Film Studies // Being An Audience Member

This week's topic has allowed me to reflect on myself as an audience member. How do I watch films? For me personally, I tend to watch most of my films at home. Either through DVD/Blu-Ray, Netflix or Apple TV. I pick and choose films depending on my mood and current situation. Watching movies while in the confines of my own home can be somewhat soothing and can allow me to connect a little more with what I am watching and also watch things a little more objectively and critically. However this is not to say I don't like going to the cinemas to watch films. I absolutely love going to a cinema as there is something about watching something with a crowd of other people that you just can't find anywhere else. The only reason I don't go more often is purely because of the cost and I like to go with friends.

The top three aspects of films that I feel engage me the most are Narrative, Sound and Character. I love watching or reading a great story, especially something expansive with a developed world in which the story is set. Without a good base story-line or plot, there is nothing to keep interest to the film besides pure visuals, I tend to need something more than just visuals so I can enjoy film. The second aspect is sound, which is a personal favourite of mine. Music in film is huge to me and one of my beliefs is that you need a good soundtrack or score if you want a great film. Music is an incredibly effective way to bring emotion into a scene and let the audience feel, it is a gateway into the hearts of the audience. My third point is character, this pairs up with Narrative to some extent. Characters are the extension of your story, without them you could not tell a narrative effectively. Character development throughout a film, especially a feature film, is what can drive the subtext of the narrative and also allows attachment from the audience. A character should evolve with the audience as you sit through film or the audience should be able to observe the character evolving.

There are many, many more ways to gain the attention of an audience and make them feel and think certain things. Ways that don't even have anything to do with what is contained within the film. Such as establishing an enticing trailer and developing promotional trans-media, much like Matt Reeves & J. J. Abrams' 'Cloverfield' (2008) and their exceptionally unique advertisement release campaign.

By Aedan Bruitzman

Reference List:

Katavich, C. (2017, February 10). Cinema Industry Market Analysis. Retrieved from Stage Films: http://www.stagefilms.com.au/cinema-industry-market-analysis/

Newfarm Cinemas. (2017, August). Mums & Bubs. Retrieved from NewFarm Cinemas: http://newfarmcinemas.com.au/events/mums-bubs/

Cloverpedia. (2016, November 3). Slusho! Retrieved from Cloverfield Wiki: http://cloverfield.wikia.com/wiki/Slusho!