1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,000 --Okay Max now this is it. Left or right? 2 00:00:06,620 --> 00:00:08,200 --Come on Max! 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:10,210 --Left! 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,210 Hi, my name is Tony and this is a quick Every Frame a Painting. 5 00:00:15,210 --> 00:00:18,220 Be warned, this video spoils all of Snowpiercer. 6 00:00:18,220 --> 00:00:21,500 So I am giving you a choice. Beyond this point in the video... 7 00:00:21,500 --> 00:00:24,890 --There's no turning back. --There is no turning back. 8 00:00:24,890 --> 00:00:26,890 --There's no turning back. --There is no turning back. 9 00:00:26,890 --> 00:00:30,669 --There is no turning back. --And there's no turning back 10 00:00:30,669 --> 00:00:33,210 you understand? --Yes I do. 11 00:00:33,710 --> 00:00:36,660 In nearly every blockbuster you watch or Telltale game that you’ve played, 12 00:00:36,660 --> 00:00:39,710 you've seen moments like this. The protagonist has to make a choice, 13 00:00:39,710 --> 00:00:41,210 and there’s no way to reverse it. 14 00:00:42,300 --> 00:00:43,690 --Okay it's you. 15 00:00:44,690 --> 00:00:47,000 Just to be clear, I think moments like these are great and a foundation 16 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:48,489 of good storytelling. 17 00:00:48,489 --> 00:00:50,949 But I do wish in movies they weren’t presented through dialogue. 18 00:00:50,949 --> 00:00:53,019 So today I look at one possible alternative. 19 00:00:53,019 --> 00:00:56,000 In fact, this is one of the oldest traditions in cinema. 20 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:57,500 How do you show character choice? 21 00:01:02,270 --> 00:01:04,870 Left or Right. That’s it. 22 00:01:04,870 --> 00:01:08,060 We often forget that screen direction is a tool, and that character choices 23 00:01:08,060 --> 00:01:09,660 can be presented simply by having them look. 24 00:01:09,660 --> 00:01:13,850 Snowpiercer depends on one simple rule: 25 00:01:13,850 --> 00:01:17,090 camera left is the back of the train, while camera right is the front. 26 00:01:17,090 --> 00:01:18,680 And we gradually move from left to right. 27 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,220 In fact, you could see this film as the story of a man who thinks 28 00:01:22,220 --> 00:01:24,060 he has to keep pushing forward. 29 00:01:27,060 --> 00:01:29,060 And yet everything that anchors him and gives him his humanity 30 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,330 is behind him. --You have to lead us. 31 00:01:33,330 --> 00:01:37,020 Each decision he faces seems to be a simple variation on these two directions 32 00:01:37,020 --> 00:01:40,180 But the film doesnt make it easy for him and sometimes he goes backwards. 33 00:01:40,180 --> 00:01:44,640 --Curtis, my friend, we understand each other, listen to my words, it wasn't me! 34 00:01:48,369 --> 00:01:50,009 When he finally reaches the end of his journey, Curtis is pushed 35 00:01:50,009 --> 00:01:52,369 by yet another person to go forward. 36 00:01:52,369 --> 00:01:58,100 --I have devoted my entire life to this, the eternal engine. 37 00:01:58,100 --> 00:02:01,160 And to see the humanity behind him as something lesser. 38 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:03,300 --You can save them from themselves 39 00:02:03,990 --> 00:02:06,459 And given one final choice between right and above 40 00:02:07,459 --> 00:02:08,900 or left and below. 41 00:02:10,459 --> 00:02:12,209 He chooses this. 42 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:15,800 The best part of this is that Bong Joon-ho 43 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,159 has shown the moral progression of his choices without ever needing dialogue. 44 00:02:19,159 --> 00:02:22,500 Snowpiercer is probably the most lateral film you’ll see this year. 45 00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:26,250 And it’s proof that the simplest visual ideas have a lot of grace and subtlety. 46 00:02:27,750 --> 00:02:30,040 So the next time your character runs into a complex choice... 47 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:35,500 Who knows? 48 00:02:35,500 --> 00:02:38,440 Maybe it’s actually just a simple matter of left or right.