Style and Film Form seen through David Bordwell and Kirstin Thompson:

Form engages the viewer, and the distinctive patterns of technique we find in a film constitute its style, along with artistic decisions. Patterns of technique work within the film’s overall form, shaping the effects the film has on the audience. Tastes, fashion, dominant trends and stylistic norms all influence the restraints whilst making a film. Many filmmakers let stylistic elements cooperate to show different story lines and locations, yet mise-en-scene allow us to keep track of the shots, and when they occur. The filmmaker may discover significant patterns in the process of making the film. The task then leads to ways that enhance those patterns in a way that will give the audience a specific experience. The audience tends to create expectations about the style within a film, and like other kinds of expectations, stylistic ones come from both our experience of the world and our experience to the film and other media elements. A director’s job is not only to direct the cast and crew, but also the audience’s attention, which shapes our reactions to the film. The filmmaker’s technical decisions affect what we perceive and how we respond. Filmmaker’s deliberately design the film style to create parallels or underscore developments in the drama. Style is a subtle sense of narrative progression. Style is connected to the emotions and meaning that the film empresses, and it readjusts the story information, guiding the viewer’s knowledge every moment. Each and every filmmaker has their own style in cinema, and this course is sending us i the direction to find out for ourselves what our own individual style is.

Research: ‘Film Art: An Introduction’ by Borwdell, D and Thompson, K.