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Hi my name is Tony and this is a[br]quick Every Frame a Painting.
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Maybe you get this. Sometimes I’m[br]watching a scene and I just get so bored
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Instead of being staged uniquely, the[br]scene is just this: standard coverage.
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Nobody moves, everybody gets a close-up,[br]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[br]sees today. They’re what I call
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photographs of people talking.
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And bears no relation to[br]the art of the cinema.
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So here's one alternative from[br]Akira Kurosawa: instead of going
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to standard coverage, stage the[br]scene in simple geometric shapes.
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This scene comes from The Bad Sleep Well[br]and it focuses on two things
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squares and triangles.[br]Here, Nishi hands the case to Shirai
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and as he sits down again,[br]we get a very simple triangle:
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two sets of eyes and the[br]bag with the stolen money.
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Notice that Kurosawa doesn’t[br]cut between reactions.
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Instead our eyes naturally look at[br]one person’s face, then the other.
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As Shirai grows afraid, the triangle[br]stretches out.
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Even though we’re not thinking about it,[br]notice that the door is
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always in frame in the background,[br]to prepare us for when...
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As Moriyama approaches, the camera[br]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:[br]three men, three sets of eyes.
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Even though the verbal drama happens[br]between the two standing men,
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its Nishi’s face closest to center frame[br]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[br]and then a reveal.
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Notice how just by moving his eyes,[br]we pay attention to Nishi.
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And the triangle has subtly changed.[br]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[br]away to focus on the money.
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We get one last attempt at forgiveness[br]but it doesn’t work.
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Shirai hesitates for half a second[br]and the scene ends
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much as it began, with one person alone[br]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[br]just his posture and his eyes.
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And Kurosawa, by staging it[br]in triangles and squares,
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gives our eyes multiple points[br]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.[br]Its a masterpiece of visual storytelling
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If you liked this exercise, try[br]studying any other Kurosawa.
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For each film, he found bold,[br]simple, visual ways to tell the story.
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Seven Samurai has circles[br]and groups of seven.
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Yojimbo has horizontal rows[br]and diagonal lines.
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And the Hidden Fortress has[br]triangles and more triangles.
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So the next time you have[br]multiple characters in a scene,
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don't just shoot generic close-ups.[br]Be creative
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and see what kind of[br]shapes you can make.