"Gah! No! It's not a villanelle! It's a poem!"

He was actually right. My humanities professor was right. I didn't think he'd be wrong, because I've had previous experience to support his statement. I can still be awestruck and indignant that he was right, though. He said that after learning about all the techniques used in movies, we would be unable to watch a movie and simply enjoy it. We would analyze it to death.

So here I am, watching my Harry Potter music videos and, out of the blue, "Hey! That's a dissolve! It's sort of like a fade, except without the black screen inbetween. It momentarily leaves a superimposed image. It connects the scenes, makes it fluid, and also has cool emotional effects. That tracking shot as Harry and Hermione rush to hug each other puts the focus on them, as everything else is completely blurred out as the camera movies alongside Hermione. The blurring also creates the illusion of incredible speed as they fly eagerly into each other's arms. Nice high-angle long shot of the scene where Hermione and Harry are sitting in the snow together and Ron's standing about thirty feet away, on the outside looking in. One shot conveyed that. Here the camera trembling gives us familiar physical association to the amount of power emanating from Harry as he summons a Patronus. That panning high-angle shot was done at a moment when Harry was feeling very weak and vulnerable; it allows us to take in the Forbidden Forest's gloomy mood along with and enhancing his. A rack focus and a tracking shot are combined to draw attention to Harry's hasty retreat, even though Trelawney is making little motions in the background. Here we use a shot from directly in front of the characters, along with a tracking shot, to give the action a very intense feel as they rush about, dodging the Womping Willow. Had it been a long shot, the action would seem much more calm and strategic. It also gives us ample opportunity to see them hold hands as they dodge." It goes on and on.

This happened with Music Theory, with AP Literature, with the Hero's Journey, with Physics, with orchestra.... with everything, in fact, that allows for analysis of methods or patterns. We all have this tendency. As we understand more of the basic principles, we begin using that knowledge to understand the applications we see. As we understand the application, we can use it to create or plan our own works. And this isn't just for music, books, and videos. It goes for anything. Emotion, cognitive processes, history.

So what am I trying to say? Nothing, really. I'm just reiterating something that we all knew already. But you have to admit, it's freaking cool when first happens to you with a particular medium.

~Paul