(2024 Nellie Wong Magic of Movies Essay Contest)
A JOURNEY IN FILMMAKING
What makes a good film? Is it the eager expectation that makes the audience hush as the lights dim and the film begins? Is it the intricate weave of the plot itself or the artistry of how the film was created? After my experience watching Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, I now have a better idea of what truly makes a film great. The film drew the audience in with its varying camera angles, from aerial shots to camera views in the sea. The videography perfectly complemented the heartwarming story of a man in Scotland learning about the delicate balance of when and when not to interfere with nature. Yet as I reflect on my experience in that theater, I realize that he wasn’t the only one to learn a thing or two. The film taught me, as well, when I looked past the basic plot into how the film was created.
I’m part of a scouting group, and this year, I earned the Cinematography badge. Before I had earned the badge, I had already been interested in photography; during hikes around the various ecosystems of the Bay Area, I enjoyed taking pictures of birds, wildlife, and scenery; and on a recent trip to Europe, I took many photos of different cityscapes, castles, and canals there. While completing badge requirements at the same time, I learned a little bit more about the video side of using a camera as I made a short video about my scouting group, tried creating different sound effects, and paid special attention to special effects in a live-action movie that I watched.
Because of what I had learned from the badge, I watched Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story with a little more attention to the effects than I would normally. I wondered when Billy had thought to make his story into a documentary and who had been behind the camera when he stood in the vicious wind as icy waves crashed against the rugged Scotland coast. Who was in the office with him as he worked? Which part of the documentary was reenacted with Molly later on, like when he first met her eating crab on the dock, and what portion was recorded as the events unfolded? I believe that some of these unanswered questions are marks of a good film because they make the audience ponder these questions, whether they be about the filmmaking process or the plot itself, long after the lights come on and they return to their homes.
A good film makes its audience want to know more, to think about the story after it ends, and Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story does just that. Part of the excitement of a story is when the viewer ties up some of the loose ends for himself or herself, because when he or she interacts with the story, the story somehow becomes more personal, more important. This film made me think a little more about my own hobby of photography/videography, and when a film teaches me and makes me think while having a great plot, then it’s everything a film should be.