Throughout the process of my life watching movies, I have become a very opinionated person. Now, sometimes I don't believe this is a very attractive aspect, however when it comes to my love of films, I realized that with something that I care deeply about I might as well have some method to my madness. That is why I have written down some things I have learned over my years that have helped me not only breakdown and decipher a movie, but also has allowed me to enjoy a majority of them much more.

 

 Phase 1:

 

1)Watch The Movie: Although this might sounds painfully obvious, it is important to actually take the time out of your day and focus on all the aspects of the film. So many times now a days we will catch ourselves blankly staring at our phones for two or three minutes without realizing and next thing you know you're asking someone “Wait so Bruce Willis was a ghost the whole time?”. In order to appreciate the film, along with actually having what I like to call “Security Clearance” to judge the film, I believe you must give your undivided attention from start to finish. 

 

2) Watch All In One Sitting: Now this doesn't mean you cannot go to the bathroom, put out a fire in your kitchen, or rescue your cat from a tree, but as soon as that crisis is over I strongly suggest you sit yourself back down and finish what you started. Almost every aspect of film is there to enhance or sway the audiences emotion one way or the other. It should be a consistent feeling throughout the movie that you should be interpreting while watching.

 

3)The next thing to keep in mind when doing this, is to make sure that once you're finished watching the movie/film. To compile your thoughts once the movie is over. Some of the things to jot down to get you started are major plot points, crucial or repeated lines, and particularly notable shots or scenes. Over time, and the more practice you get, these aspects will jump out at you and you will find yourself writing these down as the movie is playing. However it is important to keep track of all the things that you find meaningful so that you can compile and reference back to them as supportive statements for your perspective later on.

 

4) Once you are finished writing down some of your thoughts, I find it very important to give yourself some time to take a step back and collect yourself. Once you settle your mind and give yourself a fresh approach, it allows you to full embrace and understand which aspects of the film stuck true. 

It also can be extremely helpful to write down some more thoughts that you’ve realized after giving yourself some time to decompress the film. Some of these thoughts can include the overall quality and feel of the physical filming methods; such as the way color was used, whether the shots flowed together or seemed inorganic, and finally I like to review my thoughts on if particular character or things were supposed to represent certain things. All of these thoughts that you are looking at during your reproach should be had with the previous aspects you found relevant prior to the film ending. 

 

 Phase 2: 

 

1)Now when it comes to understanding the concept of any movie, you must understand that it has more than once face. When looking into the background and identify of any film you have to understand the narrative the movie is displaying, as well and the background of the movie itself. This can range from the filmmakers intentions to comment on culture or politics, or perhaps even the history of the film and where its ideas derived from. Either way it is important to understand that there is more to meet the eye. (Spoiler alert: Sometimes you might find someone digging a little too deep, which to some people might be a pain in the arse, yet to others like myself, I view it as one of its most fun aspects)

 

2)I mentioned earlier that you must watch the movie in one sitting, this is why I think that is extremely important. Look back to your notes, your emotions and the movie itself. Each movie has an story arc, some better than others, but nonetheless a story arc. While you are sitting on the couch contemplating if the amount of effort it will take to reach 2 ft across the couch to grab the remote is worth it, the movie that is either captivating you or just background noise is a game of ups and downs. 

Much of the success of films is based on its structure. This can relate to the pacing of the story, character development which can play a huge role, and also climaxes or various plot twists and turns. Keep in mind that note taking can come in handy during this stage, notice if the movie was well-plotted and give yourself ample amount of facts and examples for your future-self. 

 

3)While movies are made to be watched, they are born from writing. The movie is grounded by the script that created it, most of the time a very well-plotted movie is born from a well-written one. Be sure to focus on some aspects of the dialogue within the script, compare it to the emotions of the scenes and the characters who are speaking it. Some questions you can ask yourself when looking at the dialogue is how believable it seems. Another interesting aspect of the dialogue within a movie are the loudest and quietest moments. For instance, a well-placed joke can allow the audience connect to the character, or a perfectly spaced moment of silence that can mean nearly as much as the words spoken in the film.

 

4)Following the dialogue in the film, now its time to focus on the acting. This can range from the characters and their role within the film and how believable their actions and demeanor might may be. Don’t confuse this with your personal opinion of how the characters are portrayed or not, but instead focus on if the acting and moments allowed you to believe that these people in the film were truly real. Some other things to keep in mind are accents or speech patterns throughout the movie, including how the actors respond and express themselves with body language in different scenes. 

 

5)The next step which I find the most difficult, analyzing the lighting and camera techniques. Now I myself have worked to learn as much as possible about the techniques used and why they are important to some people. Sure it helps to know what is called what, notice subtle movements that enhance emotions, and shots that crucial to completing a scene, but that shouldn't stop you at this point.

Some movies might rely on lighting to make actors and shots merge together smoothly and visually stimulating other might use lighting to identify the mood depending on a scene. Many movies depending on genre might have a consistent use of lighting from start to finish, and other might rely on lighting to help express emotion throughout the entire film, which in all honestly I believe is painstaking to watch. 

Besides lighting used, focus on the camera shots and how they correspond in some cases or play off of the lighting within each scene. A main aspect of the camera work within a film, is the use of angles. In some cases angles are almost the pointer finger for the director on screen, in other cases they can be used to place a certain feeling on the audience. Do the angles make you feel like you're looking down on people, or perhaps even backed into a corner? 

 

6) Last but not least, the movies soundtrack. Picture yourself either from age 8 listening to “Now #9” on a long drive to visit your relatives. While the throwbacks of your childhood are blasting out of the speakers, you find yourself pairing the music with your own experience of looking out the window. Some call this experience the “music video effect”, but I call it the most satisfying thing.

I am not going to get into the psychological aspect of why music is so appealing and emotionally stimulating. However, I can say with little to no scientific and medical experience, that music can be one of the most influential things when it comes to affecting our emotions.

This is just as relevant when it comes to movie soundtracks. They are used for all types of people to allow them to gage and connect with the mood of the movie along with the important depending on scene. Its important to keep in mind that a effective movie soundtrack depending on scene, should enchase and dance the plot, but it should not be distracting. A prime example of this idea in film is the “Jaws Challenge” (which I literally just made up right now and it is maybe the most mediocre idea Ive ever had). This is when you try to watch at least 5 minutes of “Jaws” attack scenes online with the sound completely off, wait and see how long it takes you to start hearing the “duh duh.. duh duh..” in your head, and if you don’t… well than you're lying to yourself and should seek immediate psychological assistance.

 

 

These past two phases should be used to help you gage multiple aspects of movies you're watching from start to finish. It is important to keep in mind that not all movies follow the same guidelines, path, or conventional rules. However, that is why the art of making a film is so beautiful in my opinion. For each person, a scene might strike them one way more than the entire movie combined. In other situations, you might be dragging through a film up until the last 5 minutes, when everything comes together and you have an epiphany and begin to run around your neighborhood claiming your love for your new favorite film. I believe that film is one of the most influential things in our modern society, and I hope that these past snippets of information which I am sure a lot of you might have heard before, can either enhance your future movie experiences or reviews.