Film Appreciation (both for audiences & filmmakers)

You may have heard for so many times, about film appreciation course, film appreciation society, etc. But what exactly is film appreciation? And how does one learn to appreciate films? Let me tell you...
       There are mainly two kinds of cinemas out there. The first one is Art house cinema and second is mainstream commercial. What we see regularly in theaters is mainstream commercial cinema. Mainstream cinema is based on the popular taste. That is on the likes and dislikes of the audiences. It may contain excessive violence, romance, comedy, etc. depending upon the commercial strategies.
         Art house cinema, as opposed to mainstream cinema, is totally filmmaker oriented. Instead of following a popular trend, filmmaker experiments with the story, structure, narrative, etc. These films may seem complicated or boring to the mainstream audiences. Some films are so unique that, they blur the line between the mainstream and art house  cinema. But there are very few of it.
         So, let's get back to the main topic. Film appreciation is mainly related to the art house cinema. Which includes greater understanding of the art, presentation, etc. of cinema.
       A film is a collaborative work of various art forms such as, writing, direction, acting, camerawork, setting, edit, etc. All these arts contribute to the medium to enhance the quality of storytelling. So in simple words, Film appreciation consists of the study and understanding of various aspects of filmmaking. At the end, film is all about the experience. You laugh, you cry, you get tens, You feel romantic. As a part of learning of film appreciation, you just have to find the source of that feeling in the film you are seeing. The source of that feeling may be the excellent written script, brilliant dialogues, eye pleasing cinematography or crispy editing or the collaboration of all of it.
     See a favourite scene from your favourite movie and start analysing it. What made you feel the way you are feeling about the scene? Start seeing every aspect of the scene with keen detail. Of course, it will not be like, you saw the scene & you started analysing it! You need a constant practice & study, in order to be a master in film appreciation. And it's not only for filmmakers, but also for the genuine film lovers. Imagine yourself, analysing all the hidden meanings and the process of building the scene & so, the film.
Cheers!!

What stays with you?

          What stays with you? It's not a question about existential crisis, like what to earn that will remain with me permanently! I mean, the basic question is same, but the meaning is different. Wait! Before you draw a conclusion, let me explain.
        What to earn that will remain with me permanently? Or let's twist the question, what film it is, that has remained with me? What piece art it (film, for now) is, that you've watched 7 years ago & it still is with you? What film made you think differently about your life? What film lead you to a new path in your life? I don't mean a new path by literally an enlightenment, but sort of! ;-)  What stays with you? What piece of art it is, that is still with you as if it is a part of your life? Whether you are driving or sitting in your lavish apartment, what film it is that suddenly pops up in your mind & makes you feel differently?
           Some movies are entertaining, enjoying. We see them, enjoy them & leave them with an empty box of a pop corn! But, some are an experience! Those are the films, that make you question your own idealism, your way of looking at things, people, places! If you are an artist, what piece of art makes you jealous? What makes you think that, "shit! Why didn't I make this?"
             film is an entertaining medium, no doubt about that; but beyond that, film is a process of saying & listening! A film can make you laugh, can make you cry & beyond that, it can make you a completely different person! Why there are movies, that are made 50 years ago & are still a new experience? They have successfully caught the nerve of its audience! What is the way to catch this so called 'nerve?' Well, there is not a written theory that answers this question. But, all the great films have an appealing humane element in it, that is fresh from the time it was made & will remain fresh for the next 100 years or even for 500 years!! These humane elements could be anything from a complex human emotion to a plain boring character! Or, from a simplistically designed narrative to a multi-thematic story.
         So, if you are an artist you must think, how your own creation will stay with its audience for hundreds of years.. If you are an audience, keep watching films & make your own collection of experiences! Cheers!!!

Cooking, Music & Films

      The title of this article may seem irrelevant to you! What is the connection of cooking, music & making films? Artistically, there is a connection between films & music. The music is used in the films to enhance the impact of it. But , no! That's not the purpose of putting these two arts together in this article. The context is very different. That is, 'you can learn the art of balancing, mixing, experimenting, communicating, etc. in filmmaking from the art of cooking & music'!! Also, if it is hard for you to remember the basic stuff & sense, necessary for making films, you may memorize it with the help of cooking & music! Let me explain how..
Make delicious food, make delicious film!:
      First of all, we will see how cooking & making films is so much relevant. Most of us know how to cook a good food. We just need all the ingredients & a good sense of cooking. The good sense of cooking is pretty much important here. The same thing is applied to the films. If you have all the equipments, gears, budget, etc. but don't have a good sense of filmmaking, you'll end up making a mediocre video, not 'a film'!
       Also, you need to know what exactly you are going to make! This includes the name, taste, quantity, etc. of the food. When you start making the food, you must first do the 'pre-cooking' work so gently & carefully. Because if it is not done well, it will definitely affect your food. Same thing is applied to pre-production & mainly to the script of the film. You need to analyze the requirement & quantity of spices, oil & other important ingredients to enhance or experiment with the taste of the food. It's not necessary, that you must serve the traditional food that is served from ages. You may choose a different path & make new & delicious food. Don't be afraid of experimenting! Remember, 'If our ancestors had resisted the experimenting & embracing the change, we would be eating raw meat.'
     So, we must experiment. Try to mix some odd foods together & make a different, but tasty food! Experiment with the quantity of ingredients used & make a tasty food! Making the tasty food is important here! Because, experimenting & mixing odd things together is easy, but creating a never before & delicious food out of it is challenging! Similar things are applied to making films, in the respective manner.
       Here, the most important thing of all is, the salt! You may mix, add, remove any of the ingredients, but if there is no salt in food, then it will not taste good. In films, the salt is the the content or the conclusion drawn from the film. If your film have all the experimental elements but it lacks in content, then you have made a tasteless food! A film rich in content, will have a long lasting impact on the audiences & also the clear understanding of your story. So, the salt is the most important element!
     A good food is not always, the use of tremendous amount of spices & other expensive elements, it may be a simple, less spicy dish! In this case, the basic ingredients & most importantly the sense of cooking is so effective that, one can not stop himself from tasting the food! Also, here you can save your time & money spent in the use of spices. In this type of dish, your focus is totally on the  salt & other basic ingredients used to enhance the taste of the food! In films, the spices are the expensive equipments, large sets, etc. &  the salt is the story & content of your film. So, next time- if you want to enhance your sense of filmmaking, make a delicious food!!

Music-Moods-Themes-Films:
      Yeah! They are so much identical, they are so much indulging, they are so much about feeling & experiencing! Everyone likes a good music and loves the words & instruments playing together in a gentle & collaborative way!
       In music, there are the words bound together in an appropriate & defining music. Every instrument & composition explains, enhances the mood & meaning of the word written and vice versa. In films the lyrics is the script written & the composition is the treatment given by the director.
       We always listen to the different genres of music such as jazz, rock, blues, etc. There is the lyrics suitable for the particular genre. But, how about the Indian classical for instance, blended beautifully in the western jazz?  Or what if wants to play an Indian instrument tabla in the rock music? Sounds tremendous, right? Same thing is about films. Remember Django unchained? You have seen many films on cowboys, you have seen many films on slavery. But, Tarantino offers you a story of a slave in the cowboys' era! That is Django Unchained!
       We know, how the best composers combine two unfamiliar instruments in a completely different genre! They take a lyrics & compose and marinate it with different instruments! A music is about listening to the music, a film is about watching the images & sounds! What if the songs you are listening are so full of words that there is a very little or no space for the instruments playing? You will feel irritated! Same thing happens, when your film is so much talky & there is no space for showing!
        Also, the instruments help the mood of the words to travel from one point to other & remove the jumps & jerks. Similarly, the use of pictures & sounds, camera work, editing, etc. in films, help the mood to travel & develop its path and involve the audiences. The music teaches us, that the composition and/or instrumentation must be relevant to the lyrics and/or mood we are creating! In films the directorial treatment must be relevant to the script & content of the film.
       In short (though it has been a much long article!), cooking & music can teach us so many things we need to know about filmmaking!
Cheers!!!
     

Film Appreciation

You may have heard for so many times, about film appreciation course, film appreciation society, etc. But what exactly is film appreciation? And how does one learn to appreciate films? Let me tell you...
       There are mainly two kinds of cinemas out there. The first one is Art house cinema and second is mainstream commercial. What we see regularly in theaters is mainstream commercial cinema. Mainstream cinema is based on the popular taste. That is on the likes and dislikes of the audiences. It may contain excessive violence, romance, comedy, etc. depending upon the commercial strategies.
         Art house cinema, as opposed to mainstream cinema, is totally filmmaker oriented. Instead of following a popular trend, filmmaker experiments with the story, structure, narrative, etc. These films may seem complicated or boring to the mainstream audiences. Some films are so unique that, they blur the line between the mainstream and art house  cinema. But there are very few of it.
         So, let's get back to the main topic. Film appreciation is mainly related to the art house cinema. Which includes greater understanding of the art, presentation, etc. of cinema.
       A film is a collaborative work of various art forms such as, writing, direction, acting, camerawork, setting, edit, etc. All these arts contribute to the medium to enhance the quality of storytelling. So in simple words, Film appreciation consists of the study and understanding of various aspects of filmmaking. At the end, film is all about the experience. You laugh, you cry, you get tense, You feel romantic. As a part of learning of film appreciation, you just have to find the source of that feeling in the film you are seeing. The source of that feeling may be the excellent written script, brilliant dialogues, eye pleasing cinematography or crispy editing or the collaboration of all of it, that is direction!
     See a favourite scene from your favourite movie and start analysing it. What made you feel the way you are feeling about the scene? Start seeing every aspect of the scene with keen detail. Of course, it will not be like, you saw the scene & you started analysing it! You need a constant practice & study, in order to be a master in film appreciation. And it's not only for filmmakers, but also for the genuine film lovers. Imagine yourself, analysing all the hidden meanings and the process of building the scene & so, the film.
Cheers!!

Writing a screenplay? Wait!! And read!!

                 

                "To make a great film, you need a script, 

       a script and a script"

                             -Alfred Hitchcock 

           

             These lines of Alfred Hitchcock highlight the importance of a screenplay for a movie. The strong aspect of every successful movie is a screenplay. Without a bound and formatted screenplay, your movie will be nothing more than a loose and  indiscipline video. Some people make a very rude and dry definition of screenplay as, 'It is nothing more than a shooting material, with the instructions of the action happening!!' Well, it may be a theoretical definition of a screenplay, to get a basic idea of it! Besides, as an artist you need to know much more about a screenplay, its elements and its importance.  So,  let's have a look at the elements that make a great screenplay.

              1. Character: In simple words, characters are the people in your story, which take the story forward. A good film is always about the people, their complications, needs, belief, disbelief, love, hatred, fears and many more things. So, the Characters are one of the most important part of your screenplay. The audience gets involved very quickly in the story, if the people in the story they are viewing are interesting. What exactly is your character? Is it a daredevil or a coward? Is it very friendly and frank? or introvert and reserved? Decide the nature of your character. Have you seen the movies of Quentin Tarantino? Remember Pulp Fiction!  Why are you in love with the character Jules Winfield(Played by Samuel Jackson)? He is furious! he is a contract killer! But on the other side, he is a firm believer in bible and in 'the path of the righteous man'. These contradictions of Jules make us think of him and take a genuine interest in him. So, writing a screenplay? Build a great character!!!

             2. Landscape: Landscape is a place, where your story happens. It's a place which has a biggest influence on your story and so on your characters. The place in which your story is happening, should be very supportive to your characters and the plot. Why place is so important? Because, the place has a big share in developing your character and its mindset. Its motivation for the action, reaction, decisions, etc. It helps in developing the mood and tone of your screenplay. Paul Thomas Andersons' classic movie 'There will be blood' has an immense impact of its landscape on the viewer. So, decide where your story takes place, because that's how your character is shaped!

             3. Content: Now comes a very important, but mostly ignored part of the screenplay! A content! A content is a voice of a writer!! What do you want to say or conclude through this story? Why do you want to tell this story? What is it about? Is it about the inner conflicts of a poor boy? Is it about an emotional struggle of a mentally challenged girl? Most beginners write a screenplay, thinking about the great and emotionally, psychologically engaging scenes. But, if they are asked the questions above, they are just...Speechless!! So, before writing you screenplay, please think about the content. Because it is the purpose of the story you are telling. 

             4. Plot: Plot is a collection of scenes which leads the character to the conflict and a conflict to the conclusion. How exactly is your story unfolding? What happens with your character? What it decides to do, to meet its dramatic need? How it reaches to the thing it wants? Ask these questions to yourself while developing a plot of your screenplay. The incidents happening to lead the story forward, is the Plot.... In simple words!!! 

             5. Narrative: Narrative of a screenplay is the way in which the story is told. Do you want to reveal the end of your story first, and then move to the start up point? Or do you want to tell it linearly? Do you want the banging incident of the story to happen first and then the rest? Narrative is how you want to convey your story!! 

            6. Perspective: This is a key factor which can give an ultimate depth to your screenplay! The perspective is the point of view of a writer. Do you want to tell the story from a third person point of view? Or do you want your character to tell the story itself? Or is there a friend of a central character, who is telling the story? You can play with the story by shifting the perspectives of your story!!! 

            7. Conflict:  Conflict is the drama in your screenplay. What happens when your character finds itself in a certain situation? How it responds? Who oppose your character and how your character faces all? That's the conflict...!! The drama happening in your story.. 

                              There are still many more points which are important for your screenplay. But, these are the essential one.. You may find those tiny details also, if you read more and more screenplays.. Reading a screenplay is an excellent as well as essential exercise for a writer!! Cheers!!