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

  • So here’s a fundamental question:

  • When youre judging a shot, What’s the first thing you look for?

  • Is it balance?

  • Leading lines?

  • Golden ratio?

  • Color? Light? Shapes?

  • I think these are all essential, and theyre all part of good images.

  • But there’s one thing I always notice first

  • Movement

  • --For me, Kurosawa is the Beethoven of movie directors

  • --It's that recognizable full sound that Beethoven had

  • --that is so unmistakable

  • A Kurosawa film moves like no one else’s

  • Each one is a masterclass in different types of motion

  • and also ways to combine them.

  • Over a career spanning half a century he made 30 films

  • and in all of them, the movement is surprising and cinematic.

  • Wow. If you’d like to see the names of the films, press the CC button below.

  • So what types of movement did he like?

  • First, there’s the movement of nature.

  • In every one of his films, the background of the shot

  • features some kind of weather.

  • Wind

  • Water

  • Fire

  • Smoke

  • Snow

  • One advantage of this approach is that shots have a lot of visual interest.

  • Even when people are still, there’s rain in the background to draw your eye.

  • --Rain is a real emotional trigger that works in any film.

  • --You know, anything that’s excessive because it gives you

  • --another layer that the audience can relate to sensually.

  • Second, there’s the movement of groups.

  • Kurosawa films usually feature large groups of people who band together

  • or split apart.

  • Crowds like this are really cinematic. When you put this many people in a shot,

  • any emotion feels big.

  • If you want a good reaction shot, try using four people

  • Or twenty-five

  • And if you want something really big...

  • Which brings us to #3: the movement of individuals.

  • One of my favorite things about Kurosawa is that

  • that his blocking is unrealistic and exaggerated.

  • If someone is nervous,they pace left and right.

  • If theyre outraged, they stand straight up.

  • And if theyre ashamed

  • He would often tell his actors to pick one gesture for their character

  • and repeat it throughout the film.

  • That way, the audience can quickly see who’s who and how theyre feeling.

  • Number four: movement of the camera.

  • One of the hallmarks of Kurosawa’s style are his fluid camera moves

  • that go from close-up to full shot to OTS in a single unbroken take.

  • I did another essay about these shots, called the Spielberg Oner,

  • but what’s important here is that every camera move has a clear beginning

  • middle

  • and end.

  • Just by itself, this camera move tells a story.

  • And last, there’s movement of the cut.

  • Kurosawa is one of the few directors who worked as his own editor.

  • One of the reasons his movies just flow is that he tends to cut on movement.

  • Often, youre paying so much attention to someone who's moving

  • that you don’t see the edit.

  • When he finishes the scene, he switches the rhythm

  • usually by ending on something static.

  • and then cutting straight into movement.

  • By switching up the rhythm, he keeps you on your toes,

  • because you can’t guess the next cut.

  • So with all that, let’s break down one scene and study the motion.

  • This scene is from Seven Samurai. I won't tell you what itabout.

  • See how long it takes you to figure it out. Ready?

  • The first shot shows the whole village, then just the important characters

  • then just the samurai.

  • Right about here...

  • most people get what’s happening.

  • As Kikuchiyo sits down his mood ripples outwards to affect the whole village.

  • Notice how much the wind adds to the scene. Even when people are still

  • there’s that little bit of wind to spice up the frame.

  • So that’s pretty straightforward.

  • Now let’s jump 60 years into the future. This is The Avengers.

  • Here, we start with a camera move into an establishing shot. But this time...

  • --These were in Phil Coulson's jacket.

  • We get dialogue right away.

  • Throughout this scene, the only things that move are the camera and Nick Fury.

  • Even though we have weather outside and actors in the background

  • none of them are used.

  • Notice that the camera movement doesn’t have a beginning or an end.

  • And there’s no variation. Each shot goes in the exact same direction

  • --Maybe I had that coming.

  • But in Seven Samurai...

  • The camera moves have a distinct beginning middle and end.

  • And each shot changes direction from the previous one.

  • As he climbs up, Kurosawa uses the movement of the flag

  • to cut smoothly into this angle:

  • all seven samurai and their banner, together.

  • This scene has every type of movement

  • carefully pieced together and spaced throughout.

  • The weather.

  • The group.

  • The individual.

  • The camera.

  • The cut.

  • But this scene tells its story mostly through dialogue

  • --called the Avengers Initiative.

  • Sure, the camera moves. But it’s pointless movement.

  • For all the money that was put into it, this scene feels flat

  • --It's an old-fashioned notion.

  • But how could you improve this scene? Well...

  • if you know what the scene’s about, try to express it through movement.

  • Start with the character. How are they feeling?

  • Is there any way the actor can convey that by moving?

  • Okay, maybe that's too much. Let’s be more subtle.

  • Take the feeling that’s inside the character

  • and bring it out through the background.

  • If a character is angry and menacing, you can do this

  • Or if she's simmering with resentment.

  • Another option is to contrast one person against the group.

  • So if somebody suffers a very public humiliation, this works.

  • Or if theyre looking for a needle in a haystack

  • You can use camera movement to convey excitement

  • You can cut on movement to show surprise

  • And you can combine every type of motion into one amazing image

  • By the way, you don’t need to put every type of movement in every shot.

  • That’s just tiring.

  • But there’s a nice middle ground with lots of variation and subtlety

  • and you won’t know what works best until you try it.

  • If you combine the right motion and the right emotion

  • you get something cinematic.

  • --But just for me, I look at his movies two or three times a year

  • --just to feel, oh wow, that’s why I wanted to be a filmmaker

  • --and look what I’m doing now.

  • --Special effects, and then another movie about special effects

  • --and then a third movie about special effects.

  • Now pick any of his films. Go to any scene.

  • And watch how everything moves together

  • --You know, it’s the visual stimulation that hits the audience.

  • That’s the reason for film.

  • Otherwise, we should just turn the light out and call it radio.

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

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