the Hyperion Chronicles
“What are you looking at?”
#126 Movies II: Back to Basics
Hola, friends, enemies, and government spies (with or without warrants). It’s time for part II in our movie series. Before we begin, let me give big props to the peeps out there who wrote in and answered any or all of the questions I asked about movies in part I (#121). If you haven’t gotten your responses in, there’s still time! In fact, I recommend printing them out and asking coworkers or even total strangers what they think. You’ll find that these movie questions are great conversation starters. Who knows? That girl or guy of your dreams may be as close as you asking them the best movie ever to start with the letter Q.
Also, I was arguing with my friend Vanderjagt the other day about the merits of 1990s Clint Eastwood when inspiration hit me. If movies are art (and I believe they are), they evoke very personal reactions from us. In other words, one man’s ham-actor might be another’s luau. Accordingly, I am going to ask some of you to write short paragraphs on some of these questions, particularly the questions about your favorite films, actors, and movies that moved you. But, I can’t be impressed and ask you if you don’t opine, so get those answers in!
Before we get to our main topic, I want to give you a movie trivia question: What two literary characters have been portrayed the most in movies? Answer at the end.
WHO MADE THIS MOVIE?
I want to talk today about what makes a movie great. Ask yourself; what is the most important part of a movie? I contend that most important is the script. It’s the foundation on which (supposedly) all movies are made. Think about it: not every great movie has the best special effects or the best locations or the best costumes or the best actors, but they all have a good script. The story must be interesting and the writing (i.e. dialogue) must be compelling. Everything else flows from that.
This is probably a good time to ask; why do you go to a movie? (And please; don’t send me the joke “Because someone else is paying.” I’ve already heard that several times.) All of us have our own reason for wanting to see a film. For some, it may be because we like the material the movie is based on, like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or Mortal Kombat (More on this in another column). In that same vein, some of you may like a particular genre, like Sci-Fi, Romance, or Terrible (for you Adam Sandler fans), and may be drawn to any movie in that realm. Finally, many of you may like a particular actor, and want to see all of his or her movies.
But I submit to you the best way to decide what film to watch is by the director. Someone was asking me the other day what a director does in a movie. The actors (try to) act, and the producers work with the budgets and the sets and so forth. The director is who puts everything together. The director is the one who decides how the audience is going to look at something. What camera angle we’re going to see. How angry the character is going to play the scene, what the lighting is going to be like. In other words, unlike television, which often is a pre-packaged deal before it starts, movies don’t make themselves. There are 24 frames of film for every second we see in the theatre, and the director is the person who selects what we’re going to see.
The other factors just can’t compare to this. A movie “based” on some book doesn’t mean it will be as good as the book (usually it’s the opposite). And just like people and jello brands, there are all sorts of variations within a genre, even a genre you love. Even choosing films based on your favorite actors isn’t foolproof. A good actor may in general pick good projects, but actors have very little control over a move once it’s done shooting.
Here’s where the director comes in. Before the movie even begins the director is hard at work planning how to make the picture. Then he is on set every single day while the movie is being shot. But then he’s there for weeks or even months afterwards, going over all the footage, trying to decide what to put in. For every scene, they may shoot it 8 different times, and that’s not including the mess-ups. Then the director has to decide which scenes to cut and how long to make the scenes he’s keeping last and how the movie should flow and if there should be a voice-over and where the special effects should go. Then the director has to decide what music he wants and where to put it in the scene: does he want something composed originally or to use a favorite song already out there?
Do you see what I’m getting at? I’ve mentioned maybe 10 things a director controls and I’ve barely scratched the surface. That’s why I think going on the track record of a director gives you a better chance of liking the movie. Harrison Ford and Julia Roberts don’t get that much say in how a movie turns out. But Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese do. If you look at who is directing a movie, and what movies he or she has already made, you’ll have a lot better gauge as to whether the movie you’re thinking about seeing will be any good.
Well, that’s enough for today. I have plenty of things left to talk about, but I want to space it out. Get your movie answers in, and if you think of something about movies I should talk about, let me know.
Until we meet again,
Hyperion
June 02, 2003
Credits
Thanks to Vanderjagt for the inspiration
Thanks to Kimbo for the dumb joke
Thanks to Laureate for editing
Trivia Question Answer
The two literary characters who have been played the most are Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, over 100 times each.
Coming Soon
We’ll be looking at the world of Movie Previews, and the whole theatre experience
@2003 the Hyperion Chronicles
“What are you looking at?”
#126 Movies II: Back to Basics
Hola, friends, enemies, and government spies (with or without warrants). It’s time for part II in our movie series. Before we begin, let me give big props to the peeps out there who wrote in and answered any or all of the questions I asked about movies in part I (#121). If you haven’t gotten your responses in, there’s still time! In fact, I recommend printing them out and asking coworkers or even total strangers what they think. You’ll find that these movie questions are great conversation starters. Who knows? That girl or guy of your dreams may be as close as you asking them the best movie ever to start with the letter Q.
Also, I was arguing with my friend Vanderjagt the other day about the merits of 1990s Clint Eastwood when inspiration hit me. If movies are art (and I believe they are), they evoke very personal reactions from us. In other words, one man’s ham-actor might be another’s luau. Accordingly, I am going to ask some of you to write short paragraphs on some of these questions, particularly the questions about your favorite films, actors, and movies that moved you. But, I can’t be impressed and ask you if you don’t opine, so get those answers in!
Before we get to our main topic, I want to give you a movie trivia question: What two literary characters have been portrayed the most in movies? Answer at the end.
WHO MADE THIS MOVIE?
I want to talk today about what makes a movie great. Ask yourself; what is the most important part of a movie? I contend that most important is the script. It’s the foundation on which (supposedly) all movies are made. Think about it: not every great movie has the best special effects or the best locations or the best costumes or the best actors, but they all have a good script. The story must be interesting and the writing (i.e. dialogue) must be compelling. Everything else flows from that.
This is probably a good time to ask; why do you go to a movie? (And please; don’t send me the joke “Because someone else is paying.” I’ve already heard that several times.) All of us have our own reason for wanting to see a film. For some, it may be because we like the material the movie is based on, like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or Mortal Kombat (More on this in another column). In that same vein, some of you may like a particular genre, like Sci-Fi, Romance, or Terrible (for you Adam Sandler fans), and may be drawn to any movie in that realm. Finally, many of you may like a particular actor, and want to see all of his or her movies.
But I submit to you the best way to decide what film to watch is by the director. Someone was asking me the other day what a director does in a movie. The actors (try to) act, and the producers work with the budgets and the sets and so forth. The director is who puts everything together. The director is the one who decides how the audience is going to look at something. What camera angle we’re going to see. How angry the character is going to play the scene, what the lighting is going to be like. In other words, unlike television, which often is a pre-packaged deal before it starts, movies don’t make themselves. There are 24 frames of film for every second we see in the theatre, and the director is the person who selects what we’re going to see.
The other factors just can’t compare to this. A movie “based” on some book doesn’t mean it will be as good as the book (usually it’s the opposite). And just like people and jello brands, there are all sorts of variations within a genre, even a genre you love. Even choosing films based on your favorite actors isn’t foolproof. A good actor may in general pick good projects, but actors have very little control over a move once it’s done shooting.
Here’s where the director comes in. Before the movie even begins the director is hard at work planning how to make the picture. Then he is on set every single day while the movie is being shot. But then he’s there for weeks or even months afterwards, going over all the footage, trying to decide what to put in. For every scene, they may shoot it 8 different times, and that’s not including the mess-ups. Then the director has to decide which scenes to cut and how long to make the scenes he’s keeping last and how the movie should flow and if there should be a voice-over and where the special effects should go. Then the director has to decide what music he wants and where to put it in the scene: does he want something composed originally or to use a favorite song already out there?
Do you see what I’m getting at? I’ve mentioned maybe 10 things a director controls and I’ve barely scratched the surface. That’s why I think going on the track record of a director gives you a better chance of liking the movie. Harrison Ford and Julia Roberts don’t get that much say in how a movie turns out. But Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese do. If you look at who is directing a movie, and what movies he or she has already made, you’ll have a lot better gauge as to whether the movie you’re thinking about seeing will be any good.
Well, that’s enough for today. I have plenty of things left to talk about, but I want to space it out. Get your movie answers in, and if you think of something about movies I should talk about, let me know.
Until we meet again,
Hyperion
June 02, 2003
Credits
Thanks to Vanderjagt for the inspiration
Thanks to Kimbo for the dumb joke
Thanks to Laureate for editing
Trivia Question Answer
The two literary characters who have been played the most are Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, over 100 times each.
Coming Soon
We’ll be looking at the world of Movie Previews, and the whole theatre experience
@2003 the Hyperion Chronicles
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