top of page
Objectivity

THE OBJECTIVE FACTORS

There are many objective factors that contribute to the creation of a film. To ignore these is simply illogical as they are definitive things that contribute to the quality of a film. Whether these things make you like the film or not is rather variable, but in most cases a higher average of quality will lead to a film being more liked.

​

ACTING

People often have differing opinions about acting ability. Whether a performance was good or not is not always clear. But consider this: If you had played that role instead, would you have done it as well? Some may have liked your performance better, but there would in all likelihood be a distinct lack of talent in the performance (forgive me if you are actually a gifted career actor or acting prodigy). Some actors are naturally better at certain roles and some actors can only really play one particular role, but many truly talented actors can adapt to any role and perform it very well. This doesn't mean they are better than other actors who can only perform one role well, but it certainly can mean they can be a better pick for a certain movie and character. Actors typically must be proficient at pretending to be other people that are affected by different events and react particularly to certain situations. An actor's performance should be believable. This is certainly not always the case. Most often, the portrayal falls somewhere between totally unrealistic and the real deal. Where this measure lands is a large factor in determining the objective quality of a particular performance. If they react exactly as the type of person they are playing would, this is a tangible and measurable thing that shows good acting. 

​

DIRECTION

The direction given to the actors plays a large role in their performance. Tarantino has stated that "If there is something magic about the collaborations I have with actors it's because I put the character first." Indeed, actors try and perform to meet the director's requirements. If the director's vision for the actors' portrayal of the characters is bad, then this is likely to affect their performance. I often hear people say that they usually like an actor, but they thought they did a poor job in a specific film. This is potentially why. Of course, some actors will not depend on directors as much and may even clash with them throughout a production. But a director's direction can significantly enhance the performance of even an already established and highly talented actor. This all goes a long way towards contributing to a great movie overall. If the director doesn't have a vision that corresponds well to real characters or believable responses, the movie will falter. There is a reason why a director's name is usually linked to a movie as an artist's name is to a painting. But they can't do it all alone.

​

CINEMATOGRAPHY

While directors tend to get much more credit for a film than the director of photography, these cinematographers are the ones who shape every image that you see on the screen. The relationships between directors and cinematographers differs greatly between different films. Sometimes, a director will tell a cinematographer exactly what they want the shot to look like and trust them to accurately recreate that vision through their technical knowledge of how to make that look happen. Often, a cinematographer will be given much more free reign and told to create an image that portrays a certain emotion or feeling. Even the way the camera shows characters as they provide dialogue and moves throughout different scenes can greatly affect your emotion and interpretation of events. If the way the shot is styled doesn't make you feel the intended atmosphere or emotions wanted for the scene, they have likely not done such a good job.

​

WRITING

The field of literature is certainly a rather open field that can be very subjective, but we do still study English in schools. We learn about great authors and poets of the ages. This is because, even if it is subjective whether you like a story or not, even a universally accepted good story can be written in a poor manner. There are elements of suspense, development, and plot progression that are all greatly affected by the way in which a story is written. Many of us are familiar with films riddled with plot holes due to the poor quality of writing coming from the writer. This is something that can greatly affect a film as well.

​

FILMOLOGY

©2016 BY RIO VELARDE

bottom of page