Cinematic
Style
Beyond the rulemaking is a set of overall guiding principles. Here are
just a few of the simplest...
- Visual
Exposition: Show, don't tell. Expository dialogue is weak, imagery
is stronger. Behavior is strongest of all. Remember Indy finding "X
marks the spot" in the Venice library in the Last Crusade?
- Economy:
Get rid of unnecessary details. Movie characters may range the
globe in an epic that lasts weeks or months, but they rarely changes
clothes. Their personal hygiene is rarely examined. And what do they
do between scenes? Who knows? Who cares? Movies possess such inherent
momentary detail that audiences confabulate vague connective tissue
to round out whatever tale is being told. This kind of participation
is one of the pleasures of movie-going. Don't deprive the audience!
- Clarity:
To avoid confusion, when cutting from one shot to a related view
of the same scene, change angles.
- Screen
Reality: Until something appears onscreen, it doesn't exist. Don't
be afraid to control the story by revealing its parts in whatever
way is most expressive. Remember Anthony Quinn's sudden introduction
out of thin air in Lawrence of Arabia?
-
Melodrama: Unlike stage plays, movies aren't physically present
in the theater. Movie actors seem relatively...flat. On the other
hand, location photography means that movies aren't confined to stage
sets, so they seem fairly realistic, often meaning fairly ordinary.
Movie dialogue is embedded in a larger world of more interest than
the artificial confines of a theater, rendering speech less important.
These features conspire to force movies toward the kinds of exaggerated
action we call melodrama. Irving Kirschner taught me that the climax
of a play is the moment (in effect) when one actor points accusingly
at another and declares, "I know you, Joe Zlbygl!" Whereas,
the same moment in a movie is more like, "I know you, Joe Zlbygal,"
and the actor pulls a gun and fires-Bang! Bang! Another way of illustrating
the point is to note that onstage a real dog is as out of place as
a fake dog onscreen. Keep your material vivid and exaggerate wherever
possible. It will seem normal.
Adapting
the Language of Film to Games
Games
may owe something to movies, but they are as different from them as
movies are different from theater.
- Real-time
3D is continuous imagery. As such it's not cinematic, so don't worry
too much about the above strictures when the player is in charge.
- In
a movie, audiences are free to consider information or ignore it,
since either way the end arrives. Not so in games, where players must
act upon information they discover in order to complete them. Make
your imagery clear.
- Use
the story arc to maintain player involvement. Unlike movies, games
are usually challenging tasks-relatively long ones at that. Frustrated
players often quit, and when they do, your game leaves a bad impression.
Cinematic scenes that lay out goals and hint at the overall shape
of your game hold player attention.
- Visual
clues: Unlike movies, it's important to regularize imagery. Moviegoers
accept it when an actor knows how to do something unusual, but when
called upon to perform the same action, a game player is easily flummoxed.
As a tiny example, if you need to press switches, drill player recognition
by making them all the same, or obviously similar. If you lay traps
for the player and exhibit warnings for one, exhibit warnings for
all.
- Organize
cinematic intervals organically within the structure of your game.
When a player has worked hard to achieve some goal, it's time to reward
him by revealing further goals. Try to weave gameplay and storytelling
together in a seamless whole for maximum involvement. Avoid the artificial
"book-end" method of placing scenes only at the beginning
and end of levels.
- Reserve
the most exciting moments of your game for interactive play and concentrate
your cinematics on story development.
- Economics
aside, pick your point of view by deciding on the nature of the player's
role: Is he playing himself, or filling the shoes of another character?
Use 1st person for the former, 3rd person for the latter.
- In
planning cinematic sequences, ask yourself what kinds of shots maximize
the dramatic impact of your scene, and then use them.
- Finally,
remember that players want to play, not watch. Even though the overall
game experience must be long, make your scenes as short as possible.
References
Film
Theory:
Katz,
Steven D.Film Directing: Shot by Shot. Michael Wiese Productions,
1991; ISBN 0-941188-10-8
Exhaustive
standard treatment of the language of film; excellent reliable source.
Katz,
Steven D. Film Directing: Cinematice Motion. Michael Wiese Productions,
1992; ISBN 0-941188-14-0
Advanced
case-study, problem-solving approach to staging and directing; also
excellent
Arijon,
Daniel. Grammar of The Film Language. Focal Press, London, 1982;
ISBN 0-240-50779-7
Film theory
in dazzling detail; aside from the slightly odd idea that film stories
must be told as alternating pairs, another excellent source
Grlic,
Rajko. How To Make Your Movie: An Interactive Film School Interactive
CD for Windows and Macintosh. Ohio University and Electronic Vision,
1998; www.interactivefilmschool.com
Film school
in a jewel box. No kidding. Deftly arranged as a point-and-click adventure
game, this is the most intelligently realized, most informative multimedia
production I have ever experienced.
Matching
The Movement U.S. Army Signal Corps Pamphlet, publication date unknown
Excellent
directing primer intended for military movie units. The discussion is
accurate, crisp, unambiguous, and concise. If you find a copy, grab
it!
Gaskill,
Arthur L. and Englander, David A. How To Shoot a Movie Story.
Morgan & Morgan, 4th Edition, 1985; ISBN 0871002396
The basics,
to be read along with other sources
Pudovkin,
Vsevolod Illarionovich Film Technique and Film Acting. Grove
Press, 1960; LOC 60-11104
Insights
into moviemaking by one who helped invent it; early and correct emphasis
on naturalism in cinematic acting
Reisz,
Karel and Millar, Gavin The Technique of Film Editing
Focal Press, 2nd Edition, 1995; ISBN 0240514378
The basics
of film editing revealed by a practitioner; ecellent introduction to
an important topic.
Murch,
Walter. In The Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing.
Silman-James Press, 1995; ISBN 1879505231
Murch
proposes that the cinematic structure of shots and cuts works because
the fluid experience of motion pictures resembles the psychological
experience of dreaming and paying attention; a thoughtful book by a
distinguished editor.
Movie
Lore:
Gorchakov,
Nikolai.Stanislavsky Directs. Proscenium Pub, 1985; ISBN 0879100516
The great Russian stage director closely observed by one of his students;
an excellent introduction to acting, directing, stagecraft. The discussion
of melodrama by itself is reason enough to own this book.
Biskind,
Peter. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How The Sex-Drugs-And-Rock 'N'
Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. A Touchstone Book, Simon &
Schuster, 1998; ISBN 0 684 85708 1
So they
didn't save Hollywood after all; so sue 'em. This book is still a good
read.
Goldman,
William. Adventures in the Screen Trade. Warner Books, 1983;
ISBN 0-446-37625-6
A famous
screenwriter's take on La-La-Land.
Bach,
Steven. Final Cut An Onyx Book, New American Library, 1985; ISBN
0-451-40036-4
A Hollywood
executive watches his studio, United Artists, sink under the weight
of Heaven's Gate while reading hundreds of screenplays in a desperate
attempt to mine movie gold from a mountain of paper.
Truffaut,
François. Hitchcock. Touchstone Books, Simon & Schuster,
1985; ISBN 0 671 60429 5
Informative
conversations with a famous director, conducted by another famous director
Crowe,
Cameron. Conversations with Wilder. Knopf, 1999; ISBN 037506603
More
informative conversations with another famous director, also conducted
by a director
Parrish,
Robert. Growing Up In Hollywood. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977;
ISBN 0-15-637315-7
About
the most entertaining memoir of the entertainment biz ever written;
a gem. If you want a glimpse of Hollywood at its most absurd and romantic,
with portraits of famous directors John Ford, Robert Rossen and Raoul
Walsh thrown in, read this book.
The Internet
Movie Database
www.imdb.com
When it
comes to the Kevin Bacon game or anything else about movies, trivial
or not, this is the place for facts and figures.
Hal Barwood is a filmmaker and game builder, with multiple published
credits. Among my films are Sugarland Express, Dragonslayer,
and Warning Sign. Among hisgames are Indiana Jones and the
Fate of Atlantis, Big Sky Trooper, and Indiana Jones and the
Infernal Machine. In addition, he directed the video sequences of
Rebel Assault II. Hal has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the
School of Cinema-Television at USC.
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