Plot, aesthetic, characters

[Thunderbringer]

Aesthetic > Characters > Plot

And regarding characters, I prefer character interaction over character development (better yet if the character interactions help to develop the characters).

 

[Rail Tracer]

Cohesive, I am generally a
Plot>Characters>Aesthetic type of person. But all three lend a hand with one another...especially for a visual art-form. If it is going to be a book, Plot and Character is the most important... while Aesthetic would just be something I make up myself.

 

[gmanyo]

I think that different mediums also operate differently. I think books do better with plot or characters, whereas video games do much better with aesthetic than anything other story-based medium. Music and pictures are almost 100% aesthetic (although you can include stories in paintings or photos or lyrics). I enjoy movies because they do well in all three areas.

 

[LucidLegend1984]

I'm not sure you quite understand what is meant by "aesthetic". The Star Wars prequels, in my opinion, have total shit aesthetic. I guess I almost mean "atmosphere" more than aesthetic. Avatar was good looking aesthetically, kind of. But it was conventionally good looking and boring. I would almost say that it was kitsch. Also, I think that bad plot and characters can ruin an otherwise good aesthetic (there are some movies which are better with the sound off). On the other hand, good characters and plot can enhance the aesthetic. And vice versa, I think. They all influence each other.

Aesthetic, in my opinion, is definitely the most important. Otherwise, lyric-less music would be pointless.

Well according to the Dictionary Aestheic(s) is of something valuable or artistic and is pleasing to the eyes. So Aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder. I was under the impression that aesthetics were the "look" of the film. For example older cowboy movies, not the biggest budget as far as costumes and makeup but there are some good characters and a good plot. These movies don't "look" good but people who like them dismiss the aesthetic viewing value an put their own high value based on the characters and the plot.

Which brings me to the newer Star Wars, I thought those things looked great, I also got wood on the look of LOTR trilogy, HOWEVER I fell asleep on both movies because the plot and/or the characters were people I could not identify with nor give a crap about (there is a difference). Transformers are another example of big budget high end graphics/aesthics. I still don't know what the Transformers plot actually is and LaBeof* couldn't act his way out of a paper bag, but the film looks really good.

I hope these examples help out in my definition of Aesthics.

 

[Kurt.Is.God]

aes·thet·ic/esˈTHetik/
Adjective:
Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.
Noun:
A set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement.

I still don't think it's visuals. I think the aesthetic might actually be how the "concept" I described earlier is carried out--it's how the concept subliminally (or maybe not) permeates the work--the "mood" of a work. The cardboard thin characters and the pulpy plot might all lend to the aesthetic. Shitty visuals can actually lend to an aesthetic, I think--this would be the case if I were shooting an homage to Westerns. On the other hand, the first Star Wars, I think, is tacky alien worlds with no theme behind it.

 

[Kurt.Is.God]

Just had a thought last night: for me, music and visual arts require less "thematic" content than books, comics, games, and movies. All my favorite music is quite "theme-heavy" and lend themselves toward a very strong aesthetic, but for me, it's more important that they have good rhythms and melodies and tones (for music) or good forms and colors (for art). I can like them a lot if they only have these things. Games are special--they can excel with ONLY good gameplay, or they can be ONLY immersive, or they can be both. If they're immersive, it's because they pull of a certain aesthetic theme well. If a movie or a game only has good visuals which don't contribute toward the theme, though--if it's just a pretty lights show--then I have a hard time liking it.