For good compositions. That was a piece of advice I got from reading about Alex Toth. Specifically
-Study films, photographs, paintings, etc. for composition! For cutting, cropping out of nonessentials, pacing, punch, economy, forceful and direct impact. But also for beauty and subtlety-tension, suspense, action, humor, light and dark, balance, line vs, mass, ad infinitum! Use it all!
Always be looking, they are out there. If you're an artist it's not about turning it on and off it's about always being aware. Over break I got to watch alot of movies, some oldies. One was a Jubal(1956). A story with Glenn Ford, Charles Bronson and Ernest Borgnine. Some really great cinematography. One shot jumped out at me, not a big story point but a great technical shot, which the film is filled with( a lot of night shots with lit barns, 1956 people!!) . It's shot at sunset where the sky is still lit but not the ground. I was really impressed that the shot actually worked. the film was shot by Charles Lawton Jr. and directed by Delmer Davies. So I decided to do a quick sketch. This is my impression of the shot more than anything else, just trying to keep loose before diving into a bunch of boards( yes working over break). Hope everyone had a great holiday and sorry about not having a Holiday card this year( see above parenthesis). We miss ya Alex! Into the New Year!!!
