Mastering the Message
The message is the most important thing in storytelling. If you are an advertiser, you grab and retain an audience that your client or product speaks to. If you are a politician, your messages captivate and hold the votes of the people who hear your message. If you are a scientist, explaining your discovery and what it means for other discoveries, is key to furthering your research.
Most of the time, those who receive the messages, the audience, often have a skewed idea of what it is, or even a completely original thought of their own. The point is, they retained something in the message, something they value enough to remember. The ability to control a range of what emotions are received by the audience is attainable and effective. This mechanism can often be missed or lost when collaborating and meeting a deadline, and thus we end up with a message of mediocre quality. In order to concisely integrate the element of subconscious and subliminal motivation within our messages, we must master the ability in our individual form.
NoFilmSchool's Jon Fusco wrote an article where he points out leading elements in creating an opening scene. He puts the spotlight on a video essay by Patrick (H) Willems, which breaks down elements that are present within the fantastic opening scene of The Matrix.
This is a phenomenal and quick video to view. It makes you think about the subconscious elements which play into the perception of how we might receive what is on screen. The subliminal element of storytelling, the control of what the audience knows or does not know, is essential across all forms of media, from small messages or advertising images to commercials and long form film.
Discerning the simple, yet delicately placed elements helps us all to reflect on the stories we are telling and how we are going about it. Respectively identifying these mechanisms in a campaign or project will yield a higher quality within the content.
