Film has been a major chunk of my life, before anything I was obsessed with the art of telling a story. I had the privilege to learn early on that storytelling is king. Always. It all started as a child fantasizing over characters going on space trips and transitioned on getting my first camera, a Canon g7x at the age of 15. From there I published several awarded short documentaries on some of the most interesting cities in the north of Italy, and, at 20 years old moved to the US to share my culture and further advance my career as a filmmaker. My goal with this piece is to give as much value as I possibly can through what I consider to be the leading factors to the success of the projects.
Let me repeat that again: Storytelling is always king.
The best ways to enhance it is through sound design, and not to be limited to overused sounds, but instead relate any addiotional sound to what is happening in the scene, the smallest thing will be picked up on a subconscious level by the viewer, taking them into a flow of sound and visual reel.
Emotion is just as crucial. Emotion being human and non, anything that is alive helps bringing ‘life’ to your scene. Think of how commercials hire models to be within the frame: anything that has a face and portraits emotion sells and should be used accordingly.
Just as important: create a seamless flow of things, something that I personally got from the awarded italian filmmaker Leonardo deAlessandri, was the use of speed ramps and alternating fast to slow, it allows great flexibility in post production on making a shot work despite it not necessarily being usable. Speed-ramps are fun, quick and creative friendly; a great combination to make things a little bit more spicy.
To recap these 3 key points:
- Targeted sound effects, helps to add context to a scene.
- Emotions work because they convey a message, and are relatable.
- Speed Ramps: Enhance visuals and favorite creativity.
Add these points to your next production for a guaranteed increase in engagement.
Elia Canu
Elia Canu was born in Trento, Italy in 1997. From a young age he was passionate about film and technology, and he would use countless hours educating himself on that.
At 15 years old he had reached YouTube success gathering an audience of about 10.000 followers on two different platforms. He has also published several awarded short showreel videos of some of the most famous cities in Italy. For the past years, he has been focusing on mastering the craft, and at 20 years old he decided to move to the United States to pursue his love for film and personal development.
