Clocks in Movies

Greetings Dear Reader,

Those who know me well know that I enjoy movies greatly.  There is something about stories well told on a large screen that draws me into the tale in a unique way.  A good movie serves as both an escape and an experience that energizes my creativity.

There is not a singular genre that I prefer.  I can get lost in an adventure or imagine the fantastic.  I can laugh or cry as necessary.  What matters to me is that the story is told well. 

I have seen my share of bad movies.  I have seen productions that had potential but were badly cast, filmed, or edited.  I have seen movies that were too predictable or so disjointed that the story was hard to follow.  I have only left a bad movie once.  There are times I wish I had left but held onto hope for too long.

Even though movies bring me great joy there is something that drives me crazy.  You see, every movie has a guy or gal who is responsible for continuity in each scene.  They are supposed to make sure that coffee cups are in the same place from cut to cut.  This person assures that the stunt double stands and looks like the actor.  This is the person who makes sure that there is not the distraction of a toothbrush jumping between the right and left hand just because they had a cut.

The thing I notice the most in these is when the clocks are not right.  So often an actor is delivering lines with a clock in the background.  The shot will shift to the individual being addressed and then back.  The clock in the background will have jumped ahead an hour during a single sentence.  Sometimes it will move backwards in time.  This is one of those things that is completely preventable and too often ignored.  It can ruin the entire movie for me at times.

But then again the problem is me.  It is my fault if I let that single fault detract from a great story or adventure.  It is my fault if I focus on the error and not the artistry of the entire film.  I do this in life as well.

Too often I allow small things that do not matter to derail my joy in life.  It is completely my responsibility to look past the small things to the things that truly matter.  If I derail my joy by majoring in minors then I am harming myself and others.  I need to see the beauty of the adventure that is life and let the clocks sort out as they will.  The journey is too short to be lost in the details.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."