Tuesday Tips — Asymmetry in facial expressions.
A lot of times, asymmetry will bring energy and movement to a pose or composition. More specifically, I feel like breaking the symmetry of a character’s expression is key to bring interest to it. Of course, there’s always a situation where there’s a need for symmetry. On top of my head, I can think of depicting a character who has an authority role, or the “undefeated champion of something”, or the “cold stone killer”, etc. So, a symmetrical facial expression usually means the character is: supremely bored, supremely confident, has no emotions, has a poker face, or is dead. Did I miss one? Symmetry in framing is also quite rare, but when handled by a master (Kubrick, Anderson), it’s undeniable. (If you have time, watch this: http://vimeo.com/89302848)
Now, back to asymmetry in facial expressions. In general, it’s a great way to flesh out a character’s thought process. What is he/she thinking about? What’s their goal?
I’m just touching the tip of the iceberg here. Way more tips to come in the future. Maybe next time, I’ll start to cover GESTURES.
Completely unrelated to the subject, I recently read a list of tips from movie director Sam Mendes. Here’s my favorite: “Try to learn to make the familiar strange, and the strange familiar. …”
Norm
