The main thing that I learned from editing is that most people, when they're making a film, they start too early into the story. They will try to set up the characters, they will try to establish things before the plot actually starts.
Interpretation
Effective storytelling requires engaging the audience before delving into the details.
This quote by Steven Zaillian emphasizes the importance of pacing in storytelling, particularly in film. It suggests that many filmmakers make the mistake of introducing characters and backstory too early in the narrative, which can detract from the overall impact of the plot. Instead, Zaillian highlights the idea that a strong narrative should capture the audience's attention before unveiling the intricacies of characters and their backgrounds.
In practice
This quote can be used in a film workshop to emphasize good storytelling techniques.
Reinforced concrete buildings are by nature skeletal buildings. No noodles nor armoured turrets. A construction of girders that carry the weight, and walls that carry no weight. That is to say, buildings consisting of skin and bones.
In terms of helping people understand and know each other a little better, music is universal - universal and transporting.
A memoir is always the most authentic telling of a situation, but a novel gets to different places.
By being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one.
Music embodies feeling without forcing it to contend and combine with thought, as it is forced in most arts and especially in the art of words.
The wonderful thing about the cartoon form is it's a combination of words and pictures. You don't have to choose, and the contribution of the two often winds up being greater than the sum of its parts.
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