On the Importance of Being Focused

[BLUMENKOHL 1,110]

I have a bone to pick. When I created the thread on the mismatch between Minority Reporty film and score I mentioned that film had a clear lack of focus. Well after being lambasted as a music hating Zimmer Zombie (the meaningless Hitler debate tactic of of JWFan, where if I don't like peanutbutter I'm a ZZ), I noted an interesting point that was brought up by our Hlaorious Hlao-roo:

"[Name of film] can't decide whether it's a [name of genre] or a [name of genre]" is a familiar critical bromide, one nearly as tiresome as labeling a movie "sentimental," "treacly," or "saccharine" with little in the way of meaningful substantiation.

I don't think it's such a tiresome criticism. In fact, it is often the most accurate, and the most important.

First I'll be straight-forward, I'm a mathematical person and an art person (which is probably why I'm in 3D/Games/CGI). As a result my philosophy (backed by science itself) is that we as humans appreciate elegant solutions/designs. If you collect all the things that we consider great you will find that as the single common thread that binds them. Even John Williams' music which we tend to view as complex/complicated/rich, is ultimately clean and elegant. His best works can be deeply layered and rich, but each layer works on simple and elegant principles that add up to a beautiful whole. You can listen to his music listening to one layer of the music and following a unique narrative and "zoom out" and listen to the same bars of music again and find yourself in a larger narrative, through the interaction of those little simpler pieces. And that is frankly the genius of John Williams.

The ability to craft anything (music/computer program/painting/movie) where you can do this "zoom in" and "zoom out" so smoothly is extremely rare. It requires a clear vision, a great deal of thought, and ultimately the strength and courage to decide "the focus of this project will be ________." That last part is especially difficult because by design we have a natural tendency to want to diversify and please as many as possible. Having more is to a benefit to our ape instincts. The problem is that our brain does not function this way. When you watch a movie your brain constantly switches back and forth between the different "levels of stimuli." You witness a scene and as it occurs, you flip back out to the great picture and contextualize it with the rest of the movie and your own life's experiences. Rinse and repeat.

So these are the problems you have to tackle as the creator/visionary of music/movies/whatever:

1. Is it clearly focused?

2. Do the other layers/elements add up to the ultimate focus?

3. Are the layers/elements different enough to engage the audience but not alienate them? (I call this the "AAAAHHH SNAKE!" problem. Where you want to get the "AAHHH SNAKE!" reaction without having your audience run away).

And in my opinion those three basic things are where most movies tend to fail. And that's why we often get the "tired" doesn't know what it is trying to be criticism that Hlao-roois disdains. The reason clichés are clichés is usually because they are true.

Think back to, what I consider from a narrative/cinematic perspective, a near perfect story and movie: Star Wars. From the opening crawl to the last scene of the movie there is one unifying focus: Good vs. Evil (Rebels vs. Empire). Now within that theme we have many underlying elements story-wise and a plethora of visual and sound elements. But despite all of these chances to misstep, every element works in service of the greater focus of the story. Everything from story, dialogue, visuals, audio adds up to the idea of good and evil. The Empire is painted in greys and whites, with cold angular Star Destroyers and officers who all speak with British accents. R2 sounds cute, the X-Wings sound like planes we hear in our time, while Tie Fighters shrill like ghosts. If you just compare the color of the lasers, the evil Empire has toxic green and the Rebels a passionate red. And when your brain switches back to that greater whole, the narrative is still about good vs. evil. The movie has focus, it has many elements that add up to a unified whole. And of course Star Wars is different enough to capture your attention, be it the dirty/used futuristic look, the sound of mechanized engines in space, or the familiar mythical ensemble of characters that are synthesized into a slightly different dynamic than you are used to and thrown into space.

Fast forward to the prequels. And this is where things begin to fall apart. There is no clear focus in the movies. There are stupid to the point of cute "evil droids," dialogue that is so stiff from what you are used to that it makes you go "AHHH SNAKE! RUN!" and elements thrown in with no seeming value other than looking cool or just trying to easily to tie back to the original trilogy.

A similar thing takes ship, albeit to a much lesser degree in Minority Report (which I maintain is still good, just flawed by its lack of coherence and clear goal). The problem starts with the fact that the movie can't decide what its focus is. Is it fate vs. free will? Is it the guilt of a father? The movie's first scene is about fate vs. free will. It ends with a conclusion to the guilt of the father problem. Through the movie we are greeted by cool-filter views of the future, and the serious topic of imprisoning people for crimes that they have yet to commit and yet director throws in WTF moments of humor in the middle of the tension that yank you out of the movie.

Think back to what you believe to be great films. You will often find that even the most complicated ones are oozing with simplicity and elegance at their core. The complexity is merely the illusion given by all the different (simple) elements working in the movie.

[Naïve Old Fart 13,032]

The Imperial officers don't all speak with British accents; Richard Le Parmentier speaks with an American accent.

P.s., there is no such thing as a "British" accent! etc.

[Wojo 2,458]

And George Roubicek spoke with an accent that was neither British nor his native Austrian.

What of Dodonna and Obi-Wan, who also speak with a British accent? Imperial infiltrators!

[Quintus 6,503]

That was close eh Blum, thread was almost lost in the wilderness, sent out to die We've all made one.

You owe Richard for saving it

[Wojo 2,458]

You owe Richard for saving it

Which one? Actually, richus would only add to the mess, so I'm content.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,110]

It's a superb thread, really. That it got lost in the wilderness is a reflection of this forum's low-brow mentality!

Or am I?

[Naïve Old Fart 13,032]

You owe Richard for saving it

Which one?

This one. The one on the right. The other right. Your other right!

[Wojo 2,458]

That it got lost in the wilderness is a reflection of this forum's low-brow mentality!

Not really. It's a 1,027 word post created by someone other than Incanus. That it was ignored dragged into the woods and left for dead was inevitable.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,110]

We should get incanus to post it and see if your theory is true. I wouldn't be shocked!

[Ollie 1,375]

So what are we trying to do here?