What I See

A movie that comes to mind which used very specific framing and composition was the movie Unbreakable. The basis of the movie is that of a comic book story, but told which much subtler characters and more realistic obstacles. When watching this film, I noticed that many of the scenes were comprised of only a few shots. Rather than have cuts (such as a reverse angle for a conversation between two people) the camera would remain in place, continue to focus on one party, or even pan back and forth (sometimes there is even a long, slow, zoom – beginning from far away). This was done to try and emulate the way that comic books present stories. Looking at a page of a comic book, one can see that the story is typically divided into frames. The usual number of frames on an average comic book page is roughly six. The film was cut in a way that could be replicated on a page of a comic book. This effect is pulled off very well and is consistent for the entire movie.

The other fine detail is the use of color. Main characters are typically wearing bright/radiant colors that contrast the shades of gray to the extras in each scene. This makes the movie almost have a cartoonish appearance, but it is done well enough that it still maintains the film's subtlety and legitimate “real life” comic book story telling.