What Makes A Great Film
Posted on August 29, 2008
Filed Under Leisure |
Movies give us real situations and investigate them in depth so that we can see all aspects of a situation and let it personally touch us. The people who view movies can relate to the characters on the screen and feel as though they are personally connected to them. The audience is given the opportunity to escape their real existence and live in the world of the characters for a little while.
There was a time before the use of home theater systems when the only way that you could view a movie without interruption was to go to the movie theater. The experience of sitting in a darkened theater with a giant screen was a part of the whole experience. Today, many people try to duplicate this experience in their home with the use of large screen televisions and home theater components.
For those who are studying filmmaking, enjoying the films of the 1930’s and 40’s are one way that you can see filmmaking at its best. During this time, the best films that have ever been made were created. This era in filmmaking was filled with the best directors and actors that have ever come out of Hollywood.
What these films can teach today’s filmmakers is the importance of stirring the emotions of the audience. The great directors knew how to touch an audience and create a good story that was full of emotion.
To accomplish this, the filmmaker will control the pace of the film and give the piece meaning and direction. The film should show the experiences that the characters in the movie encounter as they move through the scenes. The characters should also be on a path toward a goal or pursuit in which obstacles confront them.
The change and growth of the character is what will give the story purpose and meaning. If there is no meaning or growth for the characters then the movie will just feel trivial and unimportant to the audience. There are many movies that just entertain the audience, but they are not the ones that remain in the consciousness of the audience.
The scenes of the film are used to tell the story. The filmmaker will need to decide which scenes are used in the movie and which ones will be left out. The personal style of the filmmaker is used to determine the importance of each scene.
Some of the things that will determine if a scene should be included in a film are the ability of the scene to move the plot forward. To determine if something is important the filmmaker might ask what would happen if the scene were not included in the film. Would the movie be less meaningful without the inclusion of the scene?
Each story and movie that we see begins with a problem or question and ends with a solution at the end. The entire plot of the movie and all of the actions and dialogue of the characters are directly related to the question or problem. Engaging the audience to care about the answer is the job of the filmmaker.
It is up to the director to find a way to make the audience care about the answer to the question or the problem that the main character must solve. Why should anyone care about this person and the issues that they are facing? Making them appear real and relatable is one of the ways that the director engages the audience.
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