I like what people have done with their video essays this week. Many have commented that they are not used to looking at movies analytically, which is normal. We watch them for entertainment, not to think about how they are put together. But when we look at movies the way Tony Zhou does, I think we can get a deeper appreciation for them, and for the art of cinema. I found another video essay just the other day:
Here the Nerdwriter points out the advantage of watching something multiple times – once we know the story and where it’s going, we can turn our attention to how it gets there. He also diagrams the stage as he explains the scene. Maybe you have to be a hardcore nerd to think about doing such a thing, I don’t know. But our brains do this anyway, subconsciously. We’re aware of space and spatial relationships even if we don’t think about them. Kubrick’s The Shining is a perfect example of this. A close analysis shows the space to be impossible – something that can’t exist in our geonetry. It’s done so subtly that you don’t notice it if you aren’t looking for it, but in the back of your mind there’s a sense of unease, that something’s not right, because the space is disorienting.
For those who are interested in looking at movies more closely, director Sidney Lumet’s book, Making Movies, is worth reading. After reading it I watched all of his movies I could find, and then I wanted to read it again. That could have been the start of a vicious circle though.
