The visual storytelling in West Side Story
A breakdown of the opening scene
I was talking to friends about how people don’t seem to value or even notice visual storytelling these days. We were discussing Fury Road, and I think visual storytelling is the main strength of that film.
Then I got to thinking about West Side Story, another recent film that is masterful with visual storytelling.
Spielberg is a shepherd of people's attention and awareness.
To show you (“show don’t tell” right?), here’s a breakdown of the opening scene.
0:19 - "Slum clearance" sign.
0:49 - Overhead shot of the rooms, showing the actual destruction of personal items, humanizing it (bathtubs read well fom a distance?)
1:13 - Close-up of a wrecking ball, pulling back to show broken architecture (pretty shot!)
1:19 - Leading to an impossible(?) shot of another wrecking ball beneath it, so you get all the angles. You remember the symbol: wrecking ball. Spielberg often does impossible shit like this. Watch him close and you see it. I love him; what a trickster.
1:28 - Zooming down to the Jets erupting from the broken rubble -- a powerful symbol of their role and motivations in the movie.
1:38 - The paint cans. Their literal motivation in the scene; they're going to paint something. Spielberg always gives his characters motivation. This is a big reason his characters feel real.
1:45 - The snapping is a big thing for the West Side Story musical. He gives it a strong moment here.
2:00 - Intro of Riff and his girlfriend Grazi, who is a subject of conversation in an early scene later.
2:07 - The entire reason she's dressed skimpily is for the moment here, when Riff calls, "Jets!" Their eyes snap to him. Now you know this guy is their leader; only a leader commands a man's baser impulses like that. You also know they're the "Jets."
2:11 - Oh, but they like him too; look at the way they smile at him. (Source of conflict later, when their old leader tries to win them back.)
2:20 - "Men working." They are not.
2:26 - Their hostile relationship to the police.
2:52 - Another sell that the Jets value the group more than women; it's that important to them. And, a clever moment to be interrupted.
3:06 - Spielberg is very careful with the singing and dancing in this movie. Here he has the Jets ease into it. What they're doing in their dance initially fits with their motivations, too. (Ownership gesture, punching)
3:28 - Fucking great dance at perfect angles to show it off. Lots of that in this movie.
3:39 - Establishes their hostile-but-tolerant relationship with the Puerto Ricans.
3:57 - Here we see Riff adopting a newcomer in the group. This is important because of who they choose NOT to adopt later.
4:18 - Great staging of the Puerto Rican sign covering up the Irish sign; now you understand what's going on here, what they dislike.
4:37 - One thing I admire about Spielberg is he moves from implicit to explicit. He rewards people who notice stuff early. Now, for the idiots in the audience, you see what they dislike: "Puerto Rico" -- not just the flag, but the name is there. I shouldn't diss the audience idiots; this is also important for the smart viewers. You need to know things for a storyteller to build on them. Now we know for certain: they hate the Puerto Ricans.
4:44 - Riff tells the girl, "Beat it." Because he was just nice to a newcomer (and continues to be in the film), now you know they dislike her not because they aren't open to new members, but because she's different in some way: she's a girl.