How the story is told is as important as what the story is about...

 I never really though about how much goes into filmmaking. There are so many components that are put together in a way that tells a story. The effectiveness of the storytelling varies, but it is a story nonetheless. 

Editing arranges shots into patterns that makes sense and communicate the message. The whole process is like a different language that communicates through images, angles, transitions, soundtracks, actors. Regarding camera placement, close-ups help up to feel more intimately connected to the experience than medium and long shots. Low angle shots exaggerate the character making it seem like they are dominant and powerful. Certain transitions like fade-ins and fade-outs can symbolize drifting in and out of consciousness and many other ideas. 

In art, we must look at the bigger picture as well. All art has implicit and explicit meaning. When watching my favorite movie, James Bond, I strongly appreciate the different techniques used to keep the the watcher interested and on the edge of their seat. The dramatic music, the many camera angles that a relevant to the scene, the juxtaposition of characters, scenery, objects, the lighting, and everything else that plays into making it the greatest movie of all time. However, there is a story being told, in the specific movie on it's own, that is a part of an even bigger story when the James Bond series is united together. (Spoiler Alert) It is a story of a boy with childhood trauma, who grows up without a motherly figure, who grows up to become a brilliant spy, who meets a woman and put all of his emotional energy into her, only for her to be stripped away, he sees his commander as a motherly figure, only for her to be stripped away as well, he then trusts no one, and then meets a woman and slowly begins to trust her only to be disappointed again...There is a repeating pattern that one must pay close attention to in order to catch the meanings and different stories that tie together. Cinema is truly amazing!