Words With Impact: Honest Code: Resonance-Images

Workshop: Discover Words That Sing

“I suddenly understood that photography can fix eternity in a moment.”  Henri Cartier-Bresson

In later segments we’ll be looking at motifs in movies with a deeper conversation, but the resonance of images, whatever the form of art, also enables another insight into tapping into honest code of communication.

Looking at life close-up, or from a different perspective than everyday normal, can add a dimension of awe and wonder. The ordinary becomes mysterious. We begin to examine the intricacy of the moment. A snowflake, a sunrise, a fingerprint—all one of a kind in a world teeming with creation.

Studying a craft we fall in love with gives a lifetime of moments. Sometimes it becomes a vocation. A puzzle to solve—a medical breakthrough—a window into a person’s life or character—all breathing with hope and possibilities.

In the movie Hugo the young boy quietly and desperately tries to unravel the mystery of the automaton his father discovered. Its repair began as a mutual bond between them and now Hugo feels he must complete it as the last connection with his father. He is certain he will discover a message in it. He alternates between fascination and frustration as he applies his growing skill to unravel the mystery behind it.   

However the mystery is not his alone, but involves others and their personal stories. The circle widens. The mystery is not something fixable like his machine, but needs interpersonal healing of memories and new beginnings. When the answer finally comes it produces so much more than Hugo or his father or the automaton’s creator could ever imagine.

A message that gathers many moments and gives a glimpse of eternity’s awe.

 

What creative ability does your character turn to for discovery and study? How can the qualities of either the craft itself, or the skills your character uses, be implemented into your plot with words that open up a new discovery?

Action Steps: Movie Images

1. Choose two different movies from your personal favorites and watch the immediate opening of each with the sound on mute. What images stand out?

2. Re-watch with sound. What changes—if anything?

3. Read your opening scene as if it were a movie. What image would the camera capture?

4. Begin a habit of keeping a movie image journal.

Share: What emotional effect did you notice that you had not seen before?

Read deep, marcy