The Bad Sleep Well (1960) - The Geometry of a Scene

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

Maybe you get this. Sometimes I’m
watching a scene and I just get so bored

Instead of being staged uniquely, the
scene is just this: standard coverage.

Nobody moves, everybody gets a close-up,
and we’re stuck here

for five minutes cutting back and forth.

--It’s like a lot of films one
sees today. They’re what I call

photographs of people talking.

And bears no relation to
the art of the cinema.

So here's one alternative from
Akira Kurosawa: instead of going

to standard coverage, stage the
scene in simple geometric shapes.

This scene comes from The Bad Sleep Well
and it focuses on two things

squares and triangles.
Here, Nishi hands the case to Shirai

and as he sits down again,
we get a very simple triangle:

two sets of eyes and the
bag with the stolen money.

Notice that Kurosawa doesn’t
cut between reactions.

Instead our eyes naturally look at
one person’s face, then the other.

As Shirai grows afraid, the triangle
stretches out.

Even though we’re not thinking about it,
notice that the door is

always in frame in the background,
to prepare us for when...

As Moriyama approaches, the camera
reframes to trap Shirai inside a square.

And as the shorter man backs up...

we get this great composition:
three men, three sets of eyes.

Even though the verbal drama happens
between the two standing men,

its Nishi’s face closest to center frame
because we need to see his reaction

and make sure his cover isn’t blown.

Kurosawa breaks the triangle with a hand
and then a reveal.

Notice how just by moving his eyes,
we pay attention to Nishi.

And the triangle has subtly changed.
The two men on the left

have been brought closer together,

while the man on the right breaks
away to focus on the money.

We get one last attempt at forgiveness
but it doesn’t work.

Shirai hesitates for half a second
and the scene ends

much as it began, with one person alone
planning his next move.

Even though he never says a word,

Toshiro Mifune owns this scene with
just his posture and his eyes.

And Kurosawa, by staging it
in triangles and squares,

gives our eyes multiple points
to focus on, and a complete story

in two and a half minutes.

There’s even a geometric beauty about it

1 person, then 2, then 3, 2, 1.
Its a masterpiece of visual storytelling

If you liked this exercise, try
studying any other Kurosawa.

For each film, he found bold,
simple, visual ways to tell the story.

Seven Samurai has circles
and groups of seven.

Yojimbo has horizontal rows
and diagonal lines.

And the Hidden Fortress has
triangles and more triangles.

So the next time you have
multiple characters in a scene,

don't just shoot generic close-ups.
Be creative

and see what kind of
shapes you can make.