BLOCKING: GLINTS

I originally only viewed glints as either visual interest or another way to integrate reflective objects into a shot. However, during my Spielberg study, i realized that this can go beyond visual interest and be used as a blocking concept: Pulsing glints can be used to direct the eye.

Examples:

What I found surprising about glint blocking is that it helps create contrast within a crowd to easily direct the eye. Peter Pan example highlighting the two stars as a story point amongst other stars.

Glinting also solves the crowd problem in Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun. In the shot, a glint helps us find the car (or a nearby car) to guide our eye and orient the audience by showing the car is on the screen right side of the street. By pulling our eye to the screen right side of the road, it lessens confusion over the edit by reinforcing that Spielberg is following the 180 degree rule over the cut.