Judgement as a Filmmaker

When anyone can turn any story into a film, how do we decide which story is worth telling? Not only does making a film need a lot more time and resources than writing a story, there is a lot more at stake. And hence as filmmakers we need to cultivate the skill of critically judging our own story.

Rewatch films you like and figure out what you liked about it. But more importantly, rewatch films you don’t like and figure out why you didn’t like it. It is from those films that I detest that I have learnt the most from.

Put it into words exactly why you didn’t like. Think on questions such as, was it the story that was not engaging, or was it how it was miscast? Perhaps it was the colors/grading used or how it was edited together. Or maybe it was that the camera was too shaky and nauseating.

Also think on how you imagine doing it differently. How would you have rewritten the story to make it engaging, and who do you think would be a right cast for it? What exactly in the color scheme or editing would you have changed, and how much camera shake do you feel is creatively appropriate.

Watch films that people down right tell you not to watch. Again figure out what people did not like about it according to your sensibilities and what you believe could have been done differently.

In doing so, you are not only developing your judgement, but also developing it rooted in the now, for your audience. The definition of what is good and bad keeps evolving with time and people. It is easier to spot these things in someone else’s film than in a film that we painstakingly created.

Previously you might not have been able to point out why you do not like something or why you liked it. But in attempting to answer these questions, over time you start building your own vocabulary of what is good and bad and why it is so. You slowly start to realise what your personal taste is and this might later help you develop your own signature.

Decisions taken on set are mainly taken on the foot. We rarely get the time to analyse how it would later turn out. Which is one advantage that experienced filmmakers have over beginners. But by doing your own analysis, along with the films you make, you get a faster shortcut there.

It is in those high pressure situations on set that all the years of effort you put into cultivating your judgement as a filmmaker comes to shine. You will know what you like and don’t, what worked before and didn’t. You will also know if your decision will work with your audience or not. To someone but you, it would look like you were born to do this.

Related posts:

Maybe some of us already know about what is PWA. If I can give a brief explanation PWA or Progressive Web Apps is a web app that uses modern web capabilities to deliver an app-like experience to…

One of the best features of the htmlcoin blockchain is the ability to do smart contracts. The typical use of smart contracts is to make a token. If you’re like I was, maybe you’re still wondering…

freestyle poem on the value of ten…