Story lines are important be they within a complex or a simple plot because without them we have no motivation to continue watching a film.
Characters and dialogue as well as visual and sound effects are of course paramount in Cinema, but what would happen if we had a series of dialogues with no story plan in mind and no track or end in view? Would we still watch and identify purely with the characters even if they had no where to go and no problem to resolve?
From children's stories to dark tales, tracking the characters through a series of adventures leading them to growth, self discovery and an ultimate resolution is key to story telling and audience engagement.
Having recently seen Thomas and Friends on the big screen with my two year old nephew, I would say that the train track pulls the child into the story because a train on a track is a moving living thing, an object with life and purpose, an animated being with a journey and an adventure.
The story to an adult mind is granted almost too simple to follow or to grab our attention for very long: ie: Thomas bonding with other train friends and trains making wishes to have a magic purpose, finding a treasure, Thomas being chased by a 'bad' captain and ultimately retrieving the said treasure and being recognised as a hero. Nevertheless to a child's mind, forming it's identity and absorbing like a sponge, the core elements for engagement are there: bonding, learning about oneself and ones purpose in life, overcoming obstacles through an adventure and coming through it stronger, clearer and better for the journey and the path taken.
The train on its track is like a child on his/her journey. The adult viewer like the child identifies with that movement of the mind and of the heart through the challenges, choice of routes and resolutions during the roller coaster ride that is life.
Be they trains on a track or a journey of self discovery, it's as essential to have the story and plot as it is to have characters and their dialogue, otherwise identification and engagement become difficult.
Ride on!
Characters and dialogue as well as visual and sound effects are of course paramount in Cinema, but what would happen if we had a series of dialogues with no story plan in mind and no track or end in view? Would we still watch and identify purely with the characters even if they had no where to go and no problem to resolve?
From children's stories to dark tales, tracking the characters through a series of adventures leading them to growth, self discovery and an ultimate resolution is key to story telling and audience engagement.
Having recently seen Thomas and Friends on the big screen with my two year old nephew, I would say that the train track pulls the child into the story because a train on a track is a moving living thing, an object with life and purpose, an animated being with a journey and an adventure.
The story to an adult mind is granted almost too simple to follow or to grab our attention for very long: ie: Thomas bonding with other train friends and trains making wishes to have a magic purpose, finding a treasure, Thomas being chased by a 'bad' captain and ultimately retrieving the said treasure and being recognised as a hero. Nevertheless to a child's mind, forming it's identity and absorbing like a sponge, the core elements for engagement are there: bonding, learning about oneself and ones purpose in life, overcoming obstacles through an adventure and coming through it stronger, clearer and better for the journey and the path taken.
The train on its track is like a child on his/her journey. The adult viewer like the child identifies with that movement of the mind and of the heart through the challenges, choice of routes and resolutions during the roller coaster ride that is life.
Be they trains on a track or a journey of self discovery, it's as essential to have the story and plot as it is to have characters and their dialogue, otherwise identification and engagement become difficult.
Ride on!
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