Film Studies Summer Task By Emily Rodrigues
What makes a film ‘good’?
A good film attracts the audience and keeps them hooked to watching it. A good film needs to be interesting and it needs to contain both film Macro and Microelements. Without these, it might not draw the audience into watching it or they might not enjoy it as much.
Films can be analyzed on 2 levels: Film Micro Elements and Film Macro Elements. Film Micro Elements analyze the characteristics of the film itself, what is used in the film, and how it is put together. Whereas Film Macro Elements analyze the overall film such as the genre and the messages of the film. Films need these elements to be ‘good’.
Film microelements consist of 4 things such as editing and cinematography. Good films need to be edited so it runs smoothly and fits the storyline because it might not make sense to the audience if shots aren’t put together well with good transitions or this may make the film look badly made. They also need good cinematography. Cinematography is the camera angle and movement. By having different camera angles, it can show different effects on the characters which can display character emotion or characteristics. By having low angles, it can display power and help the audience understand who is more powerful, or sometimes it can help identify the protagonist/antagonist. Different camera movements can portray different emotions or help the audience identify where they are such as a beach or a library. A 360-degree shot can make a character look confused or if a camera moves closer behind a character, it can imply that someone is sneaking up behind them or something bad is going to happen.
Film macro elements consist of 7 things such as genre, messages and values, and the narrative. A good film has a specific genre which is the category that the film fits into based on the storylines and emotions both within the film such as romance and how it makes the audience feel such as humor for comedy and fear for horror. Films have genres so they can be aimed at certain audiences to make it appealing for specific people and therefore a ‘good’ film for that audience. Messages and values are given to films to give it a meaning and to connect with the audience on a personal level and educate them throughout the film which often hooks them into watching more. In the film “Shrek” the message is that beauty isn’t always pretty, and this is shown by Fiona (the princess) falling in love with Shrek (the ogre) despite his looks. This iconic film shows us that personality overalls looks when it comes to love because his personality is beautiful. This is a powerful message for the audience (families and kids) because it helps children get a better idea of love at a young age. The narrative is the structure of the film. This is key to a ‘good’ film because it forms the base of the storyline and it helps the audience understand what is happening. It also helps to control the audience’s emotions because of the different feelings that the audience gets from the climax, resolution, and other shots in the scenes and the whole film.
A ‘good’ film contains various elements of both film macro and microelements because it helps structure and put the film together to suit the interests of the target audience which helps create directed emotions to draw the audience into watching the film such as fear of thrill.