What can watching films do for your photography?
A film is actually a series of still photographs played in quick succession (24 frames per second is the usual rate in theaters). When watching, the human mind will fill in the short blanks between frames to create the sensation of watching smooth continuous motion — a phenomenon known as persistence of vision.
As such, we have over a century’s worth of films, and wouldn’t you know it, many explore and employ concepts that we as photographers sometimes struggle with.
Yes, we have books, websites, videos and even live classes and workshops dealing with many of these subjects, but film is yet another tool at our disposal. Films can be used to supplement all the other learning material that’s out there.
Plus, it’s an excuse to go watch a movie — just tell your honey that you’re doing “research”. Now, whether or not you can write off the expense of a ticket or rental is up for debate.
In any case, many films can provide technical pointers such as:
- Composition
- Lighting
Others can also provide artistic ideas like:
- Costumes
- Makeup
- Concepts
The purpose of most mainstream films is to convey a story, and a lot of films will have stylistic features that enhance things like:
- Mood
- Emotion
- Tension
- Space
And other films serve mainly as inspiration.
In future posts, we will start exploring specific films and learn how to look for and understand technical and artistic concepts so that you can use them in your photography.
So Stay Tuned!
