WEBVTT

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Hi my name is Tony and
this is Every Frame a Painting.

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Here’s a weird question. Have you ever
watched a scene and thought...

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That’s a great chair.

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I don’t mean the chair would be great
to own, though that would be nice.

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Just that somebody took the time to find
the exact right chair for the story.

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And that attention to detail
has paid off in some way.

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-"There are five different types of
chairs in this hotel room."

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-"Holy fuck what're they all doing here"
-"Five different types of chairs."

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-"Get em outta here man."

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Because in film,
a chair is not just a chair.

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It’s a piece of production design.
And the type of chair you choose

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can say everything about the person
and the world they inhabit.

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-"You know, my papers.
Business papers"

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So let’s shop around.

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If you’d like to see the film names,
press the CC button below.

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Let's say you’ve written a story.
What use is something like this to you?

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Well the first, and most common use
of a chair is as extension of the world.

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This is how you and I see them every day
as part of the environment.

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But an audience can take
one look at them and tell

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whether the world is bright and clean

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or a little more run-down

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Whether our characters
have very little money

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or plenty of it

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-"You can't sell leaf-tables
and no chairs..."

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"Chairs, you got a dinette set.
No chairs, you got dick!"

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Like all production design,
the right chair gives us

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an entire world to imagine
beyond the frame.

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-"Ugly old thing."

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-"Yet it has a certain appeal."

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-"The Lysa Arryn of chairs."

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And it also offers a very
simple way to show power and hierarchy.

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The head of the monarchy.

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The captain of the ship.

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Or the ruler of the whole empire.

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-"Welcome, young Skywalker."

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The 2nd, more unusual, use of a chair
is as extension of a specific character.

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For instance, you might have someone
who’s weak and insecure.

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-"I have so arranged that he will
always be looking up at you...

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-"...and you looking down at him."

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-"Mm hmm. Very good."

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Who tries to keep other people down.

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And yet his plans are always challenged
and he can never be on top.

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-"Very interesting."
-"Yes, you like it?"

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In other words, a chair can represent
the psychology of a person.

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If they are vain...

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If they lack inhibition...

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Or if they really like joysticks.

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And if you consider animation,
you can push this even further

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by drawing chairs that
resemble the character.

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Notice here how Carl’s square head
is similar to his chair

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while Ellie’s round head and ears
resemble hers.

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After she dies,
Carl keeps her chair nearby.

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So that every time we see it, we’re
reminded of how much he loved her.

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But the third option is probably
the most widely applicable

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a chair can be
an extension of the situation.

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-"And you believed that story?
You believed that?"

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In this scene from The Godfather Part II
notice how Fredo tries to sit up

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-"I’ve always taken care of you, Fredo"
-"Taken care of me?!?"

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but his chair won’t let him.

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-"You’re my kid brother,
you take care of me?!"

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And the more he fidgets,
the more powerless he looks.

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Francis Ford Coppola: "There was
something about that chair..."

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"...that worked great for the scene.
He kept saying 'I’m your older brother!'

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"...and stuff like that, and the chair
made him so limp and springy..."

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"It just worked great."

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The great thing about chairs is that

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they change the posture of the actors.

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Some chairs don’t let them
get comfortable at all.

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Others let them get too comfortable.

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-"Hello, Bernie."
-"Hello Tom, what’s the rumpus?"

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And others encourage them
to be a little...

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-"Blofeld"

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...theatrical.

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None of these are mutually exclusive.
In fact, the most fun happens

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when you start with one thing
and end up with something else.

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In this scene from Playtime,
listen to the sound the chair makes.

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It’s a simple joke.
But a few minutes later

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that joke gets extended,
with two people and two chairs.

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And as the chair keeps re-appearing
in scene after scene after scene

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it becomes a larger joke about how
people always buy the same damn chairs

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This is what great
production design can get you.

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That one detail that
pays off in unexpected ways.

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And it doesn’t have to be a chair.
They're just very common & pretty cheap.

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But the next time you have a scene
and you ask the actors to sit

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Consider this:
what do they sit on?

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-"This isn't real?"

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And is there a way for that object
to be something more?