Film Weekend Semi-Review

In the past 3 days, two courageous and far away from home buddies and I watched 16 movies. We were hooked up by this insanely awesome owner of a Ma & Pop video rental store who gave us a sweet deal because we wanted to rent so many movies. He said we only had to pay for the two new releases (The King's Speech and The Fighter), and that he would throw in the other five for free. I almost peed my pants I was so excited. We basically camped in my buddy Evan's room, setting up three semi-comfy chairs facing his huge TV that looks like it came out of the 90's. We ate meals there, we watched movies there, we decided what we were going to do between meals and movies there. It was wonderful.

I believe my film appreciation grew exponentially as a result of this film. For one thing, I feel like I have a better grasp on how to tell a story through a lens (this will not come out right, but it makes sense in my head). You have to show every action through a perspective that emphasizes that action. If two people are talking, one sitting and the other standing, you have to shoot the person standing at an up angle to give the subconscious impression that you are the other character (although you can shoot over the shoulder of the person sitting down. Actually, that's probably best), and the person sitting needs to be viewed from a higher angle. If two people are sitting on the same side of a table and are talking, the dialogue needs to be seen as if the camera is leaning out and looking down the table. Two films that I saw this done wonderfully were The Social Network and Juno (I think The Ring did it well too, I just can't remember because I was too captivated by the beauty of the film's overall color. The bleak, greenish grey palate was superb). Those films are articulate in the language of film, each shot emphasizing something and every camera movement perfect. I began seeing the films the way they should be seen; no, I began seeing the films as if I were making them. I think that's a good sign.