Prior to binge watching Battlestar Galactica a few years back, I had not given much thought to commercial breaks as a narrative device. But faced with the wholesale removal of the actual commercials themselves, one cannot help but take note of these sporadic cuts to black. I started thinking about the decision of when to cut out and when to cut back. Do you cut back to the very next moment? To a few moments before the cut out? To a completely different scene altogether? With the prevalence of digital streaming, binge viewing is now the norm and people accept this convention countless times a day without batting an eye.
For years I have been waiting to see this convention turn up in a narrative feature film. I've often wondered what the context would be. Would it have to be a film about media? Would it be in a commercial film? Would it be some arty indie or foreign film? Turns out I had already missed the race.
At roughly 43 minutes into Krysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors: Blue, Juliette Binoche's character Julie is asked a difficult question. As she ponders her response, the music swells and the film cuts to black for a few seconds before coming back for her response. Though it's not exactly a commercial break, it's pretty close. But then I remembered the blackouts between scenes in Stranger In Paradise. And who knows, this was probably already done back in the silent era as well. I guess in the end, it just goes to show you that everything that can be done, already has been done. So stop worrying about being original and just make something awesome and personal.
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