Whether Photography or Feature Films: Drama is found in SIMPLICITY

Whether Photography or Feature Films:  Drama is found in SIMPLICITY!


Framing a shot is as much about removing things as it is about adding.
A minimalistic approach is often more powerful and more direct.
The first thing to do is to prioritise the parts of a scene that you find most interesting. Then
discover the composition and angle that emphasise that. Then kill everything else as much
as possible that doesn’t contribute. Like photography it’s a process of removing anything which distracts a viewer’s eye from that.  The simple and direct nature, the lack of clutter, the careful and instinctual placement of the (real-life) ‘actors’ in the frame is done by perfect timing. A moving image is treated slightly differently of course. Usually the timing and pacing of cinematography is as much done in editing afterwards as it is when shooting, but it is no less important. Also, camera movements can be timed to seek out what’s interesting and to defocus on what isn’t. An example would be a woman taking off her shoes in the
bedroom. The camera would pan down to reveal the manner in which she removes her shoes. Improvise and experiment with different takes and see which you like the best.

Look at the clip below from one of the most "Featured Films" when taking courses in Flimmaking  called "THE GODFATHER".  As you will see Francis Ford Coppola is the master of using SIMPLICITY to allow the Script, Actors and Cinematographer to create a dramatic mood necessary to film such epic scene such as this.

or in this scene from the Film: "A SCENT OF A WOMAN":

Dramatic content in front of the camera lens is not created by Computer graphics or something a director just stumbles upon. Dramatic content is one of the most difficult and time consuming things to achieve in filmmaking.  As with Life, drama is expressed correctly when it comes from a deep, truthful place that one can only find by allowing themselves to lay down inhibitions and fully go there.  It is found by Actors who can stretch themselves to find it, Cinematographers with the "gift" to catch it correctly through the cameras lens and a director smart enough to know that all the electronic tools in the world cannot take the place of  good 'ole fashioned heart felt performances.  So if you want to film a picture or a full length feature film that can touch the hearts of others and achieve a realistic dramatic quality, Be smart enough to realize one thing and one thing only: 

DRAMA IS SIMPLICITY and it's as simple as that!