Why knowing your left and right REALLY matters in movie-making
And it's not just so you don't get lost on the way to set...
Knowing your left from your right is something most of us learn at a young age. Some still rely on tricks or marker pens, but most of us know the difference. After all, it's an important skill for things like following directions and putting on our shoes correctly.
But it's really important for filmmakers.
Why? Because it turns out the left of the screen, the right of the screen and lateral movement between the two has all sorts of hidden meanings.
Placing a character on the left or the right has implications – we think moving from left to right equals the progression of time and right to left equals regression.
There's even scientific fact to back it up. Professors at Cleveland State University have proven that viewers even like left to right movement more than we like right to left movement. Weird, huh?
