WEBVTT

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

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So here’s a fundamental question:

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When you’re judging a shot,
what’s the first thing you look for?

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Is it balance?

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Leading lines?

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Golden ratio?

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Color? Light? Shapes?

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I think these are all essential,
and they’re all part of good images.

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But there’s one thing
I always notice first

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Movement

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--For me, Kurosawa is the
Beethoven of movie directors

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--It's that recognizable full sound
that Beethoven had

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--that is so unmistakable

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A Kurosawa film moves like no one else’s

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Each one is a masterclass
in different types of motion

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and also ways to combine them.

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Over a career spanning half a century
he made 30 films

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and in all of them, the movement
is surprising and cinematic.

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Wow. If you’d like to see the names
of the films, press the CC button below.

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So what types of movement did he like?

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First, there’s the movement of nature.

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In every one of his films,
the background of the shot

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features some kind of weather.

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Wind

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Water

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Fire

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Smoke

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Snow

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One advantage of this approach is that
shots have a lot of visual interest.

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Even when people are still, there’s rain
in the background to draw your eye.

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--Rain is a real emotional trigger
that works in any film.

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--You know, anything that’s excessive
because it gives you

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--another layer that the
audience can relate to sensually.

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Second, there’s the movement of groups.

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Kurosawa films usually feature large
groups of people who band together

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or split apart.

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Crowds like this are really cinematic.
When you put this many people in a shot,

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any emotion feels big.

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If you want a good reaction shot,
try using four people

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Or twenty-five

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And if you want something really big...

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Which brings us to #3:
the movement of individuals.

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One of my favorite things
about Kurosawa is that

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that his blocking is
unrealistic and exaggerated.

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If someone is nervous,
they pace left and right.

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If they’re outraged, 
they stand straight up.

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And if they’re ashamed…

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He would often tell his actors to pick
one gesture for their character

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and repeat it throughout the film.

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That way, the audience can quickly see
who’s who and how they’re feeling.

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Number four: movement of the camera.

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One of the hallmarks of Kurosawa’s style
are his fluid camera moves

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that go from close-up to full shot to
OTS in a single unbroken take.

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I did another essay about these shots,
called the Spielberg Oner,

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but what’s important here is that
every camera move has a clear beginning

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middle

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and end.

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Just by itself,
this camera move tells a story.

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And last, there’s movement of the cut.

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Kurosawa is one of the few directors
who worked as his own editor.

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One of the reasons his movies just flow
is that he tends to cut on movement.

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Often, you’re paying so much attention
to someone who's moving

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that you don’t see the edit.

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When he finishes the scene,
he switches the rhythm

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usually by ending on something static.

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and then cutting straight into movement.

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By switching up the rhythm,
he keeps you on your toes,

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because you can’t guess the next cut.

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So with all that, let’s break down
one scene and study the motion.

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This scene is from Seven Samurai.
I won't tell you what it’s about.

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See how long it takes you
to figure it out. Ready?

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The first shot shows the whole village,
then just the important characters

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then just the samurai.

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Right about here...

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most people get what’s happening.

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As Kikuchiyo sits down his mood ripples
outwards to affect the whole village.

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Notice how much the wind adds to the
scene. Even when people are still

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there’s that little bit of wind
to spice up the frame.

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So that’s pretty straightforward.

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Now let’s jump 60 years into the future.
This is The Avengers.

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Here, we start with a camera move into
an establishing shot. But this time...

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--These were in Phil Coulson's jacket.

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We get dialogue right away.

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Throughout this scene, the only things
that move are the camera and Nick Fury.

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Even though we have weather outside and
actors in the background

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none of them are used.

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Notice that the camera movement doesn’t
have a beginning or an end.

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And there’s no variation. Each shot
goes in the exact same direction

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--Maybe I had that coming.

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But in Seven Samurai...

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The camera moves have a distinct
beginning middle and end.

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And each shot changes 
direction from the previous one.

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As he climbs up, Kurosawa uses
the movement of the flag

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to cut smoothly into this angle:

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all seven samurai and
their banner, together.

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This scene has every type of movement

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carefully pieced together
and spaced throughout.

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The weather.

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The group.

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The individual.

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The camera.

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The cut.

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But this scene tells its story
mostly through dialogue

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--called the Avengers Initiative.

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Sure, the camera moves.
But it’s pointless movement.

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For all the money that was put into it,
this scene feels flat

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--It's an old-fashioned notion.

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But how could you improve this scene?
Well...

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if you know what the scene’s about,
try to express it through movement.

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Start with the character.
How are they feeling?

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Is there any way the actor
can convey that by moving?

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Okay, maybe that's too much.
Let’s be more subtle.

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Take the feeling that’s
inside the character

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and bring it out
through the background.

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If a character is angry and menacing,
you can do this

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Or if she's simmering
with resentment.

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Another option is to contrast
one person against the group.

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So if somebody suffers a very
public humiliation, this works.

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Or if they’re looking for
a needle in a haystack

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You can use camera movement
to convey excitement

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You can cut on movement
to show surprise

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And you can combine every type of motion
into one amazing image

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By the way, you don’t need to put every
type of movement in every shot.

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That’s just tiring.

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But there’s a nice middle ground with
lots of variation and subtlety

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and you won’t know what
works best until you try it.

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If you combine the right motion
and the right emotion

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you get something cinematic.

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--But just for me, I look at his movies
two or three times a year

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--just to feel, oh wow, that’s why
I wanted to be a filmmaker

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--and look what I’m doing now.

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--Special effects, and then
another movie about special effects

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--and then a third movie
about special effects.

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Now pick any of his films.
Go to any scene.

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And watch how everything moves together

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--You know, it’s the visual stimulation
that hits the audience.

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That’s the reason for film.

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Otherwise, we should just
turn the light out and call it radio.