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How to be Good at Watching movies

7/23/2013

7 Comments

 
Can someone actually be 'good' at watching movies?

If you're a screenwriter, the answer is YES!

You have to learn to think about the movies you're watching, especially if you want them to teach you about writing scripts of your own.

Keep reading to find out more.
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Wear a Watch

As you're watching movies, keep track of when important plot points happen.

Don't sit there obsessively watching the second hand tick. But be aware of how much time the movie spends with its important moments, and what happens between those moments.

If you get into a habit of doing this, you'll develop an innate understanding of pacing and structure. You'll gain a better understanding of the momentum of good movies, based on how it's structured from minute to minute.

You'll notice plenty of movies that adhere to the three act structure that's taught in all the books. 

But you'll also start to find movies that break those rules, and you'll start to understand how you can be creative with structure while keeping the audience interested. 

Make Predictions

As you're watching a movie for the first time, put yourself in the writer's shoes. Think about where the story could be going, and the steps that the writer will need to take to get there. 

Sometimes you'll be right, and that's great.

More often, you'll be wrong. 

Pay attention to when you're wrong, and think about why the plot progressed the way it did, and what problems your ideas may have presented to the writer (or the executives in charge of making sure the movie makes money).

When comparing and contrasting your predictions with what actually happens, think about surprise, character development, conflict and marketability. 

Great movies are jam packed with surprises. They feature character development and conflict expertly interwoven to create a satisfying movie going experience for the audience. 

Note: This tip works for TV too. Try it with legal procedurals and sitcoms too, and you'll start to understand a variety of mediums in exciting new ways. You can even guess the punch lines on late night monologues!

Track connections

Great movies are intricately planned. Every detail is necessary, and every moment underscores the major theme that's being explored by the film on the whole. 

As a screenwriter, these connections have the most to teach you. Look for thematic unity in characters, conflict, structure, setting - - everything. 

This requires careful thought. You have to pay attention to every detail of the movie if you want to start seeing the connections. But at first, just to pay attention to the main character. 

Track the decisions that they make throughout the course of the movie, and look for how those decisions define that character and the world/people around them, and pay attention to how it all runs together thematically.

Know when to relax

Watching movies like this can be draining. So don't approach every movie you see with the kind of rigorous attention to detail that's suggested here. That's a prison too many screenwriters find themselves in, unable to just let a movie exist free from analysis.

But as you're researching your next project (or if you're feeling ambitious), watch movies (and read scripts) with this information in mind. You'll come away with a better understanding of why the screenwriter did what they did, and what makes movies work.

How does watching movies help you improve as a writer? Comment below.

7 Comments
Derek Short link
7/25/2013 12:47:38 am

Good article! I've been doing this method for a while and it's useful. However, I need to read more screenplays, as it is probably the best way to improve my own screenwriting abilities.

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Script Quack link
8/4/2013 07:35:55 am

You're right, Derek. Reading scripts is one of the most important things you you can do to improve your screenwriting. It can also be helpful to read a script, and then watch the movie after, to compare and contrast. It can be really helpful to see what scenes get cut/changed/moved around etc (assuming the shooting script is similar to whatever draft you can get your hands on!).

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MJ
7/25/2013 01:47:33 am

Another good article!! Agreed, one CAN learn just from watching... I use my cell phone to time scenes. Amazing, how short they are, though one scene I timed lasted 14 minutes. Seemed an eternity, Breaking Bad where Walter,Jesse had just killed the new meth lab assistant. Gus entered the lab and methodically changed clothes, proceeded to slice an individual's neck, and upon leaving, admonished them to get back to work...

In any event. I've been reviewing alot of netflix films lately, identifying Blake Snyder's Beat sheet plot points. I refer to it as charting flicks. But you're right though, very seldom is anything shot irrelevant, even if seemingly so at the time. In many movies, when certain things take place, one can often surmise what minute it is. Amazing, it provides a whole new dimension to recognizing pacing, structure in many, many films.

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Script Quack link
8/4/2013 07:37:45 am

It's always a surprise to see how quickly movies move from one scene to another, you're right! I remember that scene from Breaking Bad - - amazing! They do a great job breaking longer scenes into separate beats to give them good momentum and tension as the story progresses.

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Lois Bernard link
7/27/2013 10:19:06 pm

I love to watch the movie AFTER reading the script. So much richer experience, so much I miss just watching. Did that with Michael Clayton yesterday. Did not time it, but will before returning Blu-Ray.

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MJ
7/30/2013 12:57:05 am

Good point, but seems difficult for me oftentimes to get the script...
As far as timing goes, after awhile when certain events occur, with total length in mind, you know what minute mark it is when things happen. Opening image, theme stated (5 or so), catalysist event (12), break into II/action (25) midpoint, lowpoint/all is lost etc. Applies not to all flicks, but quite a few for sure...

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Script Quack link
8/4/2013 07:40:58 am

We've got an article up here on where to find free movie scripts. Here's the link: http://www.scriptquack.com/free-movie-scripts.html




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