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I know what you’re thinking: Ewww, studying! No thanks! Well, if that’s your attitude, feel free to leave now. But I assure you, I don’t plan on giving you homework. At least, not traditional homework. I’m not a teacher so what right do I have. Though I have been giving you advice for the last couple of years…hmmm. Anyway, tonight we’re going to start our film study section. And it will be a bit more fun than traditional homework, I promise.

Essentially what this section is going to be about is your observations. Without getting into too much technicality, consider some of your favorite movies. Most people watch a movie an unconsciously enjoy it or not. They don’t necessarily watch it with a purpose beyond entertainment. So I’m going to assume you’ve seen some of your favorite movies more than once or twice. So the next time you do watch one, examine it. What aspects do you like? The effects? The Story? The Acting? Something else? If you enjoy these things after so many views, then they all mesh together perfectly and become background to the primary goal: entertainment.

What do we hope to accomplish by this exercise? A couple of things. Firstly, watching movies that you enjoy stimulates your creativity. Secondly, by understanding the techniques of our favorite movies, we can emulate and expand upon them. Now, that’s not saying that you’ll surpass Spielberg or Abrams, but it gives you a goal to strive for. Again, not surpassing those you watch. Instead, the goal is to define your own technique.

Now, I realize that my previous statement about people not watching beyond entertainment might be confusing as that is our main goal. Here’s the thing that people don’t tend to grasp: As I’ve mentioned, a movie can be considered bad to most, but you enjoy it. Or it can be good to some (winning awards even) and you hate it. What makes a movie good or bad is your own opinion. But there is a second level that lets you know if you’ve accomplished your goal of entertainment – you’ve made people question why they like the movie. If your audience comes out of the theater asking each other what their favorite part was and why…congrats! You’ve made entertainment!

Well, I think that’s good enough to start with. Sadly, I must leave you all to read an increasingly dull book. I don’t know why. But next week we’ll get more specific on what to keep an eye on and how to expand on that idea. So until then, happy studying!