If you want the key to my cinematic sensibility, whether as a viewer or
as a maker, it is the pillow shot. A filmmaker's willingness to use
pillow shots says a great deal about whether I'll enjoy or be able to
draw inspiration from their work. But what, pray tell, is a
pillow shot?
For the answer, you need look no further than Yasujirō Ozu. The creator of what are now thought of as the most Japanese of all films from the late twenties to the early sixties, Ozu mastered many elements of cinema. Most of all, he mastered the pillow shot. This is so much the case that to define the pillow shot is simply to describe Ozu's use of pillow shots. Usually capturing some element of the natural or architectural environment — or, best-case scenario, both at once — pillow shots appear in a narrative film while having nothing at all to do with the narrative itself. Their purpose is entirely rhythmic and aesthetic.
An adept use of pillow shots indicates, to my mind, that a filmmaker's priorities are in order. That is to say, they're not out of order. It's easy to see a director dismissing the very concept of pillow shots because "everything in a movie should move the plot forward," but isn't that like insisting that everything in a movie should, say, advance its aesthetics? Or that everything should be subordinate to the rhythm? I'm pretty damned suspicious about assertions that every element of a film should serve the same end, especially if that end is jerking characters around.
I've thus started making use of pillow shots in my own movies. In fact, I can't imagine not doing that. And for pillow-y ideas, there's no finer place to go than the Ozu-devoted ozu-san.com, which maintains a pillow shot screen capture archive. Some of my very favorites follow. I just want to get high-res versions of these, print them, frame them, and hang them around me as an undrying fount of cinematic inspiration.
For the answer, you need look no further than Yasujirō Ozu. The creator of what are now thought of as the most Japanese of all films from the late twenties to the early sixties, Ozu mastered many elements of cinema. Most of all, he mastered the pillow shot. This is so much the case that to define the pillow shot is simply to describe Ozu's use of pillow shots. Usually capturing some element of the natural or architectural environment — or, best-case scenario, both at once — pillow shots appear in a narrative film while having nothing at all to do with the narrative itself. Their purpose is entirely rhythmic and aesthetic.
An adept use of pillow shots indicates, to my mind, that a filmmaker's priorities are in order. That is to say, they're not out of order. It's easy to see a director dismissing the very concept of pillow shots because "everything in a movie should move the plot forward," but isn't that like insisting that everything in a movie should, say, advance its aesthetics? Or that everything should be subordinate to the rhythm? I'm pretty damned suspicious about assertions that every element of a film should serve the same end, especially if that end is jerking characters around.
I've thus started making use of pillow shots in my own movies. In fact, I can't imagine not doing that. And for pillow-y ideas, there's no finer place to go than the Ozu-devoted ozu-san.com, which maintains a pillow shot screen capture archive. Some of my very favorites follow. I just want to get high-res versions of these, print them, frame them, and hang them around me as an undrying fount of cinematic inspiration.
Thanks for the Ozu-san.com link! I look forward to viewing some of your film projects.
Posted by: Ozu-san.com | July 22, 2010 at 01:38 PM
I like seeing movie rather than shopping. And you?
Posted by: Rerto Jordans | July 22, 2010 at 07:56 PM
I look forward to viewing some of your film projects.
Posted by: Tiffany sale | October 19, 2010 at 06:48 PM
That is to say, they're not out of order. It's easy to see a director dismissing the very concept of pillow shots because "everything in a movie should move the plot forward"
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Do some comparison shopping before making your final decision.
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