From the course: Creating a Short Film: 05 Directing

Unlock this course with a free trial

Join today to access over 22,400 courses taught by industry experts.

Using the power of suggestion

Using the power of suggestion

- It's important to remember that visual storytelling is about creating illusions for the audience. Perhaps the most common illusion in film is that characters actually had conversations in real time, when in reality we stitch together conversations from pieces of multiple takes, perhaps even filmed days or weeks apart. Using the power of suggestion, filmmakers can convince the audience of a false reality. We see this all the time in movies and TV shows that are set in one city but filmed in another, like how iZombie is set in Seattle but actually films in nearby Vancouver, BC, or how The Killing was set in Seattle but shot in Vancouver, or how Grey's Anatomy and Frasier were set in Seattle but, yeah, you get the picture. But note how they create the illusion that they film in Seattle. They show stock footage and establishing shots in Seattle and they talk about Seattle in their conversations, so we believe them. Stock video can really be a great tool. In a film I made called When…

Contents