Nostalgia

The fastest way to earn the attention of your audience is to speak truth. It generally needs to be important truth to keep interest, but truth that is relevant to the hearer can be just as powerful. I don't mean relevant in the culturally pervasive understanding of relativism. When I say relevant I mean related, pertinent, applicable, significant, or important.

Nostalgia is often a form of relevant truth. A scene of a hot Fourth of July at a family reunion with hotdogs and hamburgers and baseball and fireworks after dark will strike up a sense of nostalgia with viewers that experienced that sort of celebration. Since it’s truth that demands the audiences respect, this personal-seeming truth that is nostalgia can be a very powerful tool in the hand of the filmmaker.

This won’t help a filmmaker, but I’ve been told the sense of smell is the strongest nostalgia trigger. I think music is a close second.

Jim

"Brevity is the Soul of wit."

I felt a strong sense of irony after writing the post Long vs. Boring. I needed to cut that post. Let me try again:

Every scene, every line, every angle, every shot, every frame must have a purpose. Cut any of the preceding if they serve no purpose. Cut for purpose, not for length. A film can be long and still be interesting. When the elements of the film lose purpose, then the film will lose interest.

(Compare The Godfather to Duel for an example of this)

Jim