Research: Boyhood

     As I have been doing research by watching other films to study traits and techniques that I could use within my production, I decided to watch Boyhood (2004), directed by Richard Linklater. Although the film does not technically fall within my genre, this indie film contains plenty of vital techniques that I could mimic within my film opening.
     Boyhood contains many scenes in where there is a relationship between a male and a female. Since the movie was filmed throughout 12 years utilizing the sane characters, the director did not have much screen time to overly develop the relationship that either the mother or the main character, Mason Evans, Jr. However, the viewer does have some background knowledge on the characters and is able to understand the conflict between a relationship, even though no relationship within the movie is overly emphazised, by the way the director portrays each character by their very limited dialogue and specific actions mentioned during screen time.
     Mason Evans, Jr. is the character whom the audience mostly hears dialogue from, since he is, of course, the main character. Even though he does not share too much dialogue, since he is presented as having an extraordinary personality, who nearly questions every aspect about life, with very little dialogue spoken from his mouth, the viewer is able to understand this character through specific word choice and dialogue chosen and typical behaviors used by Mason.
     This is the challenge that I must complete within my film, in order for it to be a successful opening. The art of saying a lot by not saying much at all is a skill that I must do and will continue to research on in order to reach my maximum potential.


Boyhood Poster. Digital image. IFC Boyhood. N.p., n.d. Web.