Actual ways to make your audience feel something

We all know the key to a memorable sequence is telling a story that moves our audience.

But when I was starting out, achieving this felt abstract. Sometimes I’d get it right on intuition or luck, but I didn’t know what tools to leverage or how to do it consistently.

So I’m gonna break down the 4 things in a scene that drive story and emotion, and what that means for how we craft our sequences.

First: Dialogue

We’ll get this one out of the way because it’s the obvious one.

Dialogue does a lot of heavy lifting. Through the words our characters say, we get exposition (background information the audience needs to understand the story) and we get to see their perspective, which lets us know who our characters are so we can put ourselves in their shoes.

Good writing reveals information about the world and plot by hiding it inside dialogue.

Second: Expressions

This is my favorite one to teach because most people don’t understand it, especially with action scenes.

Remember this: In the absence of dialogue, we can only rely on a character’s expression and body language to know how they feel about what’s going on.

And in order to see their expression, we have to see their face.

I say that because a huge mistake I see is people either staying too wide when they should be tight, or shooting profile instead of in front of the actor where we can see both eyes and the majority of the face. Worst of all is when it’s both.

When we’re wide, we’re too far away to read nuance in the face. When we’re profile, expressions hardly read at all because we’re missing half the face.

Most expression (in good acting at least) is done through the eyes. It’s subtle, so we need as much information as we can get. This is why the close up exists.

A good rule of thumb in action: Something happens and we’re wide. Then we go close (frontal, not profile) to understand how our character feels about what just took place. Back wide to see something else happen. Back close to understand how they feel.

A lot of people shooting action default to profile because it gives the biggest sense of opposition. And when you’re establishing opposition, profile can work. But after that point, we need to know how our characters are feeling, which is shown best from the front.

Profiles are for when a character is facing something. Close ups are for when a character is feeling something.

Third: Camera Movement

I’m gonna do a whole video about different camera moves and what they mean, but camera movement, when done right, emphasizes the present emotion.

When a scene is tense, pushing in increases that tension.

When a character walks into a room and looks shocked, pulling out reveals what they’re seeing.

When the camera moves above a character and tilts down, they feel small.

When the camera moves down and tilts up, they feel like a hero or menacing.

These moves subconsciously tell the viewer what to feel. A way to internalize this: watch a favorite movie and analyze what camera moves are happening and what you’re feeling at that point.

Fourth: Music (or Lack of It)

This is a big one. And the easiest way to immediately set tone.

Music literally tells our audience what to feel.

A somber orchestra tells us this is a sad scene. A driving rhythm tells us things are tense or action is coming. Eerie sound design tells us something is to be feared. No music at all can emphasize discomfort and give a sense of rawness.

Music choice can make or break your scene.

Putting It Together

When one tool is absent, the others have to be as accurate as possible to maintain impact.

No dialogue? Facial expressions become critical. Camera moves emphasize those expressions. Music layers the feeling throughout.

No characters at all? Camera movement and music set the tone for an establishing shot or environment. Think a slow push in on an ominous house with a creepy score.

Black screen? Intro credits, titles? Music can still tell us what to feel and what we’re in for.

Being able to break things down like this is a skill that is essential if you want to be an effective storyteller.

I hope it helps,

Caleb