[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.31,0:00:06.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hi my name is Tony\Nand this is Every Frame a Painting.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.45,0:00:10.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are some filmmakers\Nwho are so influential
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.46,0:00:13.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that no matter where you look,\Nyou see traces of them everywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.62,0:00:19.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I see this filmmaker's framing\Nin the works of Wes Anderson.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.46,0:00:25.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His acrobatics and stunts\Nin Jackie Chan.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.46,0:00:30.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And his deadpan posture\Nin Bill Murray.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.76,0:00:38.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He, of course, is Buster Keaton,\None of the three great silent comedians
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.65,0:00:42.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"He was, as we’re now\Nbeginning to realize...
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.89,0:00:47.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,...the greatest of all the clowns\Nin the history of the cinema."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.90,0:00:49.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And nearly a hundred years later
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.40,0:00:52.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think he still has plenty\Nto teach us about visual comedy.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.99,0:00:56.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So today, let’s take a look at\Nhow the master builds a gag.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.89,0:00:57.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ready?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.23,0:01:00.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's go.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.90,0:01:10.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first thing you need to know\Nabout visual comedy
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.20,0:01:12.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that you have to\Ntell your story through action.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.57,0:01:15.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Keaton was a visual storyteller\Nand he never liked it
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.35,0:01:18.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when other directors told their story\Nthrough the title cards.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.66,0:01:21.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"The average picture used\N240 titles...
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.80,0:01:23.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"...that was about the average."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.70,0:01:27.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"240 was the average?"\N-"Yes. And the most I ever used was 56"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.10,0:01:31.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He avoided title cards by focusing on\Ngesture and pantomime.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.30,0:01:34.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this shot, you never find out\Nwhat these two are talking about.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.85,0:01:38.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everything you need to know is conveyed\Nthrough the table & their body language
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.72,0:01:40.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"But what you had to say...
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.19,0:01:43.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You had to communicate\Nto the audience in only one way..."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.00,0:01:48.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"Through action"\N-"Right. We eliminated subtitles..."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.22,0:01:51.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"...just as fast as we could\Nif we could possibly tell it in action"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.10,0:01:54.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Keaton believed that each gesture\Nyou did should be unique.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.00,0:01:56.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Never do the same thing twice.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.42,0:02:01.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every single fall...
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.82,0:02:04.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is an opportunity…
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.66,0:02:06.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for creativity.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.20,0:02:10.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But once you know the action\Nwe come to the second problem:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.00,0:02:12.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Where do you put the camera?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.29,0:02:21.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Visual gags generally work best\Nfrom one particular angle.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.50,0:02:23.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if you change the angle...
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.15,0:02:26.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then you’re changing the gag\Nand it might not work as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.77,0:02:29.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Finding the right angle\Nis a matter of trial and error.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.00,0:02:33.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So let’s take a look at two possible\Ncamera placements for the same joke.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.50,0:02:35.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here’s the first one.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.88,0:02:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here’s the second.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.24,0:02:54.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You’ll notice in first angle,\Nthe car takes up most of the frame
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.83,0:02:57.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we don’t get a clear look at Buster\Nuntil he turns around.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.74,0:03:01.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in the second angle,\Nthe car’s placed in the background
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.48,0:03:03.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we always have\Na clear view of his face.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.18,0:03:07.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This split second, where he doesn’t know\Nwhat’s happening but we do...
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.36,0:03:09.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,...that’s much better from over here.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.75,0:03:12.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in the first angle,\Nthe framing splits our attention.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.20,0:03:16.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our eyes want to look at his face\Nand the sign at the same time.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.10,0:03:18.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But after reframing the scene...
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.10,0:03:20.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our eyes naturally look at him...
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.29,0:03:22.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then the sign
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.89,0:03:25.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then back to him.\NMuch better.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.69,0:03:30.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now we come to the third question...
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.49,0:03:33.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What are the rules of\Nthis particular world?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.13,0:03:38.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Buster’s world is flat\Nand governed by one law.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.32,0:03:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If the camera can’t see it,\Nthen the characters can’t see it either.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.00,0:03:49.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Buster’s world, the characters are\Nlimited by the sides of the frame
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.60,0:03:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and by what’s visible to us,\Nthe audience.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.99,0:03:56.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this allows him to do jokes\Nthat make sense visually
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.23,0:03:59.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but not logically.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.20,0:04:02.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A lot of his gags are about\Nhuman movement in the flat world.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.62,0:04:04.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He can go to the right...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.52,0:04:06.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the left...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.40,0:04:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.20,0:04:10.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,down...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.30,0:04:12.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,away from the lens...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.64,0:04:14.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or towards it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.40,0:04:16.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Look familiar?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.34,0:04:20.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"She’s been murdered.\NAnd you think I did it."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.36,0:04:22.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"Hey!"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.36,0:04:27.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like Wes Anderson,\NBuster Keaton found humor in geometry.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.26,0:04:34.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He often placed the camera further back\Nso you could see the shape of a joke.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.81,0:04:35.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are circles...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.00,0:04:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,triangles...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.10,0:04:40.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,parallel lines...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.71,0:04:43.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and of course, the shape\Nof the frame itself: the rectangle.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.76,0:04:49.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think staging like this is great\Nbecause it encourages the audience
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.16,0:04:52.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to look around the frame\Nand see the humor for themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.00,0:04:54.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this shot, think about\Nwhere your eyes are looking.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.12,0:05:00.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now where’s he?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.52,0:05:04.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of these gags\Nhave their roots in vaudeville
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.52,0:05:06.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and are designed\Nto play like magic tricks.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.84,0:05:13.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And like all great magic tricks
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.44,0:05:15.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,part of the fun is\Ntrying to guess how it was done.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.45,0:05:23.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Keaton had a name for gags like these.\NHe called them “impossible gags.”
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.50,0:05:28.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're some of his\Nmost inventive and surreal jokes.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.65,0:05:32.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But as a storyteller,\Nhe found them tricky
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.67,0:05:34.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they broke\Nthe rules of his world.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.67,0:05:39.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"We had to stop doing impossible gags,\Nwhat we call cartoon gags."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.21,0:05:42.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"We lost all of that when\Nwe started making feature pictures."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.21,0:05:47.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"They had to be believable\Nor your story wouldn’t hold up."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.21,0:05:51.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So instead, he focused on\Nwhat he called the natural gag.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.28,0:05:55.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The joke that emerges organically\Nfrom the character and the situation.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.80,0:05:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Consider what he does with this door.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.17,0:06:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Keaton claimed that for visual comedy...
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.70,0:06:08.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you had to keep yourself\Nopen to improvisation.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.65,0:06:11.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"How much of it was planned and\Nhow much came out in the actual doing?"
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.90,0:06:13.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"How much was improvised, you know?"
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.90,0:06:16.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"Well as a rule, about 50 percent…"
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.99,0:06:20.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"...you have in your mind\Nbefore you start the picture..."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.65,0:06:23.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"...and the rest you develop\Nas you’re making it."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.99,0:06:26.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sometimes he would\Nfind a joke he liked so much
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.15,0:06:28.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that he would do a callback to it later.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.27,0:06:33.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But other times, jokes that he’d planned\Nbeforehand wouldn’t work on the day.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.78,0:06:35.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So he would just get rid of them...
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.90,0:06:38.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"...because they don’t stand up\Nand they don’t work well."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.80,0:06:40.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"And then the accidental ones come."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.24,0:06:43.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was supposed to make this jump.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.60,0:06:44.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But since he missed...
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.40,0:06:47.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He decided to keep the mistake\Nand build on it.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.24,0:06:52.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"So you seldom got a scene like that\Ngood the second time."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.30,0:06:54.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"You generally got em that first one."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.52,0:06:55.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"Maybe that’s one of the reasons..."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.90,0:06:58.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"...there was so much laughter\Nin the house the other night."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.80,0:07:00.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"I mean, the younger people\Nand I had this feeling..."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.66,0:07:02.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"...that what we were seeing\Nwas happening now."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.75,0:07:07.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"That it had happened only once..."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.10,0:07:09.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,-"...It was not something that was\Npre-done and done and done."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.70,0:07:11.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that brings us to the last thing\Nabout Buster Keaton
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.50,0:07:13.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his most famous rule.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.51,0:07:17.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Never fake a gag.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.30,0:07:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For Keaton, there was only\None way to convince the audience...
Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.22,0:07:22.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,...that what they were seeing was real.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.22,0:07:24.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had to actually do it…
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.00,0:07:29.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,...without cutting.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.78,0:07:31.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was so strict about this\Nthat he once said...
Dialogue: 0,0:07:32.00,0:07:33.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“Either we get this in one shot…
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.78,0:07:39.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,...or we throw out the gag."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.56,0:07:43.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it’s why he remains vital\Nnearly 100 years later.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.98,0:07:46.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not just for his skill\Nbut for his integrity.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.98,0:07:48.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That’s really him.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.29,0:07:52.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And no advancement in technology\Ncan mimic this.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.50,0:07:56.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even now, we’re amazed\Nwhen filmmakers actually do it for real.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.50,0:08:00.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I think he did it better\N95 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:01.35,0:08:02.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So no matter how many times...
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.55,0:08:04.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you’ve seen someone else\Npay homage to him…
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.69,0:08:18.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nothing beats the real thing.