What Makes you Stop and Watch?

Everyone agrees it's the story that makes a movie stand out. This is especially true for independent movies where the story is not so easily hidden behind big budget Hollywood effects. But, when you are flipping through channels, what is it that makes you stop and look long enough to find out about the story?

Usually it's way the story is being presented - lighting, camera movement and the overall look of the picture. Generally, those visual clues are associated with a film production. That is not always the case. And with the tools that have been finding their way into the market over the past few years, it is becoming easier and easier to leave film behind and maintain that familiar look.

Focus Creates Attention

One of the more common of these visual clues is selective focus. That allows the director to guide the eyes of the viewer to a specific object or person on screen. By focusing on a person and allowing the background to go out of focus, the viewer's attention is naturally drawn to the part of the screen that is in focus - the person. In the case of two people having a conversation, the one that is in focus gets the attention.