‘Walk with me.’ It always seems like such a nonchalant thing for a character to say – whether that be in a movie or a TV series.

Well, maybe that isn’t fair. Perhaps my appreciation of the walk and talk as a clever cinematic device simply wasn’t honed enough to pay any serious attention to it. Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE seeing a quality oner thrown into a piece (despite the subject matter, I think the shot from True Detective remains very close to being my favourite oner/long shot).

Cue a 6-year old montage that I recently stumbled on that shows just how ubiquitous the walk and talk is as a cinematic device. The time spent choreographing these things amazes me… yet there is an important reason that they remain a go-to feature: namely, they give the scene an opportunity to burn through a whole bunch of detailed information, and they can do it in an interesting manner.

If you really want to drill down into the nuts and bolts of why these shots are used, then let me suggest that you check out this comprehensive article on the topic.