It’s been nearly two decades since the release of Sam Mendes’ gangster-epic Road to Perdition and we thought it would be a good idea to look back at what made it so great. Mendes may be more famous for working on films like American Beauty, Skyfall, and 1917, but his work as the director of… Continue reading Road to Perdition: Revisiting the Sam Mendes Classic
The Star Wars universe has given the world so much. From backwards-talking aliens to familial plot twists, Star Wars has sparked millions of people’s imaginations. However, the films also introduced us to one of the coolest weapons ever to grace the big screen: the lightsaber. We’ve already discussed how superb cinematography can enhance any lightsaber… Continue reading Star Wars Lightsaber Duels — What Makes Them Great?
Few fight scenes in cinema are as exhilarating as a lightsaber duel in the Star Wars franchise. Everyone has their own personal favorites, but one of the most well-choreographed and filmed lightsaber combat scenes put to film is the Throne Room scene in The Last Jedi. A lot of people may watch this lightsaber fight and… Continue reading How to Shoot a Lightsaber Duel — The Last Jedi Throne Room Breakdown
Christmas movies are a time honored tradition, and there are many that touch on the spirit of Christmas and what the holiday means to society during the time period in which it was created. In today’s post we do some film analysis on what may, or may not, be considered a classic in the genre… Continue reading Jingle All the Way — A Complete Deconstruction of the Capitalist Machine
Cinéma vérité – literally “cinema of truth” – is a style of filmmaking you’ve probably seen more than you realize. You may even have studied it as part of your film education. As a technique, cinéma vérité has been a valuable tool for independent filmmakers for decades, not only for recording events as they happened,… Continue reading Cinéma Vérité — Filmmaking Style That Keeps It Real
Jay Roach has filmed some of the greatest comedies of all time with his work on the Austin Powers trilogy and Meet the Fockers. In recent years, he’s turned his attention to more politically-oriented stories like Trumbo and the upcoming Bombshell. As part of our ongoing partnership with Sundance Co//ab, Jay Roach recently sat down… Continue reading Jay Roach Breaks Down Bombshell
The year 2018 proved to be yet another evolutionary year for Netflix Original movies. From reviving the romantic comedy to uplifting the auteur filmmaker to terrifying horror flicks, Netflix is checking all the boxes. In addition to leveling up the quality of their films, Netflix is producing more films than previous year. With all these… Continue reading Best Netflix Original Movies of 2018, Ranked for Filmmakers
We often hold writers, directors, and cinematographers, responsible for movie masterpieces. But who made this possible? It turns out discovering who invented the movies is actually more of a question of when, because there were different inventors at different times in history, and all had a hand in innovating the motion picture. Let’s look at… Continue reading When Were Movies Invented? A Brief History of Motion Pictures
Plot TropesOpen menu What is a Trope What is a Cliche Flashback MacGuffin Plot Twist Red Herring FREE Movie Scripts: StudioBinder Screenwriting Library Write Your Script for Free Here lies the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She was written into this world without a care in the world, and now the majority of movie-goers, filmmakers, writers,… Continue reading Manic Pixie Dream Girl — A Eulogy for a Character Trope
Types of FocusOpen menu Shallow Focus Deep Focus Rack Focus Zoom Shots Dolly-Zoom (Zolly) Tilt-Shift More ShotsOpen menu All Shots & Angles Camera Shot Ultimate Guide Create Free Shot List Now → Cinematographic and photographic techniques like shallow focus can serve your story or images in numerous ways. And mastering it isn’t overly complicated. Some… Continue reading What is Shallow Focus? How Can it Help Your Cinematography?
