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Hi my name is Tony and
this is Every Frame a Painting.
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Here’s a weird question. Have you ever
watched a scene and thought...
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That’s a great chair.
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I don’t mean the chair would be great
to own, though that would be nice.
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Just that somebody took the time to find
the exact right chair for the story.
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And that attention to detail
has paid off in some way.
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-"There are five different types of
chairs in this hotel room."
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-"Holy fuck what're they all doing here"
-"Five different types of chairs."
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-"Get em outta here man."
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Because in film,
a chair is not just a chair.
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It’s a piece of production design.
And the type of chair you choose
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can say everything about the person
and the world they inhabit.
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-"You know, my papers.
Business papers"
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So let’s shop around.
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If you’d like to see the film names,
press the CC button below.
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Let's say you’ve written a story.
What use is something like this to you?
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Well the first, and most common use
of a chair is as extension of the world.
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This is how you and I see them every day
as part of the environment.
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But an audience can take
one look at them and tell
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whether the world is bright and clean
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or a little more run-down
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Whether our characters
have very little money
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or plenty of it
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-"You can't sell leaf-tables
and no chairs..."
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"Chairs, you got a dinette set.
No chairs, you got dick!"
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Like all production design,
the right chair gives us
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an entire world to imagine
beyond the frame.
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-"Ugly old thing."
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-"Yet it has a certain appeal."
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-"The Lysa Arryn of chairs."
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And it also offers a very
simple way to show power and hierarchy.
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The head of the monarchy.
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The captain of the ship.
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Or the ruler of the whole empire.
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-"Welcome, young Skywalker."
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The 2nd, more unusual, use of a chair
is as extension of a specific character.
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For instance, you might have someone
who’s weak and insecure.
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-"I have so arranged that he will
always be looking up at you...
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-"...and you looking down at him."
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-"Mm hmm. Very good."
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Who tries to keep other people down.
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And yet his plans are always challenged
and he can never be on top.
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-"Very interesting."
-"Yes, you like it?"
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In other words, a chair can represent
the psychology of a person.
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If they are vain...
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If they lack inhibition...
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Or if they really like joysticks.
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And if you consider animation,
you can push this even further
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by drawing chairs that
resemble the character.
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Notice here how Carl’s square head
is similar to his chair
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while Ellie’s round head and ears
resemble hers.
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After she dies,
Carl keeps her chair nearby.
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So that every time we see it, we’re
reminded of how much he loved her.
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But the third option is probably
the most widely applicable
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a chair can be
an extension of the situation.
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-"And you believed that story?
You believed that?"
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In this scene from The Godfather Part II
notice how Fredo tries to sit up
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-"I’ve always taken care of you, Fredo"
-"Taken care of me?!?"
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but his chair won’t let him.
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-"You’re my kid brother,
you take care of me?!"
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And the more he fidgets,
the more powerless he looks.
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Francis Ford Coppola: "There was
something about that chair..."
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"...that worked great for the scene.
He kept saying 'I’m your older brother!'
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"...and stuff like that, and the chair
made him so limp and springy..."
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"It just worked great."
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The great thing about chairs is that
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they change the posture of the actors.
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Some chairs don’t let them
get comfortable at all.
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Others let them get too comfortable.
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-"Hello, Bernie."
-"Hello Tom, what’s the rumpus?"
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And others encourage them
to be a little...
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-"Blofeld"
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...theatrical.
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None of these are mutually exclusive.
In fact, the most fun happens
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when you start with one thing
and end up with something else.
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In this scene from Playtime,
listen to the sound the chair makes.
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It’s a simple joke.
But a few minutes later
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that joke gets extended,
with two people and two chairs.
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And as the chair keeps re-appearing
in scene after scene after scene
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it becomes a larger joke about how
people always buy the same damn chairs
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This is what great
production design can get you.
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That one detail that
pays off in unexpected ways.
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And it doesn’t have to be a chair.
They're just very common & pretty cheap.
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But the next time you have a scene
and you ask the actors to sit
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Consider this:
what do they sit on?
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-"This isn't real?"
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And is there a way for that object
to be something more?