Adah_Chapter6

 This chapter talks about lighting and the incredible importance it plays in the mood of the work, both visually and emotionally. The author poses four questions that the reader should ask themself when preparing the lighting for a scene: Where would the light be coming from? What type of light would it be? How much light would there be? and What color would the light be? These questions help the reader set up the most successful lighting for their work. It also ensures consistency throughout the scene. Not all light is created equally, and if a scene has different lighting in each shot, it can cause a lot of confusion.  

The chapter also discusses the importance of color when it comes to lighting. Lights will be naturally cool or warm, but they can also be other hues, which drastically impacts the emotions portrayed by the film.  

https://youtu.be/lINVnA3rVIE?si=gVxTer1snAIpP8JQ 

Here's a quick video going over the importance of color in films.  

Adah_Chapter3

 This chapter was all about the rules of composition and how to break those rules. The “Rule of Thirds,” Symmetry, “Leading Room” and “Looking Room,” “Bird’s Eye View,” and “Dutch Angle” may be new terms to some of us, but we’re already unconsciously aware of them. Or . . . if we’re not aware of them, we certainly are when they are executed improperly. These rules allow us to maintain visual balance and avoid chaos in our films. Rules are meant to be broken of course, and the author of Visual Storytelling urges us to do so. The overarching theme I noticed was that breaking such rules produced a more extreme, often negative, feeling (here I'm using negative to mean things like uneasy, scary, insecure, hostile, etc.).  

Using “Leading Room” as an example: The author mentions that the rule is to put more space in front of the figure. This tends to make the audience more comfortable because they can see what is in front of the figure. On the other hand, putting more space behind the figure makes the audience feel uneasy because it hides what is in front of them. By taking rules that are meant to keep the audience comfortable and breaking them, we can manipulate how the audience feels.  

Here’s a short article that shows how Wes Anderson breaks the Rule of Thirds in his movies. 

https://medium.com/@hulyaungor/breaking-the-rule-of-third-in-wes-anderson-c65f53ca942 

Adah_Chapter2

Ok, so this chapter covered a number of things, including the role of the protagonist in a story. The author mentions the difference between an active protagonist and a passive protagonist: “An active protagonist is a character who actively pursues what he or she wants. A passive protagonist is a character who waits for what they want to come to them.” The consensus I’ve seen based on this chapter and other articles I've read on the internet, that we do not want a passive protagonist. The passive protagonist is not engaging and has a harder time connecting with the audience.  

https://mystorydoctor.com/writing-a-passive-protagonist/ 

The article above delves into the passive protagonist and how to change it into an active protagonist. I also appreciate that the article mentions the difference between an actual passive protagonist and a protagonist who has a more passive personality. 

Adah_Chapter1

 “The plot and the dialogue a writer creates are the backbone of the story. These are absolutely essential for creating a great film, because without a great script, the best you can hope for is a mediocre film. I think we have all seen films with incredible special effects and breath-taking action, but we leave the theater asking ourselves, ‘What the hell just happened?’” 

This quote hit home for me because I remember watching a movie this summer that was objectively bad, in terms of storyline and acting, but it had amazing cinematography, lighting, and production design. There were so many scenes where I thought “Wow, this scene would look so cool OUT of context!” As an art student, I have a high appreciation for the special effects and details that go into producing good visuals for a film, but nice visuals alone can't save a film from bad writing and/or directing. The main idea of this chapter was to give an overview of the different roles in a film crew and how they are all incredibly important to the creation of a successful film. 

 

https://www.scmc.edu.in/The-Indispensable-Role-of-Cinematography-in-Filmmaking#:~:text=Cinematography%20is%20instrumental%20in%20setting,emotional%20landscape%20of%20a%20scene. 

 

Here’s an article that explains why cinematography is so important to filmmaking. In my opinion, great cinematography can make a bad movie bearable. At least you have something cool to look at.