[Essay] Through the Storytelling Glass

Using your Eye as a Camera

My mom sat beneath the amber light at our breakfast table, fidgeting with a cut-open envelope and her shoulders were tense. My brother furrowed his eyebrows and oscillated like a pendulum in the background between the unlit dining room and lit breakfast table. An obvious tell when something is on his mind. Though I knew what was coming, instead my eye caught something more interesting. 

Story In Filmmaking: 

In filmmaking, there’s a term called “blocking”. 

It’s when you tell the actors to stand and move in particular ways to fit the scene. For example, if there’s a discussion between two people where one person knows more info than the other, you’d place the person who knows the most in a specific spot –say a well-lit area– while placing the other person in the literal dark. And that’s what I was seeing unfold before me. 

Like The Departed where Leo (left) is in the dark while Jack Nicholson is in the light

Story in Life: 

I use my eyes the way a filmmaker uses their camera: to understand the story in front of me. 

My mom sat enveloped by the honey-colored light above her head while my brother was shrouded in darkness. She knew more and was in the light while my brother was in the dark. Nothing about their conversation changed except my perspective which gave a deeper meaning to it. 

Viewing life through a storytelling lens–as a filmmaker would– enhances the most mundane moments. 

Rain puddles become swirling oceans of color and dirt. Calm summer evenings become quiet concerts of Nature’s percussionists. Your mood elevates when the music lines up with what’s happening in the moment. It’s taking something normal and giving it a deeper meaning. 

And like all good stories, each plot point foreshadows a larger arc. 

An icy breeze passes through the restaurant as people enter, but I’m not cold. I’m surrounded by friends. It’s the first time in almost a decade everyone is at the same table. I notice what traits they’ve kept, new interests they’ve cultivated, and the change they’ve endured. The hesitation to ask for a drink and the restraint to talk bad about someone who isn’t here are results from the choices they’ve made despite what’s happened.

When you view life through a Storytelling Lens, the more you realize events don’t matter as much as the choices. 

Choices make characters compelling. Each choice moves the character forward in their story, towards growth. A storytelling lens gives you introspective powers to help you recognize how your choices create your character arc. 

No matter how the events of a story turn out, all good stories have character growth.

It all comes down to choice.