So I tried to watch the Witcher series, because I feel I should like it. But the exposition sequences are so dreadfully boring I can't even get past the first 15 minutes :/
I then watched a bit of True Grit, and I was instantly hooked. So I wanted to do a quick scene study. I figured out 2 main things:
- Frames are kept interesting during dialogue with moving backgrounds (sand blowing in, or people passing by).
- The classic :Get in late - leave early- way of writing. The filmmakers don't bore us, we get the information we need, and we are moving between scenes by having to figure out things for ourselves instead of giving everything on a plate.
-> So in this short scene Mattie (the girl) is talking asking this guy if he can think of somebody who can help her track this outlaw. We have a standard 1 shot, notice how she is composed in the right portion of the screen for screen direction. The frame is also kept interesting with passerbys in the background.
Cut to a two shot (Over the shoulder), once again respecting screen direction by framing the guy in the left side. The frame is kept alive as well with passerby traffic.
We cut before he finished his dialogue to see Maggie take in the information , and then asks where she can find this guy called Rooster.
CUT to new Sequence. Of an abstract shot. Close up of a door with Maggie knocking on it. Keeps the pace going, and as we don't know where we are, our brains need to piece things together, so we're staying interested.
We cut out slightly, still not visually revealing where we are. We hear Rooster off screen saying it's occupied, so we figure we're in a toilet. But we had to figure it out, instead of being given the information visually.
Then cut wider to finally see where she is. We stay in this shot, and once again made interesting by dust blowing in the background, and a dog passing by the frame.
We then CUT out the shot, back into an abstract shot.
A board shaped like a coffin is slid in, with the station information, so again we are piecing the information together. We then hear a trainwhistle before cutting again afterwards.
And below some frame studies I did from avatar, practicig drawing simple roughs with the same information as the final board drawing:
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