How can you emotionally connect with your audience through your film's message?

Emotions are universal. The most successful and remembered movies/films are the ones that hit a chord with human emotions and do not need a lot of words to express themselves. Your audience no matter what age group they fall into are at the end going to respond to something that is emotionally connecting with them, so the right mix of emotions with smart cinematography can do the magic. Don't overdo it and make it like melodrama but make sure it starts a conversation, the right films are remembered when people know what it made them feel.

Movies are always about telling a story. That means you’re communicating through both visuals and sound - as well as nuanced elements like tone, color and character. Put together in the right balance, your story can be much richer than what is possible through the printed word or the still photograph.

I'd say start from what you find to be true and what comes from your heart. Never try to write based on what you think the audience would like when you don't feel it yourself. Your authenticity will resonate with the audience and your falseness will alienate them. When I write comedy, my yardstick is, am I laughing? If I'm laughing, writing it, chances are, the audience will laugh watching it. Same goes for every other emotion.

Knowing your audience entails respecting them, recognizing that they are not toddlers who need to be fed in bits and pieces. Audiences like to see not tell, they want to decode why a certain character(s) behave the way they do.

To emotionally connect with your audience through your film's message, focus on storytelling elements that resonate on a personal level. Develop relatable characters facing universal challenges. Craft a compelling narrative that evokes empathy & engages viewers emotionally. Use music, cinematography, & visual aesthetics to enhance the emotional impact of key moments. Incorporate authentic dialogue & genuine performances to create a sense of realism. Address themes that tap into shared human experiences, fostering a deeper connection. Consider the cultural & social context to make your message universally meaningful. By combining these elements, you can create a film that emotionally resonates & leaves a lasting impact on your audience.

Un thème personnel et non pas universel peut aussi être choisi et présenter un grand intérêt pour de nombreuses personnes. Un thème universel sera plus populaire évidemment mais moins original. Et il est important de faire découvrir des nouveaux sujets de réflexion ou d’inspiration au public.

A mentor once told me that there are only seven themes in the world - originality is how we take that theme, weave in the unique insight, the memorable characters and how we execute it - therefore all themes are universal. A story without a defined theme is rudderless.

There's always one or several themes underlying a story. As you're building it, these themes will reveal themselves to you, be patient. Don't try to rush a specific theme into a story because it will turn out artifical and not believable. The more clear is your vision about the whole stoy, the easier will be to identify these threads of themes and boost them with clarity and sense in your writing process. If you're a planner type of writer, then outlining your story will be invaluable for this process. If you're a pantser, then trust your instincts, but look always for clues for clarity on how to express your vision.

Niels Pagh Anderson, a documentary editor emphasized in his book, Order in Chaos and during his masterclass that Film is an emotional experience over time, where each image colors the next and where information is added to what we have already learned in order to create connections and logic. One takeaway I had was making sure I nail the direction with the following questions - WHO is this story about; who are the main characters; who are the secondary characters? - WHAT will this film be about; what is its theme; what is at stake? - WHERE does this film take place; what is the physical framework? - WHY is it important for the viewer to see this film?

Authenticity is a major key to being relatable and connective with an audience. We have experiences,those experiences lend to our representative-when we are standing in our truth trust what you deliver to your audience.

In the realm of filmmaking, the beauty lies in the emotional journey rather than a didactic message. When crafting a film, the goal is to let the audience organically discover and internalize the underlying themes. Instead of explicitly stating a message, immerse viewers in a world where characters, images, and sounds become vehicles of emotion. By evoking genuine feelings, you create a more profound impact, allowing the audience to reflect and interpret the narrative on a personal level. It's about the experience, the visceral connection that transcends mere storytelling. ???? #FilmmakingPhilosophy #EmotionalJourney #LetThemFeel ??

Con frecuencia se dice que en una película hay que contar las cosas tres veces para que el público las entienda. Yo matizaría que hay que contarlas de tres maneras distintas (como mínimo). Por ejemplo, utilizando el color del vestuario, el decorado, la luz, la posición del personaje en el plano, etc. etc. Estas sutilezas no serán percibidas por el espectador de manera consciente pero sin duda contribuyen a que entienda (o no) el mensaje que queremos comunicar.

Film is a visual medium. It needs to entice the eyes first. Show not tell is more important now than ever before in the age of digital. Because we start watching videos on mute first. If the visuals don’t win over the eyes first you’ve lost the audience. If they are suitably intrigued the sound is switched on and the auditory and kinesthetic (feelings) come into play.

The beauty of visual narratives is that they invite, engage, and immerse the audience into a world that is a reflection of reality or so imaginative that it becomes a reality in our heads. How incredible is that space to create connections, foster empathy, and conflict, give hope, and sometimes shake things up, as a filmmaker? Most of the time, our audience is smart, they are perceptive and know what the story might be, it is our duty as filmmakers to justify that story, their time, and how it unfolds. Visuals serve as witnesses and build evidence over time. Our association with the story and with our audience is that world we all are co-creating, with endless possibilities of interpretations.

In real life people often hide their emotions because of pride, fear, culture etc. a character merely saying ‘I am angry’ has nowhere near the impact of clenched knuckles on a napkin.

Je préfère insister sur la notion de suspense qui tient le public en attente d’un dénouement ou d’une révélation. Les conflits ou les drames sont des éléments qui peuvent créer de la surprise et de l’intensité mais pas forcément du suspense. Et il y a plein de possibilité pour le suspense sans passer par le conflit. Note sur l’importance des personnages : les conseils ci-dessus peuvent s’appliquer aussi au film documentaire. Il s’agira alors de personnages réels et le réalisateur / la réalisatrice fera des choix dans leurs situations réelles pour construire sa narration avec des éléments de suspense grace aux choix de montage.

I agree with everything that it was told here. I would add just another word, that might be similar to conflict and tension, but it is actually something more. TRANSGRESSION. There’s a difference between creating conflict and tension, which can be done with some negative beats in your story, and being transgressive. The best authors are transgressive, they want to question widely accepted values and generalizations. The world doesn’t need another genre film “this-is-jaws-and-interstelar-in-space”. Ask yourself if your story has TRANSGRESSION in it. The greatest playwrights and screenwriters always start from that.

Characters embody lived or anticipated real-life experiences, acting as mirrors for the audience's own journeys. The magic lies in allowing viewers to recognize themselves in the character's odyssey. A character shouldn't be flawlessly perfect or entirely flawed throughout the film; life is a blend of both. To engage the audience authentically, characters should navigate the ebb and flow, balancing the highs and lows of a vivid and relatable life structure.

The audience needs to see some aspect of themselves in the characters. Without conflict or tension there is no reason for the audience to keep watching. The conflict can be communicated with drama or humour. The latter can be used with great effect too. And it is conflict that will lead to resolution or a satisfying closure of the story loop.

Creating characters that the audience loves, and at the same time hate. It creates an emotional awakening of (questioning) their own issues in life (love and hate).

Cela contredit un peu le point 3 donc l’action souhaitée sera plut?t montrée dans le film que explicitement formulée à la fin. Mais pour des films institutionnels ou de plaidoyer, on voit souvent un message explicite en fin de film pour clarifier l’intention initiale. Il faut cependant se souvenir que sur les réseaux sociaux très peu de gens regardent les films jusqu’à la fin. Le nombre de vues indiqué sur la plate-forme correspond au visionnement pour les 2 ou 3 premières secondes du film !

An ideal call to action is one that is communicated in an unexpected way yet is a natural end. It needs to be pithy, memorable and motivating. If it is preachy or by the way the entire message will be discarded.

It crucial in YouTube videos to have a compelling CTA to engage and guide viewers. Can Invite comments to foster community interaction and gather feedback. Promote related videos to keep them within your content ecosystem. Drive traffic to your website or social media platforms for additional engagement. Consider offering exclusive content or promotions for subscribers. Crafting a clear and inviting CTA enhances viewer interaction, fostering a stronger connection and encouraging ongoing participation with your channel.

An ending that evokes a visceral reaction from your audience works well. Apply the "So-What / Now-What" element. Meaning SO, you convinced me to sit through your film... NOW, what am I supposed to do with the experience? Often this step can be in the gray area, where the ending is up for interpretation.

I think a black or white screen of credits in the end of a movie can be a place for audiences to think about what they've watched, their unique experience of the film, and how the movie will affect their lives after this.

Too much of any one emotion lessens the impact. Drama without comedy is not as dramatic. Horror without levity is not as scary. Lull your audience into a different sensation and then hit them again, and the impact will be stronger.

As (most probably) Samuel Goldwyn opined, “If you want to send a message, use Western Union.” Do the Mona Lisa or Beethoven’s 7th Symphony send messages? They may inspire emotional responses or catalyse philosophical pondering, but do they send a specific message? Just because fiction films can be propaganda, need they always be burdened with passing on a homily or persuading us to adopt some particular perspective? Arguably those films that eschew such a reductive mission - eg those of Kubrick or Lynch - remain endlessly fascinating, (depending upon one’s taste), whereas those trying to bludgeon us into agreement soon pale. That’s not to say the filmmaker shouldn’t have a worldview, but should its communication be their main goal? ??x0.5

Always tell a story that the audience can relate to; give them hope. Give them something to think of and ways they can share what they learnt with others.

When creating a story, I have found success in reverse engineering the project. Start with identifying something that the distributor or financier needs. Then build what they want. When asked, "What am I producing next?", my inner voice replies, "the one that's getting funded".

USE OF SOUND EFFECTS Sound is absolutely key in conveying emotion in film. A filmmaker needs the right skills, creativity, and attention to evoke the right emotions through sound. Having the right sound or even no sound helps make a film that stays with the audience. You can use sound effects to immerse your audience. A normal scene of someone sitting on a bench will become cheerful if the sounds of passing chattering families or children are heard from afar, or it can become suspenseful if we hear the sound of thunder in the distance etc.