The Medium
Sharing experiences is a very human thing. Human beings are social creatures, and sharing information about the world and our feelings about it is baked into who we are as a species.
We tell stories to each other for the benefit of the group. It is a fundamental way in which we make sense of the world around us and convey meaning to one another.
Story
A story is an account of connected events, whether real or fictitious, that creates meaning and an emotional impact. Stories can be told orally, visually, or through performance, music, dance, or other forms of communication. Stories convey a point of view and have an underlying message or moral.
There are many different ways you can tell stories, with each medium tackling a subject in a slightly different way.
One thing that all approaches to storytelling have in common is that there is a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end.
As with everything else, asking questions is a good way to make sense of it all:
- What are the elements of your story?
- How do you pull all the pieces together?
- Who is your audience, and how do you engage them with your story?
This may appear a little daunting, so let’s start with something simple.
Here are three basic categories of filmmaking for you to consider. Each category follows a set of guidelines that will determine how you approach your film.
Avant-Garde
This is an experimental approach to filmmaking that intentionally breaks conventional narrative and visual rules to challenge an audience’s perceptions.
Nonfiction
This is the portrayal of real people or events and is often referred to as “documentary.”
Fiction
This is the fictional portrayal of invented characters and events.
One can apply each of these approaches to the same story. This will inevitably change how that story is conveyed and how the audience interacts with it.
Note: These approaches are not mutually exclusive. Avant-garde technique can find its way into nonfiction or fiction filmmaking as easily as nonfiction technique can show up in fiction or avant-garde films. The same is true for fiction filmmaking technique.
