Realism, Formalism, and the Way Movies 'Should' Be Created



You may not realize it, but your brain is waging a battle against itself every time you watch a film. Every film is its own universe with its own laws, and how those laws compare to those outside that universe determine how your brain interacts with the film and evaluates it against reality. But if you’re making your own work, it might be worth stepping outside the norms.

All film exists on a spectrum from realist (an almost literal copy of the real world with all its traits and rules) to formalist (highly stylized films in which anything goes). Nonetheless, each film silently details the rules of its universe at its outset, and we implicitly expect it to consistently follow them, which is where poorly written or produced scenes can go awry. Most films these days tend toward classicism, which is the middle of the spectrum, borrowing elements of formalism to enhance their story, but with the eventual aim of appearing realist. After all, it’s sneakily clever in a way: realism requires less suspension of disbelief, but if you can enhance it with the freedom of formalism without giving away said enhancement, then what a reality you’ve created. We as a culture seem to have acclimated to such a way of doing things, but as filmmakers, there’s something to be said for the formalist end of the spectrum. Watch the video from Patrick Willems above to hear the argument for the fantastical. 

[via No Film School]



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