dave k. [on Blogger.com]

“The creative artist's vocation is to stare at the created and human worlds and to lure the rest of us into a similar act of contemplation.”

Some say movies are a slice of life. But often times, movies are actually a slice of the life we wish we had. This transports it's viewers into a new world full of adventure, love, sadness and every other conceivable emotion. People love this visceral journey, but rarely do they identify what is it that makes them love the movies they do. Although it's largely a matter of opinion (linear plot or non-linear plot, romantic or action, scary or lovely), many key attributes in modern movies can be appreciated by all.

So, what makes a movie good? The first most obvious standard for a good movie is the technical process of putting images onto film. Because without this, no matter how good your story, a movies is a book! And these “image on film”, must be professional and aesthetically pleasing. For a good film, the editing and shooting must match the content. For example: it would not be a good idea to have fast, smash cut sequence during the climax of a romantic drama where the guy finally gets the girl. On the other hand, it wouldn't be a good idea to not have fast, smash cut sequences during the fighting scene. In the same way, quality of film is a method of conveying entertainment. Most of the time, the better the camera the better the film; but this is not always the case. Sometimes, a director might find it more captivating to use a less expensive camera in order to capture a more authenticity to what it might really look like (therein excluding exaggeration).

Another very important part of the technical aspect of a good film is the ability to make the viewer forget that there's a camera and film crew – and become engulfed in the “reality” of the story. “The creative artist's vocation is to stare at the created and human worlds and to lure the rest of us into a similar act of contemplation.” If you dismiss the audience from having to worry about the technical aspect of the film, and hand their imagination over to the actors, actresses and plots, then you give the script its best possible potential.

Secondly, a big part of films that make or break them is the talent's ability to fully embody their character. Not only must they fool the audience into believing that the characters are actually experiencing what is happening, but they must be transparent enough to make the audience understand their personality and decision making. Not every character has to be understandable and likable, but if there's no one that the audience can like, then what makes your movie any different than a placid history channel reenactment.

Lastly, a filmmaker should attempt to make his film's style original. Imagine how immensely boring movies would be if ever one looked the same, except for varying plots. The application of this point could range from a new camera handling technique and post production color enhancers to a bizarre sequence of events that elicits extreme suspense. For example: in Star Trek(2009), director J. J. Abrams presented a very unorthodox method of visual excitement by creating artificial lens flares throughout his futuristic space movie. When asked why he added said flares he says, “I love the idea that the future was so bright it couldn't be contained in the frame.” Now when I first watched this movie – his use of flares was not extremely obvious, but I did notice that something was different, somehow the scene was “shinier” than any other film I've seen before. His creative method of flavoring up an otherwise static shot completely changed the tone of the movie, in my opinion for the better.

Labels: J.J. Abrams, qualities of filmmaking, Star Treck, What makes a movie good