Conventions and Techniques: 13. Providing and Withholding Information

Nick McCabe

Films must contain a story, either one that entertains or informs and in these stories are sub-stories. With each story there is a certain point in the film where it gives out information or withholds information to manipulate the audience's perception. For instance, in the film 'The Sixth Sense', Bruce Willis' character is perceived alive although it’s not until the end that the audience realise that he was dead, forcing the audience to watch it again to put the pieces together. Christopher Nolan is a director who often hides information for a while before revealing it towards the end, such as in 'Inception', where at the end the audience finds out who the woman is and what part she plays within the story, in the beginning perceived as a bad person but realising at the end that she is a bit psychotic but not evil. Non-linear is the style used to show scenes out of chronological order, the audience are given glimpses of different times; either from the beginning or the end.