Film Art and Filmmaking

Sometimes, too, people treat fi lm art as opposed to fi lm as a business. This
split is related to the issue of entertainment, since entertainment generally is sold to
a mass audience. Again, however, in most modern societies, no art fl oats free from
economic ties. Novels good, bad, or indifferent are published because publishers
expect to sell them. Painters hope that collectors and museums will acquire their
work. True, some artworks are subsidized through taxes or private donations, but
that process, too, involves the artist in a fi nancial transaction. Films are no different.
Some movies are made in the hope that consumers will pay to see them. Others
are funded by patronage (an investor or organization wants to see the fi lm made)
or public monies (France, for instance, generously subsidizes fi lm projects). Even
if you decide to make your own digital movie, you face the problem of paying for
it—and you may hope to earn a little extra for all your time and effort.
The crucial point is that considerations of money don’t necessarily make the
artist any less creative or the project any less worthwhile. Money can corrupt any
line of business (consider politics), but it doesn’t have to. In Renaissance Italy, painters
were commissioned by the Catholic church to illustrate events from the Bible.
Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci worked for hire, but it would be hard to argue
that it hurt their artistry.
Here we won’t assume that fi lm art precludes entertainment. We won’t take the
opposite position either—claiming that only Hollywood mass-market movies are
worth our attention. Similarly, we don’t think that fi lm art rises above commercial
demands, but we also won’t assume that money rules everything. Any art form offers
a vast range of creative possibilities. Our basic assumption is that as an art, fi lm
offers experiences that viewers fi nd worthwhile—diverting, provocative, puzzling,
or rapturous. But how do fi lms do that?
To answer that question, we’ll go back a step and ask, Where do movies come
from? Most basically, they come from three places. They come from the imagination
and hard work of the fi lmmakers who create them. They come from an extraordinarily
complex set of machines that capture and replay images. And they come from
companies or individuals that pay for the fi lmmakers and the technology. This chapter
examines the artistic, technological, and business sides of how fi lms come into being.
Artistic Decisions In Filmmaking
In Day for Night, French fi lmmaker François Truffaut plays a director making a
movie called Meet Pamela. Crew members bring set designs, wigs, cars, and prop
pistols to him, and we hear his voice telling us his thoughts: “What is a director? A
director is someone who is asked questions about everything.”
Making a fi lm can be seen as a long process of decision making, not just by
the director but by all the specialists who work on his or her team. Early decisions
come as the script is written and the various elements are designed. More decisions
come daily during the actual fi lming, especially as unexpected problems or opportunities
arise. Decisions continue up to the point where the director okays the last
shot to be completed. These decisions could be as important as who plays the lead
or as trivial as which buttons look best on a costume.
A great many decisions, however, do affect what we see and hear on the screen.
There are the artistic choices made by the fi lmmakers. What lights will enhance the
atmosphere of a love scene? Given the kind of story being told, would it be better
to let the audience know what the central character is thinking or to keep him enigmatic?
When a scene opens, what is the most economical, understandable way of
letting the audience know the time and place? Which is more dramatic, to show an
explosion or just have it heard from offscreen? The sum total of all such decisions
culminates in a fi nished fi lm.
Sometimes the decisions have to do with the business side of the production.
What are some ways to save money? Which of the planned special effects being
Artistic Decisions In Filmmaking
CONNECT TO THE BLOG
Film art comes from many places and
eras. For a personal take on why it’s
important not to watch only recent
English-language color movies, see
“Subtitles 101,” at
www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=361.
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