Technique...

I've finished another year of teaching film writing. Overall it has been a successful year with many talented and enthusiastic students. As a writing teacher I want to instill my students with a sense of drama and purpose. I want them to create memorable characters and challenge those characters to get what they want.

I am not involved in the filming and post stages of the students work but I think technique and execution is something that needs emphasis. Yes, a good script should make a good film but there is something to be said for a great execution that makes a film 'feel' like a film. I've spent many hours on the internet watching films and I've noticed a common problem beyond bad story telling. Technique.

With all the new technologies there is a common thread of discussion that argue about the technical specs and don't consider the technique. Discussions that talk about frame rates (24p vs 30p), jello effects, sensors and pixels. My experience has been that technique will overcome all of it.

You don't need to look much further than Danny Boyle's film "28 Days Later" to see that traditional filmmaking techniques are more important. It feels like a film. Not because it was shot at 25 frames per second but because the visual technique is deliberate and thought out.


My screenings confirmed this. Good technique. Deliberate and well thought out visuals rise far above the technology you capture the images on.