In Ubik by Philip K Dick, the door of his apartment won't open unless he pays it five cents each time. Life imitates art.
“The door refused to open. It said, “Five cents, please.”He searched his pockets. No more coins; nothing. “I’ll pay you tomorrow,” he told the door. Again he tried the knob. Again it remained locked tight. “What I pay you,” he informed it, “is in the nature of a gratuity; I don’t have to pay you.”“I think otherwise,” the door said. “Look in the purchase contract you signed when you bought this conapt.”In his desk drawer he found the contract; since signing it he had found it necessary to refer to the document many times. Sure enough; payment to his door for opening and shutting constituted a mandatory fee. Not a tip.“You discover I’m right,” the door said. It sounded smug.From the drawer beside the sink Joe Chip got a stainless steel knife; with it he began systematically to unscrew the bolt assembly of his apt’s money-gulping door.“I’ll sue you,” the door said as the first screw fell out.Joe Chip said, “I’ve never been sued by a door. But I guess I can live through it.”
I still hold that the scene where Grant and Sattler first see the Brachiosaur is one of the best acted (and I suppose directed) scenes ever. That subtle feeling of vindication when his theory is proven right against all the critics[1]... "they do move in herds"... and then the sheer wonder and child-like awe of Grant/Sam Neill when he just says, agape "...how'd you do this?" just spellbinds me each time.
I just couldn't imagine having that kind of emotional reponse as a viewer with today's CGI design by committee shitfest that seems to be the norm.
Also, don't forget that the first movie was based (fairly) closely on a riveting book written by a fantastic story teller - that sure helps with telling a good story.
[1] who you don't even know about - its just the way he says it makes you understand that he's been advancing that theory for a long time and facing a lot of criticism for it.
I take it to mean that they're composed well: there's a balanced and sensible spacing/padding, the lines are a good weight, they are easy on the eye, there's a consistent look and feel between all of them etc etc.
For instance, I could mangle some SVG icons and while you could scale them to an infinite size.. you wouldn't want to use them ;)
I've been using Jumpcut since 2008 when I switched to macos, and I'm pretty prone to app inertia, but that might actually make me switch. thanks.