The World Of Film
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| Los Angeles, California. The place where you'll want to be! |
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| The famous Hollywood sign in L.A. You can live there! |
Hey there, prospective film makers!
First off, I want to say congratulations to you for choosing film as your field
of study. A wise decision! After all, who doesn’t love movies? And who wouldn’t
love to live in Los Angeles with big money from your own masterpieces? If you’re
here, you obviously want to learn the art of communication to your audience
through your own films (and hopefully make big bucks)! Before we get in detail
with what you’ll need to know, it’s imperative that we first start with the
basics. Once you understand that, you’ll quickly realize that in order to create
a Hollywood quality film with that essential communication, you’ll need to do a
lot more than simply point a camera at someone and say “action”! You’ll need
passion, perseverance, patience, and a remarkable ability to work with people
if you hope to make it big in Los Angeles as a film maker. Before going into
the basics of communicating through filming, let’s start with a brief overview
of what filming itself actually is.
Overview
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| An example of a "set" with typical film equipment. |
Now that you understand that
communicating through films is much more than simply pointing a camera and
screaming "action!", you’re probably wondering what else it involves. Filming by
itself is not difficult; the essentials that you need are:
- A video camera to record
- People to act
- A fast computer to edit
- A good set where you’ll shoot the movie with all that equipment
- Other misccellaneous items, such as a spotlight and microphone.
While I’m at it, I guess I can go over
some key terms as well. In simplest definitions:
- Shoot - a term we use for actually recording a video with the video camera.
- Actors - the people that you shoot on a set. They star in your movies.
- Set - A film environment where all the shooting happens.
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| Not all films have "actors" or "sets". Cartoon films usually don't. |
Basics
of Communication
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| Communicating through films becomes second nature in time. |
So now that you know a basic overview of
filming itself, let’s talk about the basics of how we actually communicate
through our movies. You’re probably wondering “so, if filming requires more
than just a video camera and people to communicate, what else does it need?” Well,
there’s a whole list of them, but since this is meant to be just a beginner’s
guide and not a textbook for professionals, here’s a few important ones we are
going to discuss:
- Lighting - I'll be using the genre horror as an example; how lighting brings that suspense to the audience!
- Characters - Cartoon films usually do a great job with creating relatable characters that "talk" to the audience, so I'll talk more in detail about that.
- Music - I'll be using kissing scenes in films to make this easy to understand; background music is often present during them, giving those scenes more "power" and depth.
- The environment (set) where all the magic happens - I'll explain how this communicates effectively by using the 1997 film Titanic. It'll be very easy to understand that way.
Lighting
Basically speaking, lighting is
essentially an aspect of film that involves deciding whether a certain scene of
a film is bright or dark; and if it's dark, which objects receives the spotlight. Lighting is ridiculously important for any film,
whether it be a cartoon film like Disney or a real life film. Without lighting,
there is no mood or tone set for the story, which in turn, makes for a poor, dead
movie. For instance, take into account famous horror films, such as Resident Evil. The film itself is
basically about a group of survivors who survive a virus outbreak that turned
the civilians into zombies, but lighting is used in such a way in this film that
it increases the suspense that horror movies are known for.
Take a look at this trailer for Resident Evil. (Make sure you skip to the actual trailer; so skip to about 34 seconds into the clip.) Notice the lighting used in those 30 seconds! It says quite a bit about the film already, such as:
- It's going to be a movie filled with action. This can be seen easily since the lighting shows where all the action is, such as the explosions towards the end.
- More specifically, it's going to be a horror movie. This is evident since the film makers made the set in a night setting by using clever lighting techniques; they know the audience considers night time to be associated with scary stuff.
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| The film's title has a black background, signifying its dark tone. |
Take a look at the title of the movie in that image. What can you notice right away? Well, the part that should jump out at you the most is the fact they made the entire background pitch black with only
the words “Resident Evil” shown in bright lights. By doing this simple yet effective technique, they
basically tell the audience right from the start that it is certainly not a “happy”
movie. However, it’s important to note that lighting is extremely important for
any film genre; not just horror. However, it is stressed upon much more heavily on those horror films because it’s
what creates suspense and gives the audience the chills. Well that about wraps it up with lighting! Let's move on to characters and how they also play a key role in communicating to the audience.
Characters
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| Characters are among the most important parts of any film. |
Ah, characters. You know, the ones that
you fall in love with, either saying something along the lines of “oh he’s so
cute I just wish he was mine!” or, more importantly, “wow, I can totally relate
to him/her; my life is just like that”. Characters
are, without a doubt, one of the most important things ANY film MUST have if it
hopes to even be worthy enough to be shown on the big screen to an audience;
never mind just a poor or good reception! The reason why characters are so
imperative is because they are a key role in communication thorough your films,
just like lighting is. If you create a character that the audience can relate
to, then they’re that much more likely to pick the character as their favorite, making the film appeal to them all the more. If there’s one very important thing I’ve learned about appealing to the
audience, it’s that they love to see that you, the filmmaker, can
relate to their life and essentially “talk” to them through your film’s
characters. If this is a little confusing, perhaps I can make it simpler with
an example; here’s a clip from a Disney movie entitled Lilo and Stitch.
Based on watching that one minute clip,
can you tell me what the central plot of the movie is about? Sure you can! And
you don’t even have to deeply analyze it to understand it either! Just by watching
this brief clip, you can already see the central plot of the entire movie based on the characters' speech to each other; the two girls involved in the scene are struggling
with the fact that Lilo (the little sister) is being taken away from Nani
(the big sister) to be put in foster care unless Lilo listens to Nani more so she can prove that she's a good guardian. This fight between the two siblings is typically dubbed as "Sibling Rivalry", something quite common among our own households with older and younger siblings. In this sense, the two characters become relate-able immediately! The older siblings would understand Nani's frustration of having to look after a little sibling who doesn't listen whereas the younger siblings would understand Lilo's frustration of having no one understand her, not even her big sister. This would cause Nani to be a favorite among older viewers while Lilo would be a favorite of younger viewers; in turn this would give the film a better reception since the characters are similar to both sides, creating communication. The best films are those that communicate with characters that can relate to all audiences, not just one particular group of people.
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| Non-human characters can work quite well alongside humans. |
This brings me to my next point; it's not enough just to create the same "type" of characters that can relate to one audience over and over again. It's imperative to note that you're inevitably going to come across a different group of viewers who may want to see an adorable little critter who also understands their life rather than simply human characters (like Lilo and Nani in Lilo and Stitch) again and again. This is why in some movies it's best to use not just human characters, but animal characters as well; this is especially true of cartoon films like Lilo and Stitch, where the audience can consist of both young kids and grown adults. From my experience, animal characters tend to work very well for any audience; sometimes they're more effective than humans.
I'll give you an example; the whole social concept of "blending in". In Lilo and Stitch both Lilo and Stitch (the cute character you see in the image above) struggle with blending in, due to them being outcasts and regarded by others as "weird". In this sense, it creates a strong bond between the two since they are similar in character; coincidentally, both characters share some personality traits, such as being mischievous and disobedient at times. Speaking of which, one other thing I learned as a film maker is that audiences love to see different characters bonding; it communicates the fact that though we are all different, it doesn't mean that we have to dislike each other because of those differences. Just take a look at films like Lilo and Stitch (of course there are many more that exemplify this, like Dreamworks' How To Train Your Dragon, but I'm using Lilo and Stitch as an example.). Sure we might have a rocky start at first, but eventually we grow on each other; just like Lilo grew on Stitch and vice versa. Communicating everyday life to the audience is key to making a successful film; it's even better when you can use different types of characters, like humans and animals. Well, that about wraps it up for characters. Let's move on to music, another very important part of film necessary for effective communication.
Music
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| Background music is often present in kissing scenes. |
Next on the list is music. I'm sure all of us have that favorite soundtrack or song that we've heard in films and television. Music is another important aspect that a film requires for good communication because it gives a scene more "power". What I mean by that is music can put more emphasis on a scene and make it better/more empowering, depending on the song's tone (and sometimes, lyrics). Music doesn't have to be instrumental; sometimes there can be lyrics as well. The purpose of music in a film is to expose the mood of the scene in which the music is played; if it's a dramatic beat with a lot of drums it's most likely going to be an action scene. This is often referred to as the "musical score", where we film makers decide the perfect music to go along with a certain scene. Music is found in nearly every film/television genre; whether it be action, reality, drama, comedy... whatever! You name it, it's probably there!
To show you how music can really make the difference between receiving a boo or applause from the audience for a scene, let's take kissing scenes as an example. Kissing scenes are usually found in romantic films, but they can also exist elsewhere, such as television or even in cartoon films. To make my point easier to make, I'll use the television show iCarly. Take a look at the following clip; it is from the episode iKiss. Skip straight to the kissing part if you'd like; it's where the music happens. That's where I want you to pay attention.
Did you hear the music? More specifically, did you pay attention to the lyrics? (If not, the lyrics are as follows):
I don't know if I'm gonna change
Wasting time and another day
I keep running away
Even from the good things
Even though this song only lasts for a few seconds, the fact that the lyrics come on as they're kissing gives this scene that much more depth. It signifies to the audience that the two characters are confused, as they've never kissed before and are supposedly "enemies" ("go right back to hating each other as soon as it's over".) but are actually unsure at this point of their relationship. It also communicates an inner conflict between the two; they are unsure if they'd be wasting time by trying to change for the other (I don't know if I'm gonna change, wasting time and another day). After the kissing scene, thanks to the song's lyrics, it's clear that they're only "enemies" because they want to hide the secret feelings they have for each other (I keep running away, even from the good things). They may not be ready for a relationship right away because they've been enemies for so long (prior to this episode, the two were actual enemies, but after this scene the two warm up to each other in later episodes), but one kiss changed their view points on each other.
Now you're probably wondering "how in the world can you tell all this? It's just 4 lines of lyrics!" Well young film maker, those 4 lines of lyrics are all you need to tell a lot about a series or a film. That's why we carefully choose our soundtracks to go along with our scenes. The audience knows this as well; they can also tell by the song's lyrics that this scene emphasizes the hidden romantic attraction that exists between the two characters, otherwise they would not have kissed in the first place (and they would not have added that music!). To better understand what I mean by this, watch this kissing scene from a different film, but turn off the sound of the clip so it's silent.
Did you notice that this time, because there was no music, this kissing scene is "dead" in a way? Even though the angle of the shots were very good, the fact that there was no music in the background causes the audience to think it's just "another kiss", when in fact it's supposed to be much deeper than any ordinary kiss. Now, watch the clip again, this time with sound. You can see that it becomes MUCH better, because the music provides an effective form of communication. Even if you have never seen this movie before, and you only watch this clip, you can already see that the music of choice was excellent for this scene. If you really took a second to analyze the background song's rhythm and happy tone, you should be able to clearly observe that the two characters are experiencing true love. So, the music causes the audience to believe it's no ordinary dating kiss; it's the kiss of true love. Essentially speaking, if you use music correctly in such a way that it provides increased emphasis on a scene, it will prove to be a very effective communication feature.
You also have to be careful with the choice of music as well. You're not going to have dramatic drum beats and a beat-boxer in the background with a kissing scene, simply because it will kill the romantic and calm mood a kissing scene is supposed to have. In this way, the wrong type of music can send the wrong type of message to its viewers, possibly making the film as a whole become a turn off to the audience. Now that we've talked about the importance of music in communication through films, the final aspect that I'm going to talk about in this guide is the natural environment where you put all these tactics together to form a beautiful motion picture.
Natural
Environment
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| Titanic is a great example for showing how natural environment matters. |
The final aspect I'm going to talk about in this guide to communicating through films is the natural environment in which the film is shot, AKA the set. Although it may not seem as important as characters, music, or lighting, it actually holds a greater significance than meets the eye! The set in which you shoot your movie can be a deciding factor whether your audience totally understands where the film takes place and becomes engaged with it, or if they are completely clueless and leave out of frustration of not being able to understand. To better explain this concept, I'm going to use a certain film as an example I'm sure everybody is familiar with; the 1997 film Titanic. Titanic is a perfect example of where the natural environment is crucial to deciding whether communication in the film is a success or failure.
In Titanic's case, the natural environment in which the film was shot was extremely important. Part of the reason for Titanic's huge financial and critical success was due to the realistic environment in which it was shot; you would think it's actual footage of the original boat sinking many years ago. This is due to the fantastic set in which the film was shot; it had props, it was shot on the ocean, the ship used in the movie was huge, and I can go on and on. But the point is that the film recreated the sinking of the Titanic perfectly thanks to the environment in which it was shot. Here's a clip from Titanic so you understand what I'm trying to say.
Notice how real that looks! From the ship breaking apart, to the people losing their minds and diving into the freezing ocean, to the inside of the ship flooding, to everyone going insane desperately searching for a lifeboat... it goes on and on! Because it is so realistic, it really engages the audiences' mind into the film; they love seeing action and drama happening when it all looks so real! Now, imagine if the film had not been shot in the ocean or on a ship. Do you think the film would still be a critical success? I certainly don't think so. The audience would not be able to understand what the film is talking about, or if they do understand, they'd think that it's a sad excuse of a movie; a "wannabe", if you will. Had the film had a poor natural environment, all of the realistic traits would simply not be possible. For instance, there'd be no ship to break in two, there'd be no ocean for the scared-to-death people in the movie to jump into... it'd just be a horrible movie. The environment in which all of the drama would happen would just make it much less appealing, if at all.
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| Make the set look like where ever the plot is happening! |
For this reason, if you desire to communicate with your audience well (make them REALLY feel for your movie!), then you'd best think about the set where your film will take place! I can't stress this enough! If you're gonna be shooting a movie about Hawaiian culture for example, make sure the set looks like Hawaii and not Alaska! You'd be surprised on how some movies out there don't take this very simple yet very crucial aspect of film making into account as much as they should. Well, that's about all I have to say about the importance of the natural environment (set) for effective communication in your movies! Making your sets look realistic = the audience understanding the setting of your movie which = effective communication which = $$$ for your film!
Quick Tips
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| If you can take all this into account, this is where you can end up! |
Well,
I've talked about how lighting, characters, music, and the natural environment makes for a marvelous film with excellent communication to
an audience. As I said before, there are more features besides these
four. However, I firmly believe that they are the most important aspects
for communicating through film. I know that I gave you a lot of
information for a beginner's guide, so now I'm just going to list some quick
tips for you to follow; just in case you got lost up there. Here is a list of
quick tips that may be helpful whenever you think about communicating through films:
- Think about who your audience is. Is it younger viewers such as kids or young teenagers, or is it more mature viewers like older teenagers and adults? Depending on who your audience is, you’ll find that if you wish to communicate successfully in your film, the message has to be suited to the viewer. You’re not going to show a movie like Titanic to a toddler, much like you wouldn’t show Lilo and Stitch to an old man. Neither would understand the message of their respective movies due to different mindsets.
- Make sure you assemble a diverse film crew. They may be able to catch something that you don’t, or they’ll understand communication to the audience(s) through the film differently than you do. This can help you make the movie appeal to more than just one audience; like I said, all the good films appeal to multiple audiences rather than just one group.
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| Give credit where it's due! |
- Make sure to give credit where it’s due. The neat thing about film is that there’s no need for a complicated “Works Cited” or “References”; you can simply cite a person’s idea in the credits or in the beginning. Lilo and Stitch, for example, gives credit to Chris Sanders for coming up with the idea for the movie; in the beginning after the title of the movie is shown on screen, it says “based on an idea by Chris Sanders”.
Final Remarks
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| This could be your home!!! |
Well, young film makers, I’ve pretty
much told you everything you need to know about how to communicate to your
audience through your films. I talked to you about lighting, characters, music,
the natural environment, and I gave you some quick tips basically summarizing
everything, along with a bit of new information. Like I said, just make sure to
give credit where credit is due! You don’t want to be sued for not saying thank
you in the film or publication! (Trust me, people take this
stuff very seriously!) It’s even more important because your films will likely
make hundreds of thousands of dollars if it’s very good! Remember, doing all
these things will take time; you may suffer from poor reception for your films
from critics at first, but this is where perseverance and patience come into
play! Filming is an amazing art that can really talk to people in an
awe-inspiring way, but you have to want it enough by continuously making you
and your films better! If this means fixing that weak angle, putting the
spotlight on something else, adding or removing a character (whether human or non-human),
picking that right soundtrack for a scene, or even fixing up the set, do it! Trust
me, doing all these things will greatly enhance all of your films’ communication
potential! Thank you for reading! Remember,
you CAN do it! You CAN live in Hollywood in Los Angeles as a successful movie maker
that knows how to communicate to an audience! You just have to have the three P’s;
patience, perseverance, and passion! The road may get bumpy at times, but
if you got the three P’s, it won’t matter! Good luck young film makers!
References
Here is a list of URLs where I found the pretty pictures and videos (in order).
- http://www.cityyear.org/uploadedImages/CityYear/Local/Los_Angeles/Our_Work/los-angeles%5B1%5D.jpg
- http://www.visitingdc.com/images/hollywood-sign-address.jpg
- http://veronicagraham.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/film-set.jpg
- http://www.mediamikes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/lion-king-movie.jpg
- http://today.ucf.edu/files/2010/07/badpixels-548x365.jpg
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRmWLqrJkz4
- http://www.millaj.com/pics/resident-title1.jpg
- http://www.dvdizzy.com/images/l-o/liloandstitch-07.jpg
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REs9XQdCzvk
- https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNS6fTL87ds4pJKGBIvRqv0TDjyate7un39sqbiMJ_xHqMLIJw90fRflkQ0SIcOnQy7NIvoawjK0IG3abfIVie7HoJKivPYcIqK8AtU1Yhq8N-VcsrF1t2i71m8MHHtyj-DZRnkMyoL9rZ/s1600/how-to-draw-stitch-from-lilo-and-stitch.jpg
- http://images.wikia.com/icarly/images/0/06/Sfilufinalkiss.jpg
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Ytx2LS9qQ
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6MZ3X-fb0k
- http://www.tiptoptens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/titanic-movie.jpg
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHsx1cvACkY
- http://www.virginmedia.com/images/silly-titanic-431.jpg
- http://www.travelcalifornia.com/images/los_angeles_night.jpg
- For the "idea by Chris Sanders" photo, I simply took a picture of the frame and uploaded it to the blog directly. I didn't pull it from any URL.
- http://www.placeluxury.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/9010-Hopen-House-3.jpg
- http://westranchbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/FilmHollywoodCinema.jpg
- http://a4.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/116/c19f25197c2540ada674e0df45a00d1d/l.jpg
- http://www.film-video-production-crews-milwaukee-wisconsin.com/files/film_video_production_location_nightime.jpg
