Monday, February 15, 2010

Choose Influence



Watch Gena Rowlands around the 3:30 mark of this clip from John Cassavetes' "Woman Under the Influence".




She loses her shoe. She continues without altering the general blocking of the scene or breaking character. If anything, this allows her to turn an expository scene into a little bit of reality.

It's a minor disaster, losing your shoe while in a hurry."

Now the 3:30 mark from Igor Kovalyov's "Milch"



A woman drops a suitcase while running for her ride.


This is a greater disaster than losing your shoe, and in the context of the film more emotionally stressful.

The woman here stops, mechanically picks up the clothes, and continues on her way. It's an opportunity to demonstrate the emotional state of the character, to make a connection.

Sure, it's unfair to compare something to Gena Rowlands in one of the greatest character performances on film. We can learn from it, though. It takes more drawings, it takes more work -but its that work which transforms something from a beautiful testament to animation art production into a moving work of film.

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