A little something directors do . . .

If you're one of the imaginary people out there who follows this blog, you know I've said many times that film is one of the most powerful mediums in existence.

To help me prove my point, let's play a little game. Take a look at this still photo from the movie Alien: Covenant. And, if you're horror-movie phobic, don't worry--it's just a pic of two people sitting at a table talking. The scene is set on the starship Covenant.

While looking at it, ask yourself four questions.

1. Who is the protagonist?
2. Who is the antagonist?
3. What kind of relationship do these two people have?
4. What are their relationships with the rest of the crew?


After looking it over, I'm guessing you decided that the person on the left is the protagonist, with the person on the right being the antagonist, right? And you probably guessed that they aren't getting along very well, and the person on the left probably has a better relationship with the rest of the crew.

How the hell do you know that, though, just from a still photo?

Because the way Ridley Scott staged the scene tells you everything.

Here's the context of the scene:

Daniels (Katherine Waterston, left) is the first officer of the starship Covenant. Oram (Billy Crudup) is the Captain of the Covenant, and he's come to Daniels to explain his reasoning behind an order he's given that she wants to go on record as opposing.

Sure, Oram is the captain, and Daniels is his first officer, so why does it look like Daniels is the Captain?

For one thing, she's on the left, which is the side the strongest characters almost always appear on. Think of every Western you've ever seen--the hero first appears on the left side, bad guy on the right. Every time. It's something filmmakers figured out early, and have used ever since.

For another, Daniels is seated in a chair, Oram is sitting on a stool. It looks like Orem is visiting Daniels in her office, and normally the Captain doesn't go to someone he outranks--they usually come to him. Yet, here's Orem, sitting on a stool, head slightly bowed, as he approaches his first officer to try to change her mind.

You can tell from Oram's posture that he's the inferior in this scene, even though technically he outranks Daniels. This gives you an idea where they both fit in the context of the entire crew--Oram is shaky, not all that confident, while Daniels is comfortable and self-assured. You would accurately assume that Daniels has the confidence of the crew, while they don't quite trust Oram or think he knows what he's doing.

You got all this from a simple still photograph.

That's what I'm talking about when I refer to the power of film. Here this is just being used to tell a story. Imagine if a skilled filmmaker wanted to make a movie that would influence popular opinion, in the guise of making a simple entertainment.

It's kind of scary, actually. Fortunately, like every other trick, once you realize what the filmmaker is doing it loses its effectiveness.

It's still fascinating to watch, though, especially when it's a film by a visionary director like Ridley Scott.