4 ms·

Watch lots and lots of YouTube video essays. Soon you too can find meaning in small director decisions. Be warned, it is a super power those watching movies wi

Watch lots and lots of YouTube video essays. Soon you too can find meaning in small director decisions. Be warned, it is a super power those watching movies with you may regret.

rickdeckard 4y ago
And may cause you to react to moments in a movie which others would consider uneventful. Like laughing about the setup of a scene that is about to unfold. Or getting frustrated about a movie breaking (or lacking) consistency in the underlying mechanics of the world its drawing. I'm constantly in this situation, starting to laugh about something that is building up below the surface of a scene, just to frame something (entirely else) that is then presented directly to the viewer in that scene. While people sitting next to me look bewildered at my face and back at the screen...
- m463 4y ago
  I've found myself doing the opposite. The other night during a minor scene I said aloud "what a great camera setup" (it had beautiful bokke or possibly focal plane manipulation to put the character in sharp focus while what was beside or possibly behind him was softened)
  - rickdeckard 4y ago
    I don't think that's the opposite, I do the same. Also: "what a crazy location they found for this!" I file that under "reacting to moments in a movie which others would consider uneventful" :)
- tucosan 4y ago
  Interesting! Can you share an example or two of such an observation?
  - jrm4 4y ago
    If someone coughs, they are terminally ill.
  - Jenk 4y ago
    Not OP but one I cannot look past anymore is when the movie has dialogue that is only there to spell out the plot to the audience. Usually it's very small things - some background character gleefully shouting out the obvious in the only line they have in the production. "Maverick's re-engaging, Sir!" From the radar operator in Top Gun. "It's gonna blow!" In every bomb scene ever. Etc.
    - rickdeckard 4y ago
      Or my least favorite, able to destroy everything in an instance just by connecting the movie to reality: "Ah, they search for a killer? It's that guy, because there is no other reason to cast that role and pay the premium to have this person also talk!" Most blatant example: "The Bone Collector" I don't even remember the turns of the story in that movie, as it was clear within the first 10 minutes...
      - slater- 4y ago
        i always appreciate a bone collector reference. what a ridiculous silly amazing movie. for me the quintessential example is "Phone Booth." starring Kiefer Sutherland, you say? i wonder what role he plays. i think the movie "Seven" (Se7en) managed to keep the surprise bad guy out of the trailer and unbilled until the end credits. that was badass.
        themadturk 4y ago
        That would be almost every movie and tv show ever for me. My wife is much better than me at figuring out whodunnit, but I can see stuff like this easily. Fortunately it rarely gets in the way of enjoying things.
        zogomoox 4y ago
- rickdeckard 4y ago
  > Interesting! Can you share an example or two of such an observation? It's really nothing as elaborately intelligent as it may sound. Just that the experience of a movie or series can be good/bad for entirely different reasons for me. A really serious scene like Joe Pesci getting upset in Goodfellas [1] makes me smile because of how the tension of the scene keeps building, despite being a very serious scene (and not being funny at all although actors in the scene are laughing). Watching Anthony Hopkins in the Restaurant scene of Westworld [2] deliver so much more than just the content of his dialogue is just stunning for me to watch, while for others it might just be a scene like many others. Or even more basic, I already have to laugh just watching Gavin Belson in the series Silicon Valley, just because the character is crafted to be such an awful tone-deaf person... [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL9rSwrsMHw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL9rSwrsMHw [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dagzaFjHU4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dagzaFjHU4
nemo44x 4y ago
This goes for many things in regards to being able discern quality from average. A friend of mine who does fashion (something I’m not interested in) taught me a few things about clothing assembly and it’s amazing. But you just can’t stop seeing it and everyone is wearing poorly crafted shirts from all the big name stores selling them and hardly anyone notices. For a fashion person, going out can be frustrating.

Watch lots and lots of YouTube video essays. Soon you too can find meaning in small director decisions. Be warned, it is a super power those watching movies with you may regret.

rickdeckard 4y ago

And may cause you to react to moments in a movie which others would consider uneventful. Like laughing about the setup of a scene that is about to unfold. Or getting frustrated about a movie breaking (or lacking) consistency in the underlying mechanics of the world its drawing. I'm constantly in this situation, starting to laugh about something that is building up below the surface of a scene, just to frame something (entirely else) that is then presented directly to the viewer in that scene. While people sitting next to me look bewildered at my face and back at the screen...

m463 4y ago
I've found myself doing the opposite. The other night during a minor scene I said aloud "what a great camera setup" (it had beautiful bokke or possibly focal plane manipulation to put the character in sharp focus while what was beside or possibly behind him was softened)
- rickdeckard 4y ago
  I don't think that's the opposite, I do the same. Also: "what a crazy location they found for this!" I file that under "reacting to moments in a movie which others would consider uneventful" :)
tucosan 4y ago
Interesting! Can you share an example or two of such an observation?
- jrm4 4y ago
  If someone coughs, they are terminally ill.
- Jenk 4y ago
  Not OP but one I cannot look past anymore is when the movie has dialogue that is only there to spell out the plot to the audience. Usually it's very small things - some background character gleefully shouting out the obvious in the only line they have in the production. "Maverick's re-engaging, Sir!" From the radar operator in Top Gun. "It's gonna blow!" In every bomb scene ever. Etc.
  - rickdeckard 4y ago
    Or my least favorite, able to destroy everything in an instance just by connecting the movie to reality: "Ah, they search for a killer? It's that guy, because there is no other reason to cast that role and pay the premium to have this person also talk!" Most blatant example: "The Bone Collector" I don't even remember the turns of the story in that movie, as it was clear within the first 10 minutes...
    - slater- 4y ago
      i always appreciate a bone collector reference. what a ridiculous silly amazing movie. for me the quintessential example is "Phone Booth." starring Kiefer Sutherland, you say? i wonder what role he plays. i think the movie "Seven" (Se7en) managed to keep the surprise bad guy out of the trailer and unbilled until the end credits. that was badass.
      - themadturk 4y ago
        That would be almost every movie and tv show ever for me. My wife is much better than me at figuring out whodunnit, but I can see stuff like this easily. Fortunately it rarely gets in the way of enjoying things.
      - zogomoox 4y ago
rickdeckard 4y ago
> Interesting! Can you share an example or two of such an observation? It's really nothing as elaborately intelligent as it may sound. Just that the experience of a movie or series can be good/bad for entirely different reasons for me. A really serious scene like Joe Pesci getting upset in Goodfellas [1] makes me smile because of how the tension of the scene keeps building, despite being a very serious scene (and not being funny at all although actors in the scene are laughing). Watching Anthony Hopkins in the Restaurant scene of Westworld [2] deliver so much more than just the content of his dialogue is just stunning for me to watch, while for others it might just be a scene like many others. Or even more basic, I already have to laugh just watching Gavin Belson in the series Silicon Valley, just because the character is crafted to be such an awful tone-deaf person... [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL9rSwrsMHw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL9rSwrsMHw [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dagzaFjHU4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dagzaFjHU4

nemo44x 4y ago

This goes for many things in regards to being able discern quality from average. A friend of mine who does fashion (something I’m not interested in) taught me a few things about clothing assembly and it’s amazing. But you just can’t stop seeing it and everyone is wearing poorly crafted shirts from all the big name stores selling them and hardly anyone notices. For a fashion person, going out can be frustrating.