Neonjade

Walking is so dynamic and energetic. When a group of characters are walking straight at you, straight at the television or movie screen, sometimes it’s a bit intimidating, but it’s always engaging. My sensory intake always picks up on these scenes, heightening the meaning behind each interaction between the players:

• Do they look at each other?
• Do they move in sync?
• Do they brush up against each other, or against something else in an effort not to touch each other?
• Do they walk casually or purposefully?
• Is it one of those “pretty scenes,” with the cool coats flapping and hair blowing, or does it appear to occur naturally for bigger impact?

I remember in the TV series Angel, there was a scene when Angel, Claudia, Wesley and Gunn are leaving a scene after putting the bad guy in his place, and it was just magical. The fluidity of their coordinated motion and expressions were perfect. I remember saying out loud to the screen, “There’s your shot.”

I’m no cinematographer; I barely take a decent still picture. I was right though. In prior episodes, the regular “walking scene” for Angel featured Angel walking alone down an alley at night, away from the camera: a testament to his dark and lonely character. After that walk scene that I had noticed was taken, “my walk” was incorporated into the intro, and then it was replaced with one featuring just Angel, Claudia and Wesley.

The most famous walking scene, if you go by Google results on that term – and my husband’s emphatic opinion – is from Reservoir Dogs. It’s in the beginning. They are walking from the diner from their original meet up to the warehouse where they will get their mission briefing.

It’s a fairly long scene, as far as walking scenes go, but it feels quick. There’s a lot of motion. In addition to the walking, characters gesture and turn their heads, and the camera is constantly moving. They use the scene for opening credits, bouncing from face to face as the actors’ (and director’s) names appear on screen. While the characters are having conversations, the scene still follows the “no talking” rule of good walk scenes. The song “Little Green Bag” is all you hear. To me, it is all about how many guys are starting off this adventure, initial takes on their personalities and who they are in relationship to those moving around them.

I love a good walk scene. From the bulk of them, I’d say directors and viewers like they them pretty well across the board. There’s even a Kia commercial that features “the walk.” Five stuffed animals doing the staged, side-by-side, purposeful, eyes straight ahead The Right Stuff version.

I’ve never thought to write one, though. It wouldn’t work, would it? I’ve read lots of descriptions of walking. They usually include a character’s posture and level of energy, maybe even expression. But have you ever read a good group walk, the kind where you just go, “Wow, that’s a moment in time, right there,” like you do when you see a good one in film? Even the pictures I’ve used to illustrate them in this article don’t do the scenes justice.

Have you ever read a good walk scene? Read one, in a short story or novel, or even in a graphic novel? Please share, if you have. Anyone else out there really into walk scenes? Please let me know I’m not alone by leaving a comment.