Watch: Akira Kurosawa-Composing Movement

Movement is one of the fundamental qualities of cinematic expression. The utilization of movement distinguishes film from other art forms like painting and photography. It's also what helps link disparate shots together through coverage and contributes to the development of a continuous space.  

So, it's important to understand how movement can not only be utilized in films, but also used creatively to communicate a visual story to the viewer. When discussing movement, let's begin by discussing Akira Kurosawa, the famous filmmaker behind Seven Samurai (1954).

 

Watch "Akira Kurosawa: Composing Movement"

Kurosawa is one of those filmmakers whose work should be re-watched often, not only because of his masterful cinematic expression, but because of the adept use of movement in his compositions. View this video essay on his use of movement in films like Ikiru (1952), Yojimbo (1961) and Ran (1985) to understand a creative approach to framing movement.

 

A still from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, illustrating how wind and unnatural blocking and add layers to a composition.  From Youtube. 

 

The video essay outlines five types of movement that Akira Kurosawa uses. 

The first is Movement of Nature. My favorite aspect of this type of movement is that wind can be utilized to animate the landscape, which is typically unmoving. These communicate unique emotions to the viewer and allow the background to feel alive. 

The second is Movement of Groups. When one action ripples across entire groups, it allows an emotion to be reverberated ten-fold in the scene. Kurosawa also uses the creative Movement of Individuals to communicate a character trait through specific gestures and Movement of the Camera.

Finally, the Movement of the Cut  is when movement overlaps shots, which allows the viewer to ignore the cut and maintain continuity.

Continue on to read about how this connects to the filmmaker whose work you'll be viewing today. 

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