Qualities Of Better Film: #18 of 31: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE LIMITS OF FEATURE FILM FORM

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE LIMITS OF FEATURE FILM FORM:
A traditional feature, made to be watched linearly, and presented on a screen, will always be limited in what it can show or tell. Audiences have been trained to follow the protagonist and follow his or her path. Yet, every other character that we see on the screen might have an equally compelling tale that the filmmakers have chosen to ignore. Similarly our protagonist may experience many dull moments that don’t necessarily further the plot and have consciously been left out of the narrative. Yet, if the reality of these other, seemingly forgotten aspects of the whole picture are not some how acknowledged by filmmakers, audiences are aware that they are being manipulated to focus on a singular path and not choosing themselves what to witness and think about. It is a fine balancing act some filmmakers achieve by opening the presentation up to these “asides” in order to give the audience a fuller feeling of their free will and thus their chosen participation in the events unfolding before their eyes and ears.

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