As much as I like to pretend that I do a good job of planning ahead when I am working on a video shoot, I know that my definition of planning ahead means a general idea of what shots I want (if I’m really on top of it, a written list of them), making sure we have permission to shoot where I want to, and hopefully not forgetting to double-check that I have all the equipment I need. I’ve got a long way to go. (Thanks for helping out with that, MMJ program!)

As much as I like to pretend that I do a good job of planning ahead when I am working on a video shoot, I know that my definition of planning ahead means a general idea of what shots I want (if I’m really on top of it, a written list of them), making sure we have permission to shoot where I want to, and hopefully not forgetting to double-check that I have all the equipment I need. I’ve got a long way to go. (Thanks for helping out with that, MMJ program!)

So I marvel in true admiration at the amazing intentionality of real cinematography, like what is shown in this analysis of use of the quadrant system in Drive:

I mean… isn’t that just astounding? The attention to detail. The subtleties. The way it rewards multiple watches and offers deeper understanding the more you take in all of what the movie offers and not just the dialogue and action. Watching this type of video is very inspiring, and very humbling. I wish I had the foresight and artistry to do this type of shooting.

One of the things that appeals to me in particular about this example is how so much of the work that’s being done is simply in the framing, and not with edits or camera tricks or anything like that. The opening shot that is analyzed is just one continuous follow shot, but the framing (and blocking of the actors) allows for two simultaneous stories to be told. Similarly, the scene at the autoshop is just a locked-off tripod shot. There’s no camera movement at all, and hardly any character movement either, but it still allows for one story to be told on the top half of the screen and a second story to be told on the bottom.

I have limited experience with this level of sophisticated visual storytelling, so I really enjoy watching the videos produced by the Every Frame a Painting YouTube channel. It explains and showcases all sorts of cool cinematography techniques and tricks, and it makes me feel smarter (and – naturally – worse at making videos) every time I watch one of its videos. I would highly recommend it to any and all aspiring videographers.

Many of the videos I have worked (and this week’s Story Without Words is no exception) have been more along the lines of “do something creative in real-time and get reactions” rather than the intentional story telling side of things. Those are a lot of fun and I would never want to stop doing them, but I fully aware that those types of projects only work well in certain situations… which is why I love learning from and finding inspiration from the best in the business. Despite the cliche, I think you can indeed teach an old dog new tricks. At least, that’s what I’m going to tell myself.