I like to write about the things I learn.. and I should do it more often. I think a lot of time I'm writing articles in my mind, but they never reach actual pages.. : / Well, here's my analysis of this beautiful sequence from Pixar's The Good Dinosaur. Please watch the film first!
I'll be looking at cameras, reversals, POVs, 180 rule, pivots, continuity.. The book that opened my eyes and got me really interested in this dialogue thing [which is mostly about reversals tbh] is Grammar of the Film Language.
First of all, here's a rough location map I've drawn by looking at a few shots from the film. The red numbers represent action locations.
Quick parenthesis. Before this scene starts we have 2 transition shots that show nothing but environment. Corn growing..
OK, once again, what I mean by visual dialogue. Let's look at a classic 2-3 cameras setup that's designed for reversals. Something like this:
The part I want to emphasize is the dialogue between the 2 reverse cameras. If you have 2 cameras, you can keep cutting between them like in a dialogue: C1 says, C2 says, C1 reacts, C2 is angry, C1 something, C2 something else.. etc. It's really simple, but where it gets fancy is: it can be used for a LOT more than just verbal dialogue.
For ex. Character 1 is looking at something, so... we show that something. And then we cut back to Character 1. Apparently it's important to go from 1 to 2 and BACK to 1. Or 1 2 1 2 1 2 1.. etc. Not just 1 2. The reason: 1 looks at 2, 2 does something, 1 reacts to that. If you remove the reaction you don't have a proper dialogue.. or something like that. I don't understand why it works so well tbh, but it's a thing of beauty, the cuts feel motivated, things flow naturally..
It's a recipe though.. it should be used in context, not blindly.. depending on story needs. : ] That said, it's really flexible, because the 2 [or 3.. or more] cameras can be almost anywhere, as long as we don't cross the 180 line. I'll get back to that, because we can cross that line.. if we move characters around or if we have a pivot.
Libby is left screen all this time.. The whole point of the 180 rule is to keep characters consistently left and right.
Because Buck moved to a new position, we have changed the 180 line. So next we're going to cut between them along this new line. The old OtS cam has turned into a center cam.
She also exits in kind of a funny way.. but not as funny as the surprise entrance.
Now Momma is going to be the pivot. And Arlo is the new element in a new triangle..
This is Scene 3. You can call all this sequence a scene if you want, time is continuous.. and locations change very little. For clarity I chose to subdivide a sequence into scenes.
Arlo's POV btw, reverse from last shot.. of course.
Btw, speaking of natural, I was looking at camera movement, it follows the actions with a bit of an offset, and it's mostly subtle. Maybe I'll write some stuff about camera animation some day : /
Anyway, although I've been talking a lot about reversals, they're not the most important thing on Earth.. I think most films use reversals more sparingly. Aaaaand it's OK. Having enough visual difference between shots and cutting on movement, and when expected, allows smooth cutting anyway. Reversals only add this beautiful dialogue thing.. but not everything has to be A B A B A B.. forever. It's probably good to use dialogue where it fits naturally [and it can fit naturally in a LOT of places..]. But if you need some crazy montage or whatnot.. to spice things up, at the right moment, that would add necessary contrast or variation to the mix.
And I spoiled the film a bit if you're reading this and you didn't watch it already, but you've been forewarned. : ]
And that's it. Probably my biggest post ever!! OMG. So maybe I learned something from what I just wrote.. I hope I can put this stuff to good use. : D And if it turns out to be useful to others too.. that would be epicness!