The core element of a movie
Photo courtesy of Noom Peerapong on Unsplash
Seth Hilliard, Contributing Writer
A movie is built like a puzzle, with lots of pieces making it whole. However, film makers and movie watchers alike search for the biggest piece to the movie puzzle, the core of all films.
North Greenville University (NGU) students from different backgrounds share their thoughts on what makes a movie good. From a student who has created videos, to a student who has an eye for quality pictures, and to a student who has a wide watchlist, they all have their different perspectives about what makes a movie good.
Silas Wunch, a digital media major with a concentration in film, has some experience making stories and creating short videos. Through his experience, he believes that what makes a movie good has to be the story. He believes the story is like a backbone, supporting the rest of the film. If the story is lacking, the whole movie will suffer. He explained that a good movie is Avatar the Last Airbender, but overall, he doesn’t believe that it is easy to find movies that have good stories. “There are many that have good concepts,” he said, “but terrible stories”.
But Nate Reckelhoff, a digital media major at NGU and avid photographer with the eye of an artist, takes a different approach to movies. “A lot has to happen for a movie to be good,” he said. He specifically looks for good music, dialogue and realism. Two of Reckelhoff’s preferred studios are Warner Bros. and Pixar Animation Studios, which he said are both good at writing music, dialogue and realism.
Nick Derczo, a cyber security major, is a devoted movie watcher, and has an eye for good movies, and owns an ever-growing watchlist. He said that a good movie included exceptional casting, directing, and a good script. He said the director should know the audience when making the movie, knowing what they will want and when they will want it. He also listens for good soundtracks, or lack thereof, which can really boost a film. He believes the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy is the best set of movies and is an example of good film scores in a movie.
Beyond the campus of NGU, many others have sought for the core element of a movie. Dave Monahan and Richard Barsam write in “Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film”, that very little in any movie is left to chance. “Each of the multiple systems that together become the ‘complex synthesis’ that we know as a movie is highly organized and deliberately assembled and sculpted by filmmakers.”
So, in this, they have said that all the pieces of a good movie are equal.
However, Rachel Slivenick writes in “How Pixar Tells a Story,” that the most important part of any Pixar movie “is the story itself.”
And Robin Piree’s blog “What Makes a Good Movie” states that there is no “single ‘most important’ element as all film components . . . contribute to its overall quality. However, many argue that a compelling story is at the heart of a great movie.”
To bring this search to a close, Derczo wisely put it in this way: a director needs to know his audience. He needs to know what the audience craves in a movie. If the people are looking for realism, the director will give them realism. If the audience are looking for an adventure or documentary, the director will give them an adventure or documentary.
Every audience will have a different preference to entertainment, so it is important to cater to each of these needs. So, using all the elements of a movie — story, casting, directing, lighting, soundtracks — the director builds the whole movie around the preference of his audience.
