Article Response: "6 Ways You Can Use Simple Props to Make Your Films More Interesting"

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    One of the most important factors that goes into making any kind of film or video are the props. They help to set the mood of the environment in a certain scene - to make a small room seem larger (or vice versa), to turn the inside of a building into a forest of fake foliage, to make a fantasy world look realistic, to make a scene look more creepy, calming, depressing, humorous, etc. This article, written by V Renee, goes more in-depth with how props are absolutely necessary in order to make a film more interesting.

    After watching the video Renee shows us at the beginning of the article (made by Noah Yan), I had learned that a specific prop can be used for many different things, not just to make a scene look more realistic. They can be used for foreshadowing, metaphors, a symbol for something, a cutting point (aka, having a smooth transition from one scene to another by putting a prop in front of the camera), or it can take us back to a previous part in the movie to make it more sentimental and memorable. That's really interesting to me, because I had never really thought about it before. It's certainly something to write down for future reference !!

    Props can also be used to show a character's inner feelings, for example, the plastic bag in American Beauty. It shows how that character was feeling at the time, empty, possibly lonely and aimless. Another example would be if a character were to be playing with, let's say, a spinning top. This could represent their feeling of happiness or excitement, or that they're dazed over what's going on in their life, like the world is spinning around them. In addition, props can be used to describe someone's personality. If the script called for a scene in a teenage girl's bedroom, there would most likely be posters on the walls of the things they like, pictures of family and friends, their room could be messy or neat, depending on who they are.

    I really found this article interesting, because I love when movie directors use props and things to their advantage to convey a certain feeling or to show something. It makes the movie more engaging and original compared to other popular films.