Roger Ebert’s essay introduced quite a few new ideas to me about filmmaking and the different methods that make it effective. His explanation on his “shot at a time” sessions was an interesting way to analyze film. Ebert describes that one does not need to be a film expert to effectively break down film. The method is to pause the film analyze wat is on screen. Ebert describes some of the general rules used in filmmaking and how they effect the consumer’s perspective on the film.

The video compiling clips from Stanley Kubrick movies using a one-point perspective gave an interesting view on the director’s reoccurring filmmaking choice. I never realized just how many scenes Kubrick shot with a fixed camera position capturing what is happening in the scene. It makes the watcher feel like a fly on the wall of the actual scene instead of just watching it on a screen. Kubrick also does a variation of this shot often where the camera will move like it is attached to a certain character or object to keep it in the same part of the frame. It makes it feel like the you are following the character through the scene.

Quinten Tarantino uses camera angles shot from below the subject of the frame. Most of the scenes in the compilation video are from a characters point of view that is in the truck of a car or looking down the barrel of a gun. They are usually dead or close to it. This camera angle brings a sense of hopelessness to the viewer about the character that the camera is taking place of. Other characters are often shown looking down at the camera and talking about the character that it is representing.

The story begins with a description of the cold wilderness that the main character is living in. It describes an eirie feeling and that the main character gets prepared to leave the trailer and go out into the cold and snowy woods. The main character challenges himself to move as quietly as possible through the snow until he hears something else outside with him. The character sees a deer that is described to be a once in a lifetime find, but something about it doesn’t seem right. The deer is eating a rabbit, which is not normal because deer only eat plants. The main character starts to run as he gets chased by the deer until he finds himself back at the trailer and stops right in front of it. He listens, then turns around and goes back into the woods as the story ends.

Glynn Washington, the host of the Spooked Podcast, uses many of the audio techniques that are explained in the earlier parts of this unit. The main one that stuck out to me was his pacing of his voice. He speaks slowly and takes a lot of pauses which creates tension and suspense as the story is told. The pauses also make it seem like he is actually telling the events from memory as if they happened. It makes the story seem much more genuine because it takes a second to think about the details of what happened.

The music and sound effects that are included in the story also contributed to the overall spooky feel of the story. It starts off with some slow jazzy music because there is not a lot of tension at the beginning. However, as the story continues, the music quiets and turns to more suspenseful sound effects. The background effects get more intense as the story does. It peaks as the main character is getting chased. There are sound effects of the monster chasing the main character with spooky suspenseful music. At the end, it is silent except for Washington’s voice because to make the listener focus on the twist ending. The silence after all the dramatic suspenseful sounds makes it seem like there is more to the story but then it comes to an abrupt end.

Ira Glass gave a point of view on storytelling that I’ve never really thought of before. I have always noticed the effects that audio has on a story, but I did not realize the full depth and the importance. The way Glass explained things by using examples was a good way to show the significance of how something is said or heard.

Ira’s explanation on anecdote is something I’ve never thought about but makes sense when hearing it. He explains that anecdote is just a series of actions strung together to make a story. That didn’t make a lot of sense to me until Glass gave an example, and then it clicked. He told a story that had no purpose, plot, or really any meaning at all. However, Glass told it in a way that keeps the listener hooked because of the descriptive words he used along with the speed and intonation.

Another main part of storytelling that Glass explains is the moment of reflection. Good stories need both anecdote and reflection for them to have good meaning. Many stories have great anecdote, but it means nothing because there is either weak or no reflection at all on the events that took place.

Glass also had a unique take on finding good stories and what it takes to do so. He explains how failure to find good stories is expected and necessary to be successful. It is trial and error and success by numbers. If you find five bad stories you might get lucky and find one that is good and makes the other five worth it.