Year: 2012

Don’t waste opportunities to say something

Today’s example of cinematic storytelling comes directly from Film Crit Hulk. The CAPS LOCK below is intentional, it’s the way the Film Crit Hulk writes his essays. His writing is absolutely brilliant! If you haven’t heard about him, I recommend to visit his wordpress blog. Anyway, here is a sample of his writing, which comes from his masterpiece Screenwriting 101 Vol. 2 of 2.

Chinatown (1974)
Chinatown (1974)
Chinatown (1974)
Chinatown (1974)

 

IN ROBERT TOWNE’S INCREDIBLE SCRIPT FOR CHINATOWN (THOUGH HE ISN’T AFRAID TO GO ON FOR BIG WALLS OF TEXT… IT WAS A DIFFERENT ERA) THERE IS THIS REALLY NEAT LITTLE DETAIL THAT EXEMPLIFIES SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN ENOUGH IN SCREENWRITING.

JAKE GITTES IS A PRIVATE DETECTIVE WHO HAS JUST INFORMED ONE OF HIS CLIENTS THAT, YES, HIS WIFE IS CHEATING ON HIM. TO CONSOLE THE POOR CHAP JAKE DOES THE FOLLOWING:

“Gittes reaches into his desk and pulls out a shot glass, quickly selects a cheaper bottle of bourbon from several fifths of more expensive whiskeys.”

THE IMPLICATION OF THIS MAY SEEM OBVIOUS, THAT GITTES IS “CHEAP” OR SOMETHING, BUT THE FACT THAT HE HAS THEM ALL LINED UP AND READY TO GO IN HIS OFFICE SAYS SOMETHING ELSE… IT IMPLIES THAT JAKE KNOWS THE CLIENTWON’T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.

WHAT MAY SEEM LIKE A SMALL DETAIL IN THE SCRIPT IS ACTUALLY A DETAIL THAT CAN BE SUSSED OUT TO SEVERAL OTHER IMPLICATIONS. IT’S A BRILLIANT LITTLE GESTURE OF WHICH TOWNE IS A MASTER. REALLY, HULK READ A SHIT TON OF SCRIPTS AND THESE OPPORTUNITIES ARE RARELY EXPLORED. SO HULK WANT YOU TO EMBRACE THE KIND OF HIGH-DEGREE STORYTELLING EVIDENT IN THESE TINY DETAILS. EMBRACE THE HIGH STANDARD. ALWAYS TRY TO ALWAYS SAY SOMETHING. EVEN TRY TO SAY MULTIPLE THINGS AT ONCE.

EVERY DETAIL IN YOUR SCRIPT CAN MATTER IF YOU REALLY WANT IT TO. DON’T WASTE OPPORTUNITIES TO SAY SOMETHING!

I want you the read the last sentence again!!

ALWAYS TRY TO ALWAYS SAY SOMETHING. EVEN TRY TO SAY MULTIPLE THINGS AT ONCE.

Saying multiple things at once…does it sound familiar? I hope so! 🙂

Links

Screenwriting 101 Vol. 2 of 2
THE COMPLETE FILM CRIT HULK ARCHIVE
Chinatown Screenplay – First Page PDF

Cinematic composition in Citizen Kane

It is almost impossible to write something new about Citizen Kane, because there were at least quadrillion pages written about this movie already.

One of the recent articles (written by Tim Wilson) deals with extreme depth of field used throughout the movie. I read it just few days ago and thought it would be a great example of cinematic storytelling. What really caught my attention were these words:

Okay, so what’s that mean about cinematic values? For me, it means “composition.” Everything in its place. Maybe the one and only reason that the chair is there is to provide one more layer — but you can tell it’s not there by accident. The shot is COMPOSED. Everything is there by INTENT. Intent and composition are merged, and set at the service of larger storytelling priorities.

So let’s take a look at the cinematic composition described above:

Citizen Kane (1941)
Citizen Kane (1941)

Each character or item creates a layer in the picture. Going from the foreground to the background, we have (for example) these layers:

  • sheet of paper
  • Mrs. Kane
  • Mr. Thatcher
  • Mr. Kane
  • chair
  • window
  • little Kane

This creates cinematic composition. I already tried to define what does the word cinematic mean, so just briefly, cinematic shot/composition is achieved by – literally – adding layers.

From the cinematography point of view, the layers are achieved through careful blocking (staging) of actors and props (chair) and by using large depth of field (=small aperture).

But also from the storytelling perspective, there are layers. While the parents are making decision about little Kane’s future, we can see him as a kid playing cheerfully outside in the snow.

That’s why this shot is very cinematic, it’s literally full of layers.

Links:

Depth of Field: Gregg Toland, Citizen Kane and Beyond
A Viewer’s Companion to ‘Citizen Kane’
The Motion Picture Cameraman
Framing and composition in short The Division Of Gravity

Other Examples:

Charlie's Family Restaurant by Andrew Mohrer
Charlie’s Family Restaurant by Andrew Mohrer

Look at the photo by DJ Poe. It’s amazing how many layers there are in the shot. Very cinematic composition!

Poetry and Symmetry of Storytelling in Toy Story 3

I’ve watched recently Toy Story 3, but this time with audio commentary by director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla Anderson. This blog post was inspired by their commentary and draws heavily from it.

With movies, it’s all about setting it up and paying it off consistently, to create this poetry and symmetry of storytelling.

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially to someone who you’ve known for a long time, some you’ve loved or just deeply cared about.

There is a scene, when Woody is leaving the toys. It gets very emotional, because they have been together for so many years. They get into argument. Both sides have to say things and they are not very nice. It’s a messy break up, because when Buzz extends his hand to Woody, he refuses to shake it.

Toy Story 3 (2010)
Toy Story 3 (2010)

Later in the movie, there is a scene, where the toys are taken to the dump. It’s the biggest fear of a toy. It’s not like getting thrown away or being outgrown by a kid, because that’s not the end of a toy. But heading into inferno of incinerator, that’s the ultimate end.

The toys are trying to climb up the trash, but they very quickly realize, that this is not an option. They are falling into the incinerator and slowly sliding toward their doom. There is no way out, no option, this place is inescapable.

So there is this wonderful and extremely emotional moment, when all toys come together as a family. Buzz reaches out to Woody and this time, he accepts his hand without hesitation. This moment intentionally mirrors the earlier scene, where Woody refused to shake Buzz’s hand. They all hold hands, they bond as a family, close their eyes and face together their doom.

Toy Story 3 (2010)
Toy Story 3 (2010)

It’s extremely emotional, because now we have this “family reunion” to contrast the messy break up in the earlier scene. This is what Darla Anderson meant by “setting it up and paying it off”.

The incinerator scene is extremely emotional even if you only look at the still frames above. It’s not just about creating the symmetry of storytelling (setting it up and paying it off). It works so well, because there are additional layers of meaning.

The toys realized in this scene, that the most important thing is that they have each other… is there anything more important?