Shadowing Practice: Akira Kurosawa - Composing Movement - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creando lección...
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Hi my name is Tony and this is Every Frame a Painting.
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So here’s a fundamental question: When you’re judging a shot, what’s the first thing you look for?
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Is it balance?
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Leading lines?
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Golden ratio?
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Color? Light? Shapes?
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I think these are all essential, and they’re all part of good images.
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But there’s one thing I always notice first Movement --For me, Kurosawa is the Beethoven of movie directors --It's that recognizable full sound that Beethoven had --that is so unmistakable A Kurosawa film moves like no one else’s Each one is a masterclass in different types of motion and also ways to combine them.
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Over a career spanning half a century he made 30 films and in all of them, the movement is surprising and cinematic.
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Wow. If you’d like to see the names of the films, press the CC button below.
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So what types of movement did he like?
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First, there’s the movement of nature.
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In every one of his films, the background of the shot features some kind of weather.
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Wind Water Fire Smoke Snow One advantage of this approach is that shots have a lot of visual interest.
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Even when people are still, there’s rain in the background to draw your eye.
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--Rain is a real emotional trigger that works in any film.
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--You know, anything that’s excessive because it gives you --another layer that the audience can relate to sensually.
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Second, there’s the movement of groups.
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Kurosawa films usually feature large groups of people who band together or split apart.
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Crowds like this are really cinematic. When you put this many people in a shot, any emotion feels big.
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If you want a good reaction shot, try using four people Or twenty-five And if you want something really big...
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Which brings us to #3: the movement of individuals.
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One of my favorite things about Kurosawa is that that his blocking is unrealistic and exaggerated.
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If someone is nervous, they pace left and right.
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If they’re outraged, they stand straight up.
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And if they’re ashamed… He would often tell his actors to pick one gesture for their character and repeat it throughout the film.
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That way, the audience can quickly see who’s who and how they’re feeling.
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Number four: movement of the camera.
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One of the hallmarks of Kurosawa’s style are his fluid camera moves that go from close-up to full shot to OTS in a single unbroken take.
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I did another essay about these shots, called the Spielberg Oner, but what’s important here is that every camera move has a clear beginning middle and end.
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Just by itself, this camera move tells a story.
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And last, there’s movement of the cut.
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Kurosawa is one of the few directors who worked as his own editor.
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One of the reasons his movies just flow is that he tends to cut on movement.
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Often, you’re paying so much attention to someone who's moving that you don’t see the edit.
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When he finishes the scene, he switches the rhythm usually by ending on something static.
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and then cutting straight into movement.
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By switching up the rhythm, he keeps you on your toes, because you can’t guess the next cut.
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So with all that, let’s break down one scene and study the motion.
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This scene is from Seven Samurai. I won't tell you what it’s about.
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See how long it takes you to figure it out. Ready?
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The first shot shows the whole village, then just the important characters then just the samurai.
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Right about here...
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most people get what’s happening.
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As Kikuchiyo sits down his mood ripples outwards to affect the whole village.
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Notice how much the wind adds to the scene. Even when people are still there’s that little bit of wind to spice up the frame.
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So that’s pretty straightforward.
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Now let’s jump 60 years into the future. This is The Avengers.
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Here, we start with a camera move into an establishing shot. But this time...
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--These were in Phil Coulson's jacket.
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We get dialogue right away.
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Throughout this scene, the only things that move are the camera and Nick Fury.
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Even though we have weather outside and actors in the background none of them are used.
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Notice that the camera movement doesn’t have a beginning or an end.
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And there’s no variation. Each shot goes in the exact same direction --Maybe I had that coming.
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But in Seven Samurai...
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The camera moves have a distinct beginning middle and end.
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And each shot changes direction from the previous one.
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As he climbs up, Kurosawa uses the movement of the flag to cut smoothly into this angle: all seven samurai and their banner, together.
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This scene has every type of movement carefully pieced together and spaced throughout.
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The weather.
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The group. The individual.
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The camera.
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The cut. But this scene tells its story mostly through dialogue --called the Avengers Initiative.
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Sure, the camera moves. But it’s pointless movement.
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For all the money that was put into it, this scene feels flat --It's an old-fashioned notion.
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But how could you improve this scene? Well...
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if you know what the scene’s about, try to express it through movement.
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Start with the character. How are they feeling?
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Is there any way the actor can convey that by moving?
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Okay, maybe that's too much. Let’s be more subtle.
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Take the feeling that’s inside the character and bring it out through the background.
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If a character is angry and menacing, you can do this Or if she's simmering with resentment.
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Another option is to contrast one person against the group.
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So if somebody suffers a very public humiliation, this works.
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Or if they’re looking for a needle in a haystack You can use camera movement to convey excitement You can cut on movement to show surprise And you can combine every type of motion into one amazing image By the way, you don’t need to put every type of movement in every shot.
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That’s just tiring.
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But there’s a nice middle ground with lots of variation and subtlety and you won’t know what works best until you try it.
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If you combine the right motion and the right emotion you get something cinematic.
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--But just for me, I look at his movies two or three times a year --just to feel, oh wow, that’s why I wanted to be a filmmaker --and look what I’m doing now.
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--Special effects, and then another movie about special effects --and then a third movie about special effects.
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Now pick any of his films. Go to any scene.
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And watch how everything moves together --You know, it’s the visual stimulation that hits the audience.
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That’s the reason for film.
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Otherwise, we should just turn the light out and call it radio.
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What You'll Learn: Speaking Skills from the Video

This clip is a goldmine for english speaking practice! You’ll master how to explain complex ideas clearly—like breaking down a director’s style—using short, engaging sentences. You’ll also learn to emphasize key points with pauses and tone, just like the speaker does when highlighting Kurosawa’s unique movement techniques. Plus, it’s perfect for practicing "shadowspeak": repeating phrases in real time to match the natural flow of conversational English.

Listen For These Sounds: Connected Speech & Reductions

Tune into how the speaker links words smoothly. For example, "it's that recognizable" becomes "it's that recognizable" with a soft "t" sound, and "what types of movement" flows as "what types uh movement" (reducing "of" to "uh"). Notice how "he made 30 films" connects with a quick "d" sound, making it "he made thirty films" without a full stop. These small links are key to sounding natural—perfect for improve english pronunciation with a shadowing app.

Say It Like a Native: Rhythm & Stress

The speaker uses stress to guide attention: "Movement" is emphasized with a higher pitch, and "Beethoven of movie directors" stresses "Beethoven" and "directors" to highlight the comparison. Mirror this by stressing the most important words in your sentences (e.g., "Kurosawa films MOVE like no one else’s"). Practice the rhythm too—short, punchy phrases like "Wind, Water, Fire, Smoke, Snow" are delivered quickly, while explanations like "One advantage of this approach" slow down to let the idea sink in. Use shadow speak to copy this rhythm: pause where the speaker pauses, speed up where they speed up, and you’ll sound more confident in no time!

¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.

Técnica de shadowing: lee la guía completa paso a paso →