A Brief Lesson Explains the Visual Impact of an Early Cinematic Favorite, the Sustained Two-Shot

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For the first time in nearly a decade, the duo behind the wildly popular YouTube channel Every Frame a Painting is back with a new lesson in cinematography. Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou began releasing short videos breaking down visual concepts and techniques in 2014, teaching their audiences what makes some of the most critically acclaimed and beloved films work.

The newest addition to their educational archive focuses on the sustained two-shot, which keeps two actors in the frame rather than cutting from one to the other during dialogue. More popular in earlier works when film was expensive, the sustained two-shot has waned in use in the digital era, although as Ramos and Zhou explain, it’s worth picking back up. One of the best parts about the technique, they add, is that it lets the actors show off their skills.

Prior to their eight-year hiatus, the pair created more than two dozen videos about various approaches to filmmaking from incorporating silence to effective visual comedy to the geometry of a scene. Head to YouTube to learn more. (via Kottke)

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