 00:01:59,800 -And I’ll give you the pubes. -Sweet. 43 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:01,300 -THEREFORE this happens. 44 00:02:01,330 --> 00:02:02,700 -Aw goddamn it! 45 00:02:03,700 --> 00:02:05,900 So throughout this movie, Orson Welles does the exact same thing. 46 00:02:05,990 --> 00:02:09,110 Except he doesn’t connect scenes, he connects thoughts. 47 00:02:09,110 --> 00:02:12,150 -You’re a painter. Why do you want people to do fakes? 48 00:02:12,850 --> 00:02:17,500 -Because fakes are as good as the real ones and there’s a market and a demand 49 00:02:18,100 --> 00:02:21,860 -If you didn’t have an art market, then fakers could not exist. 50 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:23,500 Even though this movie is an essay 51 00:02:23,700 --> 00:02:26,620 each moment has the connective logic of a South Park episode. 52 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,700 The second rule in this movie is to have more than one story, moving in parallel 53 00:02:30,900 --> 00:02:34,970 -I’ll quote Hitchcock again. He said the name of making movies is 54 00:02:37,500 --> 00:02:38,950 -He’s absolutely right. 55 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,400 -You want to have two things going. 56 00:02:41,500 --> 00:02:44,000 -You reach the peak of one, you go to the other. 57 00:02:44,300 --> 00:02:45,879 -I hope you know what you’re doing. 58 00:02:48,879 --> 00:02:53,300 -You pick the other up where you want it When it loses interest, drop it. 59 00:02:56,500 --> 00:02:58,100 How does this work in an essay film? 60 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,500 -Well, let’s say you have two stories. Let one of them build up. 61 00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:06,019 -When it reaches peak interest, switch to the other. Let this one build. 62 00:03:06,019 --> 00:03:09,470 -And when this gets to the top, go back to the first. Simple, right? 63 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,190 -Except F for Fake doesn’t just have two things. 64 00:03:13,190 --> 00:03:16,340 There's also stories about Orson Welles, Howard Hughes 65 00:03:16,340 --> 00:03:19,160 a woman named Oja, and even the making of this movie. 66 00:03:19,700 --> 00:03:23,540 And by building each story carefully, Welles can jump between all six of these 67 00:03:23,540 --> 00:03:25,500 without ever losing the audience. 68 00:03:25,700 --> 00:03:28,600 So when I’m making a video essay, this is what’s going through my head. 69 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,300 -And then? -No "and then!" 70 00:03:33,370 --> 00:03:35,470 And I got all of that from watching this film. 71 00:03:35,470 --> 00:03:38,870 Which more than anything has taught me: it’s not about what you get. 72 00:03:38,870 --> 00:03:42,300 It’s how you cut it and what comes out the other end. 73 00:03:45,170 --> 00:03:49,170 Remember, video essays aren’t essays. They’re films. 74 00:03:49,170 --> 00:03:52,870 So you want to structure and pace them like a filmmaker would. 75 00:03:52,870 --> 00:03:55,930 Therefore and But. Meanwhile, back at the ranch. 76 00:03:55,930 --> 00:03:58,500 And if you don’t believe me, you should at least trust Orson Welles 77 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:01,090 who somehow figured this out over 40 years ago. 78 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,190 -Why not? I’m a charlatan. 79 00:04:04,190 --> 00:04:06,400 But whatever. Let’s wrap up this essay. 80 00:04:06,900 --> 00:04:08,300 -Now it’s time for an introduction. 81 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,600 Hi, my name is Tony and this concludes Year One of Every Frame a Painting. 82 00:04:14,700 --> 00:04:15,910 I’d like to thank you for watching. 83 00:04:15,910 --> 00:04:19,110 -and wish you all a very pleasant 84 00:04:19,110 --> 00:04:20,870 -good evening.