Movies: Using the Setting
I normally don't like movies that are too plot-driven. They make you focus too much on the plot that it takes away from just enjoying the moment.
A story has plot, character, setting and theme. Great books are focused on characters. Great movies are focused on setting (imho). A movie can take advantage of the visual aspect of the setting in a way that a book can't. Meanwhile, books can use words to richly describe a character’s inner life in ways that movies can't. Usually, movies that try to get into the character's thoughts/emotions linger and risk being corny. That said, there are movies with well-developed characters and present them in a way that's entertaining for a movie.
I believe that what makes a good movie is using the setting to its full advantage. The key is having conversations in interesting locations (or places that have character), instead of using boring conversation shots over and over again (yes, that means you Gossip Girl and tons of other TV shows/movies that are guilty of this).
If I see something like this again, I'll literally go berserk.
1. Super 8 JJ Abrams is brilliant in this scene. By using a commonplace setting of one's childhood, he goes row by row of the 7-Eleven store while the characters are having their conversation. 7-Eleven might seem like an ordinary place but that's what characterizes that time period. Just like how we associate milkshake diners with the 50s and get all nostalgic about it (thanks Grease), JJ Abrams is romanticizing the shit out of 7-Eleven, making it look like an icon of the that time period. Someday, future generations might get nostalgic for 7-Eleven and our time period. JJ Abrams, you are a genius. Too bad this scene was deleted.
2. Easy A
Reading the script for Easy A, it seemed like a boring movie with the characters just talking, but the director made it entertaining by having the conversations in scenic locations, focusing on setting.
When talking about your life's problems, be sure to do it over a scenic hill in California.
Like Super 8, make an ordinary location seem interesting.
Why not have a scene at the pool? Keep it interesting.
3. Twilight
This scene, my favorite scene, wasn't in the book, but they added it in because it matched the essence of Twilight.
The prom scene was originally supposed to be in the gym, but Catherine Hardwick decided that was too “unromantic!” so prom outdoors in the gazebo it was. 
That is all.
The Blogger