The flash series

time and the arc of a relationship

Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash

Hi friends,

Happy Monday! I’ve written about segmented / mosaic flash in a previous newsletter. Today, I’d like to briefly touch on one form of segmented flash, the flash series. Here, we’re moving one character through time, usually chronologically, in order to create a big, encompassing life story in a small space.

Watch this scene from Notting Hill carefully. It’s all about change from beginning to end on several levels. See what’s going on in the background as Hugh Grant’s character broken heartedly walks down the street of his neighborhood. You’ll see he’s not only moving through space, but time, as the seasons change. Watch the people. There’s a relationship at first bloom that ends in a break up. A pregnant woman at the beginning is holding her baby by the end. See also how he himself changes, his body language, and how he is closed off in the beginning, but is brighter, more open to the world in the end (smiling at the woman with her new baby).