Movies revolve around and magnify what an audience sees and that generates emotional identification and spiritual realism. That's why we watch movies and why some of us are movie addicts -- we like that experience in our lives. In fact, we require and even need it. When I moved to Los Angeles in 1977, I didn't know many people. So I spent a lot of time in movie theatres. This was prior to the advent of VCRs and DVD players. That means the only way to see movies uninterrupted was in theatres, on the big screen. There were a lot of repertory cinemas in those days -- theatres that would show double features of old movies.   They would ordinarily change the bill two or three times a week. There were probably a dozen such theatres in town, all but one or two of them gone now. The choices were virtually limitless. So I spent a year in the dark, seeing probably more than 400 movies in one twelve-month stretch. Mostly I saw studio output from the 1930s and '40s. For me, it was better than a year in college. I strongly urge people interested in making movies to study the work of the best directors from that period of Hollywood history. It was truly a golden age of movies with good story structure and an emphasis on adult emotions. The directors who meant the most to me were

John Huston, William Wyler and Howard Hawks.

So the territory of the filmmaker is the emotional experience of the spectators.   And that takes place in the minds, hearts and souls of the individuals who make up the collective audience.

The filmmaker structures the flow of  that experience, giving it direction, purpose, meaning and a final climactic moment of catharsis. Simply put: the best movies tell the story of a character, one who is emotionally engaging and is confronted with a problem which creates an inescapable need to reach a specific goal. This then inevitably leads to almost overwhelming obstacles that are finally overcome through the transformation and growth of the character.

That growth and change gives the story substance. Without it, a movie is just fluff. It may be entertaining but it won't be memorable. The stuff that sticks in your mind, the stuff that makes for great movie memories, is the stuff of human emotions.

A story is told through a collection of fragments, a series of constructed scenes. We as filmmakers select what we choose to tell based on our perceptions of what the story requires. We give it shape and focus. That's what makes it personal.

What is meaningful to the story? Does it move the story forward? Would it damage the story if we left it out? What is going to happen next?

Every story is a mystery. It asks a question in the beginning that will be answered in the end. And once the question is raised, everything that happens in the story will relate to the answering of that question. Along the way the viewers are guessing the answer. That's what keeps them interested in what's happening.

A good story keeps people involved because of unpredictable turns. As a result of an unexpected, intriguing story twist, the movie achieves momentum and sharpens its focus.

What that means is -- as the Russian director Tarkovsky put it -- we are sculptors of time.

Hollywood screenwriter-director, Frederick Bailey made his debut as a feature director in 1999 with Shogun Cop (Bushido Pictures), a fantasy/action-adventure with a sword-wielding superhero. He also wrote Quick, the highly successful action/thriller that premiered on HBO in 1993. He also co-wrote Terminal Justice, a science-fiction/thriller for Spectacor/Promark that premiered on HBO in 1996 and starred Lorenzo Lamas, Peter Coyote and Chris Sarandon. He collaborated on Goodbye America, which starred James Brolin and Michael York, for Quantum Entertainment in 1997.