Damn good point George!

I have to say I'm beginning to feel a bit of an idiot for starting this thread. Although it's been interesting getting everyones perspective on the subject. As I already said I write stories. On a forum I'm on, the same type of subject came up...lets just say the responses were very different.

Is this the difference between the written and visual mediums? I would have thought the visual mediums would have been more prudish, obviously I was completely wrong. You're a bunch of nutters!

Sometimes, it's what isn't seen that makes the most impact in a visual medium. Why do you think women buy lingerie?

Er...being a woman who doesn't buy lingere, I have to say I've always wondered about that one.

Seriously though, I do know what you mean. But not showing enough can lead to misunderstanding and confusion. I prefer not to show to much, I think it can come across as B-movie ish especially if you don't have budget information. Also I like to work on the principal that there are people out there who can actually put 2 + 2 together. Although it's quite scary the number of people I speak to about films only to get the response "I just didn't get it".

Lingerie has a basic principle behind it. It takes the idea that the "target audience" is the male who (for all intents and purposes) already knows what lies beneath, but he still desires it. The lingerie shows just enough to tease, but not enough to actually give it all away, but little by little (as that particular game progresses) more and more of the desired visual is revealed until...erm...everything comes out in the end.

With films, you reveal the plot through visuals and dialogue, but you keep just enough hidden so that the audience gets the idea of what's going on and what they want to see, but only show a little here and there to keep the appetite whetted throughout the process. If someone doesn't "get it", that means you kept too much hidden.

If you throw this back to the lingerie example, that would be when almost everything came off, but before the "climax of the plot", she decides to run to the store for potato chips. Huh? Well, he didn't "get it." Get it?

It's a matter of keeping enough to yourself until you're ready to show the audience everything in the end and give them what they came for.

There... I either turned everyone on, or made them dreadfully uncomfortable (and made the 13 year olds either scratch their heads in wonderment or giggle).

You assume that everyones basic desires, intelligence and expectations are the same. Personally I agree with you  (on the films, not the foreplay). But using your own analogy, some people like the lights on, others lights off. Some like lingere others just like to get it all out and go for it.

I write horror, (or versions of) a difficult market to judge, expectaions and dsire vary considerably. Many like the suspense of lingere, others prefer the commando look. What can I say. I'm  beginning to think I need to study psychology and maybe pornography...help! I'm getting confused.

You have to assume something. That's what genre is for.

That's why you have to consider your target audience. Whoever might don lingerie would know who they're donning it for, what they're in for, and about how long it'll take. This is why lingerie offers so many choices from the sheer, why-bother variety to the full coverage silk gowns.

Movies have to work the same way. Different genres have different audiences, and they reveal things in different ways depending on what the audience expects. With horror, the audience expects blood and scares, but in order to do that, you can't reveal in all in the beginning. With a drama, however, you have to reveal a lot about what's going on since it is usually unfolding life as the story progresses.

It's still all about the audience.

You've got me wondering now.
If you can't please everyone, or even ascertain your specific demographic, should you even try and bother. Shouldn't you try and write something that just one person like (namely yourself) and hope that there are in fact others out there who have similar tastes.
If you try and appeal to a "market" or "genre" then aren't you then forced to write a stereotypical story. What happened to the desire for originality? (Iknow true originality doesn't exist anymore!) but aren't you writing to fit in with an idea rather than writing for the story?

Just don't write something so rediculously outlandish like Eraserhead or a giant talking banana's journey through the nine circles of Hell and you should be fine as far as marketability's concerned. While I disagree everything has a profitable market, a lot of films do and if not, you can at least shoot for a cult following. Your story sounds fine. I don't think shock value has all that much to do with marketability anyway. When you've written something so esoteric that it's rendered unmarketable, you'll probably know right away. Otherwise, you need to take your head out of your ass. David Lynch may have garnered himself a massive cult following but not everyone should expect to be so lucky.

Quoted from pippo You've got me wondering now. If you can't please everyone, or even ascertain your specific demographic, should you even try and bother. Shouldn't you try and write something that just one person like (namely yourself) and hope that there are in fact others out there who have similar tastes. If you try and appeal to a "market" or "genre" then aren't you then forced to write a stereotypical story. What happened to the desire for originality? (Iknow true originality doesn't exist anymore!) but aren't you writing to fit in with an idea rather than writing for the story?

And bingo. You have to remember that your own tastes will fit some kind of market and if you write something that you like, there's a pretty good chance others will too. As long as it makes sense and is entertaining, it's marketable...to some audience. Write what you know, and write what you enjoy. If you have fun writing it, there's also a pretty good chance it'll be fun to watch.

Best of luck.

(And Eraserhead is severely warped)

Quoted from James McClung or a giant talking banana's journey through the nine circles of Hell

Crap!  And I was fifty pages into this baby.  

You should try to keep an audience in mind when writing, if you want to go pro.  For every David Lynch, there's probably 10,000 other writers wondering why no one wants to read THE YELLOW SOUL.


Phil

I'm finishing my giant talking banana story. It's called HELL SUCKS DANTE'S BANANA.

Now that sounds like a damn good read!