Suspend your belief! This bit of film trickery is utilized to allow the director to inject and or alter many different types of shots which could add to the drama and make the movie more palatable to the viewer. The concept originated in the Greco-Roman theatrical concepts of the theater where the audience ignores the unreality of fiction to be able to experience catharsis from the actions and experiences of the actors. It’s when we hear the words Wheel of Fortune at the start of the show. I know the early audience who voiced these words have been long gone and no, Superman cannot fly.
It’s like when we see something blown up in a movie. Of course, when an explosion happens (In real life) it’s over pretty quickly. The director wishes to elongate the scene, to give it impact, so we see it from a few different angles. It never actually takes that long. One time I had a cup of coffee while waiting for the cinders to finally land.
What piques your curiosity about some of the obvious anomalies in the movies or TV media we see? For me, whenever there’s a driving scene, and the protagonist who’s driving, looks over at the passenger to make a point. How long would we all normally take (In real life) to accomplish that? Do we really even take our eyes off the road to speak? I don’t think so. Couldn’t be more than a second or two so we can get back to watching the road. It’s what keeps us alive! In many movies, that amount of time is often lengthened to fit the dialogue.
I don’t know how you feel about this time thing but after maybe two seconds, I start to get a little antsy while the scene unfolds. After three seconds my palms will start to sweat, waiting for the crash. I’m watching the driver calmly speaking while thinking, Whoa! This has gone on too long. They’re gonna crash! We know it’s a movie, but that fact doesn’t translate well to our psyche while it gives us the agita we can’t deny.
In the film industry it’s trying to see how much they can get away with. After two or more seconds of not looking at the road, my belief has certainly not been suspended.
When an actor is taking what should be filled grocery bags, from the car to the door and sets their ‘load’ on a table. Ever notice that these bags (Thanks to a prop master) look like there’s no weight to them? Why should the actor struggle with a heavy bag? C’mon, that’s life. They should be full but not up to the top! I don’t think that I have ever taken a bag of groceries home from Milam’s where stalks of celery or other groceries are sticking out of the top of the bag. They don’t fill them that much! Too heavy! And c’mon, how many bullets can a handgun hold? In some scenes, hundreds!
We’ve got to be aware that (In real life) people will want you to suspend your belief while shoveling some manure your way and hoping you’ll accept it as a sweet smelling bouquet.
