> Are you arguing that visual composition is entirely unrelated to story
> and character?

No.

Curiously, my local TV aired letter-box versions of two movies on Saturday
night: The General's Daughter (1999) and Year of the Dragon (1985)
respectively. Seeing them back-to-back, one can clearly see the difference
in style between a filmmaker composing his shots with throw-away content
for TV (General's Daughter) and one who maximizes every bit of the
widescreen canvas (Year of the Dragon). Comparing them might be a good
exercise in a classroom situation. Maybe also compare them with their
respective pan-and-scan versions. Look at how each use space and create
symmetry. Look at how each use widescreen to help "tell the story" or
illustrate the characters.

dw

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Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.tcf.ua.edu/ScreenSite