Short Film Analysis

(Photo courtesy of http://www.amazon.ca/Drama-Through-Storytelling-Practical-Elementary/dp/0889242208) After watching a series of short films this week, I have noticed something that I find rather surprising. The films that we're the most successful (In Here, one past media arts assignment, was one of the top 10 in Canada, while the ones in Digital Storytelling we're all top entries to a separate contest) and seem to win the most awards, are dramatic. Despite the apparent popularity of action oriented movies and stories, the stories that people enjoy the most are the dramatic films. Even action oriented films rely on a certain sense of dramatization to be convincing. As i think about it, more and more of my favourite films have have been dramatic, despite their unrealistic circumstances. Having a good sense of interaction, though not technically required, is an important aspect of storytelling, one which I very much need to practice. The act of drawing in the viewer to the ideals contained within the story is a skill to be developed.

Ohler's Story Map

The generic story map has changed the way I look at any given story. Whether it be a movie, novel, song or poem, I am looking to see if it fits this generic structure. I've found myself often hoping that a story doesn't follow it, that it is completely unique. I often question how accurate a generic story map can be. If a story can mean different things to different people, how can there be one definitive climax? Even from a simple analysis of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone it was evident that different people viewed different events as being the most significant. While I often question the story maps usefulness, I see its importance as well. It gives the author a method of keeping the story flowing in a forward motion, and allows the audience to keep track of the story's progression. I wonder if an author intentionally writes to fit this guideline, or if it naturally succumbs to its form. It makes me wonder how many critically acclaimed stories do not follow this trend compared to the ones that do; whether it is more beneficial to follow the standard or to forge a unique path. I suppose only writing more will show which writing style I am better suited for.

(Story map courtosy of http://s.spachman.tripod.com/Narrative/storymap.htm )

The Amazing Spiderman may not be the Best thing for the Spiderman Franchise

The Amazing Spiderman was, to put it simply, a fantastic movie. It stayed more true to the comic books then the past Spiderman movie line, (the synthetic web-shooters, the Gwen Stacey relationship, and the Flash Gordon led Spiderman Fan club being examples that come to mind) and it contained a great storyline, great effects and incredible character development. Despite all this, and the film being a financial success, I do not believe that this was the best direction for the spiderman universe to take. The Spiderman film rights are currently owned by Sony and, in order to keep those rights, a new movie must be produced every 5 years. This explains the rushed and unfulfilling Spiderman 3. (It was also the forced input of Sony that had the villain Venom thrust last minute into the film, which was also rather unfulfilling.) Had Sony not produced another Spiderman film, the rights would have been reverted to Marvel. Based on the success on the latest series of Marvel Movies; Captain America, Thor, The avengers, etc. I believe that The new Spiderman, under the direction of Marvel Studios, would have been even better. It would also allow Spiderman to interact with other Characters from that universe and let's be real. Spiderman in the Avengers would have been sweet.

( Photo from http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/ARMAGEDDON/news/?a=43950 ) http://screenrant.com/the-amazing-spiderman-movie-trilogy-benk-184764/