WEBVTT
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Hi my name is Tony and this is a
quick Every Frame a Painting.
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Maybe you get this. Sometimes I’m
watching a scene and I just get so bored
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Instead of being staged uniquely, the
scene is just this: standard coverage.
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Nobody moves, everybody gets a close-up,
and we’re stuck here
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for five minutes cutting back and forth.
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--It’s like a lot of films one
sees today. They’re what I call
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photographs of people talking.
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And bears no relation to
the art of the cinema.
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So here's one alternative from
Akira Kurosawa: instead of going
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to standard coverage, stage the
scene in simple geometric shapes.
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This scene comes from The Bad Sleep Well
and it focuses on two things
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squares and triangles.
Here, Nishi hands the case to Shirai
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and as he sits down again,
we get a very simple triangle:
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two sets of eyes and the
bag with the stolen money.
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Notice that Kurosawa doesn’t
cut between reactions.
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Instead our eyes naturally look at
one person’s face, then the other.
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As Shirai grows afraid, the triangle
stretches out.
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Even though we’re not thinking about it,
notice that the door is
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always in frame in the background,
to prepare us for when...
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As Moriyama approaches, the camera
reframes to trap Shirai inside a square.
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And as the shorter man backs up...
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we get this great composition:
three men, three sets of eyes.
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Even though the verbal drama happens
between the two standing men,
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its Nishi’s face closest to center frame
because we need to see his reaction
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and make sure his cover isn’t blown.
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Kurosawa breaks the triangle with a hand
and then a reveal.
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Notice how just by moving his eyes,
we pay attention to Nishi.
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And the triangle has subtly changed.
The two men on the left
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have been brought closer together,
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while the man on the right breaks
away to focus on the money.
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We get one last attempt at forgiveness
but it doesn’t work.
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Shirai hesitates for half a second
and the scene ends
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much as it began, with one person alone
planning his next move.
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Even though he never says a word,
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Toshiro Mifune owns this scene with
just his posture and his eyes.
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And Kurosawa, by staging it
in triangles and squares,
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gives our eyes multiple points
to focus on, and a complete story
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in two and a half minutes.
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There’s even a geometric beauty about it
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1 person, then 2, then 3, 2, 1.
Its a masterpiece of visual storytelling
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If you liked this exercise, try
studying any other Kurosawa.
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For each film, he found bold,
simple, visual ways to tell the story.
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Seven Samurai has circles
and groups of seven.
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Yojimbo has horizontal rows
and diagonal lines.
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And the Hidden Fortress has
triangles and more triangles.
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So the next time you have
multiple characters in a scene,
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don't just shoot generic close-ups.
Be creative
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and see what kind of
shapes you can make.