Reading the Silver Screen: A Film Lover's Guide to Decoding the Art Form That Moves by Thomas C. FosterMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Like many people, after seeing a movie I am often drawn to learn more about how the movie was made, and how it made me feel the way it did. Be it a comedy or drama or something else, beyond entertainment, they beg many questions. I remember going to some talks about movies held by a local priest. I remember in those talks the priest said that everything in the movie was there for a reason, every shadow, every note of music, every product on a shelf in a scene. While I’m sure that’s overstating the case, people making movies are making the scenes, and they have control of many aspects, and can tell a story underneath the surface story. That’s what this book is about, at least in the second half. In the first half, Foster presents definitions of scenes, sequences, and so on. I didn’t find this part very interesting. After the definitions, Foster really meanders through the movies, examining many different aspects such as timing, music, color themes, and the like. For his examples, Foster uses many of the most popular movies of the past 50 years. I appreciated this, as I have seen many of these movies and could quickly grasp the concepts being presented. I found the audiobook interesting, like hanging out with a friendly guide.
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