shakespearemom

Today, for the first time, I watched Twilight. I’d read the books, and though I’m not the fan so many of my friends are (after all, I am a bit old), and although I would call neither the books nor the film amazing, I found one absolutely brilliant aspect to the film. 

So many films do this wrong when they translate a book into a movie. The plot may remain about the same, the characters stay consistent, but the mood of the film changes. What is mood? 

Good question. Wikipedia doesn’t even answer it (not yet, at least)… but it’s a feeling, blended from the setting, lighting, music, vocal resonance of actors, and the list goes on. And I’m a fan of films–even not so great films–that hold a mood all the way through. 

Honestly, most films don’t. Moulin Rouge had flashes of genius, and its “Roxanne” scene may be one of the best scenes ever put on film, but the film itself doesn’t keep its focus. In my opinion, the first forty minutes of it are pretty horrid. The frenetic cuts of film, the attempts to make what is going on funny (and none of it achieve actual humor), the odd twists that add nothing to the tone set at the very beginning of the film–all of this works against what I think the point of the film is.

But I’m not writing just to pick on Moulin Rouge. Despite its weaknesses, it has some brilliant scenes. Overall, though, its mood fails. Other films have the same problem: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Australia, Titanic, and many older films come to mind, but the list is too extensive for me to name.

Twilight manages to get that right, at least. Part of it is the setting–a dimly lit world from the overcast Northwest (an area I’m particularly fond of, since I live only a few hours from Forks). But the music plays a huge roll in the mood of the work–highlighting the softer, foreboding moments, mirroring the other elements pretty seamlessly. Firelight, a film I’ve used in composition classes, has a similar focus, primarily created through lighting, setting, and music (though the music does get a bit obvious, especially after several viewings). 

Now, in writing, the mood must also be created, but writers don’t have the same opportunities to use other media to help create it. All we have is words, yet those words serve to create the setting,  the dialogue (making word choice crucial at every point), and even the music of the piece (yes, you know from poetry that words are musical, too). 

So, what mood are you creating in your work? Does it follow through the whole piece? Where does it falter? Where does your novel not keep its focus?

Tomorrow I’ll give you an exercise to create mood. Be ready.

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