One of my favorite parts of a film is when it takes a dramatic plot twist and I am just sitting there stunned. From The Sixth Sense to Fight Club, these iconic twists amazed audiences around the world. But what’s the big secret behind coming up with a plot twist that no one sees coming?
Writer’s Digest published an article on how to write a story that has an unexpected turn of events based off the ending of the popular book, “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn. Although this article is based off writing a story, I thought that these techniques could be used for directing a film. Their first tip is to eliminate the obvious. Basically they are telling you to trash every possible solution that the main character could use to get out of their situation and succeed. Even think of scenarios that are so far-fetched and discard those too. Also they suggest that the situation should be very impossible to overcome to make the twist so inspiring. Their second point is to redirect suspicion. They want you to take the audience on a journey of possible solutions and keep twisting the story into new turns. This can be done by burying clues in scenes where the audience was focusing on other things like hiding a clue of something that will happen during an action scene. This will make sure that the viewer is not thinking and just worried about the fast cuts and running clips. The third technique that Writer’s Digest brought up was to avoid gimmicks. This means that the story line should not decrease the intensity when the plot twist is revealed. They quoted, “great twists always deepen, never cheapen, readers’ investment in the story.” It’s a big letdown when the entire story is just a dream that the protagonist just wakes up from. This cliché lowers tension in the film greatly. Finally, they say to always write the story line toward the audience’s reaction. The first type of this is to make them think that there is only one possible solution to the story and then a crazy turn of events happen. The next is to lead the viewer into uncertainty. This can be done by making them think that they have no idea where the video is going. The last type is to have the viewer remember back to when the protagonist did something earlier in the film. When it is brought back to the plot later in the film, the viewers have this “Oh, yeah!” reaction. I personally think that the best films always have a little bit of plot twists that keep the viewers on the edge of their seat. I hope that I can display one of these tips in one of my videos throughout the year. http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/4-ways-to-write-a-killer-plot-twist
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The new Lytro Cinema Camera is supposed to “change filmmaking forever.” But with the numerous things it can accomplish, that statement isn’t sounding too far-fetched.
First of all, it is going to put the use of a green screen to rest. This new camera can remove any pixel information farther than fifteen feet away from the camera. In other words, it can basically change the background of the scene while filming. I think that this will be very useful when trying to make films with a lot of visual effects. Also it cuts out all of the hassle of putting a green screen up and making sure that you got everything lined up perfectly. Finally, this can limit the amount of acting that actors have to do by themselves when performing in a computer generated land. Another characteristic of the camera is that there will be no more manual focusing while shooting. The Lytro has a quality that lets you film your movie, then control the focus post-production. Along with that, you can also change the depth of field while on set. This new technology will help with not having a lot of errors and having to refilm while making a video. It will also create a whole new level of cinematography because now directors can show the audience what they want them to be drawn to without having to put a lot of time and effort into it while filming. Finally, this camera can change the frame rate and shutter speed easily. This is a big deal for filmmakers that like to mess around with slow-motion and make it more dramatic. They can even adjust the setting up to 300 fps for a really intense shot. All the perks of this camera really are great and all but I don’t think that they are necessary for a beginner/intermediate director, especially with the grand price tag of 125 thousand dollars. But if the Lytro really takes off then it will definitely take the jobs of a lot of people involved with visual effects. So the final question I ask is, is it worth it? http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/this-technology-is-going-to-change-filmmaking-forever/ |
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