1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,259 --Thank you Roosevelt, here's a song coming your way right now. 2 00:00:02,259 --> 00:00:05,839 "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the Vandellas 3 00:00:05,839 --> 00:00:08,500 Yes, you know what I mean. 4 00:00:10,980 --> 00:00:13,799 Hi my name is Tony and this is Every Frame a Painting. 5 00:00:13,799 --> 00:00:16,530 Today I’m going to honor the incomparable Robin Williams. 6 00:00:16,530 --> 00:00:18,920 There have been a lot of moving tributes over the last month, 7 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:21,210 but I’d like to sidestep what others have said 8 00:00:21,210 --> 00:00:24,529 and focus on something else: how he moved in a scene. 9 00:00:24,529 --> 00:00:29,029 --You do an eclectic celebration of a dance. You do Fosse, Fosse, Fosse 10 00:00:29,029 --> 00:00:31,000 You do, Martha Graham, Martha Graham, Martha Graham! 11 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,730 Blocking is the choreography of the actors and the camera. 12 00:00:33,730 --> 00:00:36,430 To put it bluntly, the actors move. How they move tells us something 13 00:00:36,430 --> 00:00:38,469 about the characters, the scene and the story. 14 00:00:38,469 --> 00:00:41,489 --but you keep it all inside. 15 00:00:41,489 --> 00:00:44,300 Good blocking is good storytelling. If you’d like to see this for yourself, 16 00:00:44,300 --> 00:00:46,500 pick a scene and watch how the actors move. 17 00:00:46,500 --> 00:00:50,500 --We're all gonna sit down and we're gonna finish it. 18 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:53,000 Three minutes later, this is how he makes her sit. 19 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,500 --Anybody up for iced tea? I'm gonna make some tea. 20 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:00,559 You could watch this film with the sound off and still understand 21 00:01:00,559 --> 00:01:03,570 most of the story. That's good blocking. Everything you need to know about 22 00:01:03,570 --> 00:01:06,119 the characters, their relationship and how it changes 23 00:01:06,119 --> 00:01:09,560 is presented to you through physical movement. Blocking is a collaboration 24 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,020 between actor and director. Even though the director approves it, the actors are 25 00:01:13,020 --> 00:01:14,800 ultimately the ones who have to perform it. 26 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,330 And that's why Robin Williams work is so dynamic 27 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:19,300 --You move with it! 28 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:22,300 --Lead with something! 29 00:01:22,500 --> 00:01:25,210 Few actors could express themselves as well through motion 30 00:01:25,210 --> 00:01:27,200 Whether that motion was big 31 00:01:29,210 --> 00:01:30,810 or small 32 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,360 Even when he was doing the same movement in two different scenes 33 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:38,100 you could see the subtle variations he brought to the arc of the character. 34 00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:41,250 Sometimes he would move and the camera would be still. 35 00:01:44,100 --> 00:01:46,320 Other times... --You're just a kid. 36 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:50,130 he would be still and the camera would move. This shot lasts 37 00:01:50,130 --> 00:01:52,880 2 minutes and 45 seconds and is the first time these two characters connect 38 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,060 which Gus Van Sant shows by having the camera literally bring them together. 39 00:01:56,060 --> 00:02:00,290 --You don't know about real loss because that only occurs when you love something 40 00:02:00,290 --> 00:02:02,110 --more than you love yourself. 41 00:02:02,110 --> 00:02:05,710 And in other films, he moved with the camera, creating an elaborate dance 42 00:02:07,710 --> 00:02:09,190 --And all the time he's mumbling. --What's he mumbling? 43 00:02:09,190 --> 00:02:10,190 --Mumbling truth. 44 00:02:10,190 --> 00:02:11,620 Or a less elaborate one. 45 00:02:13,620 --> 00:02:17,730 To watch his work is to see the subtle things an actor can do with his hands. 46 00:02:20,730 --> 00:02:21,989 his mouth 47 00:02:24,989 --> 00:02:26,500 his right leg 48 00:02:30,230 --> 00:02:31,999 and his facepalm. 49 00:02:35,999 --> 00:02:37,950 Robin Williams' work is an encyclopedia 50 00:02:37,950 --> 00:02:40,920 of ways that an actor can express himself through movement and he was 51 00:02:40,920 --> 00:02:43,909 fortunate to work with filmmakers who used his talents to their fullest. 52 00:02:43,909 --> 00:02:47,540 --I want you to find your own walk right now, your own way of 53 00:02:47,540 --> 00:02:49,739 striding, pacing, any direction, anything you want, whether it's 54 00:02:49,739 --> 00:02:52,299 whether it's proud or silly. Anything. 55 00:02:52,299 --> 00:02:55,299 I can't talk about how he pulled off so many different characters 56 00:02:55,299 --> 00:02:57,060 because I have no idea. 57 00:02:57,060 --> 00:03:00,950 But I can talk about a few things that directors did to help his performances. 58 00:03:00,950 --> 00:03:02,500 Here are five. 59 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,840 #1: They let him play it straight through. Movie acting is weird because 60 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:09,770 it’s hours of preparation to shoot one angle. 61 00:03:09,770 --> 00:03:12,880 And sometimes the actors only get a few seconds to really act. 62 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,500 --My God, the children. 63 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:18,930 Many directors here have a history of shooting scenes in 1 or 2 set-ups 64 00:03:18,930 --> 00:03:20,630 which helps the actors keep their rhythm 65 00:03:20,630 --> 00:03:24,270 Some preferred elaborate camera moves. Others liked it very simple 66 00:03:24,270 --> 00:03:27,640 But no matter what, they shared a common desire to let all the actors perform 67 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:29,390 uninterrupted, as much as possible. 68 00:03:29,390 --> 00:03:34,590 --It's me, Alan, mom and dad! I'm home! I'm back! 69 00:03:35,590 --> 00:03:38,300 #2: They gave him something physical to do. 70 00:03:38,300 --> 00:03:42,840 Open the window. Pick up the apple. Put the cans back in the right spot. 71 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,700 --I said, well, you know what I'm dealing with here? 72 00:03:45,700 --> 00:03:47,700 These gestures sometimes repeated later in the film 73 00:03:47,700 --> 00:03:50,700 giving us a nice before-and-after portrait of the character. 74 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:56,500 --Eleanor? --Yes? 75 00:03:56,500 --> 00:03:58,290 Other times they were just one-off moments. 76 00:04:01,290 --> 00:04:04,740 As an editor, I can testify that when I’m looking at 12 takes of a scene, 77 00:04:04,740 --> 00:04:06,570 these little gestures make all the difference. 78 00:04:08,570 --> 00:04:12,670 #3: They used blocking to tell the story visually. Human beings are wired 79 00:04:12,670 --> 00:04:14,700 to respond to subtle changes in body language. 80 00:04:14,700 --> 00:04:18,010 We often derive more understanding from a person’s movements and tone 81 00:04:18,010 --> 00:04:19,800 than from the actual words they say. 82 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:21,548 --You forget the girl. 83 00:04:21,548 --> 00:04:22,419 One of the great things about good blocking 84 00:04:22,419 --> 00:04:25,610 is that it’s universal and doesn’t need to be translated or explained. 85 00:04:25,610 --> 00:04:29,850 --you playing Dear Abby --I know, because she's my sister! 86 00:04:29,850 --> 00:04:32,100 Even if you can't speak English, you understand exactly what's happening here 87 00:04:32,100 --> 00:04:34,310 --Come on! --I don't like you, sir. 88 00:04:34,310 --> 00:04:36,310 --Why not? I got a great personality, you ask anybody. 89 00:04:36,310 --> 00:04:40,270 #4: They let him listen. --That started with Peter Weir 90 00:04:40,270 --> 00:04:43,200 where he said, if you just listen there's a great power in that. 91 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:46,550 A good percentage what you think of as acting in a movie is actually listening. 92 00:04:46,550 --> 00:04:48,970 Sometimes that’s what happened in the moment. Other times, 93 00:04:48,970 --> 00:04:51,990 we editors find those moments and move them around in the edit. 94 00:04:51,990 --> 00:04:54,550 As they say, acting is reacting. 95 00:04:57,550 --> 00:05:00,610 And lastly: They didn’t let perfection get in the way of inspiration. 96 00:05:00,610 --> 00:05:03,660 There’s a real desire sometimes to film it exactly the way it was in your head 97 00:05:03,660 --> 00:05:06,910 or on the page, but working with Robin Williams was about opening yourself up 98 00:05:06,910 --> 00:05:08,560 to sudden bursts of inspiration. 99 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:15,250 --She used to fart in her sleep. One night it was so loud, it woke the dog up 100 00:05:15,250 --> 00:05:19,430 So be open. This man improvised many of his most iconic moments. 101 00:05:19,430 --> 00:05:21,020 Maybe he was onto something. 102 00:05:21,020 --> 00:05:23,020 --There's great moments that obviously people have rehearsed and gone over 103 00:05:23,020 --> 00:05:26,080 and gone over and gone over, but literally when the stuff really hits you 104 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,470 it's usually something that happened and it happened then 105 00:05:29,470 --> 00:05:32,000 and that is what film is about: capturing a moment. 106 00:05:35,550 --> 00:05:37,250 Farewell, Robin Williams. 107 00:05:51,539 --> 00:05:55,490 --He is an editor's nightmare though, editors see him and they go "AGH!" 108 00:05:55,490 --> 00:05:58,900 because he shows up, you cut on him all the time, you can't cut on half a phrase 109 00:05:58,900 --> 00:06:01,690 --Like it's hard to get a two-shot right now right? 110 00:06:01,690 --> 00:06:05,000 --Dammit I can't hold it! Dammit Jim, the camera's too wide! Bones, go wide! 111 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:06,350 --I'll be back. --We love you.