What is something each and every story ever told has in common? If you guessed “a setting,” you’d be correct! When your narrative involves characters and motivation, a setting is almost always a given. Sometimes a setting is massive and expansive, while other times it’s small and intimate. So what is a setting, what does… Continue reading Setting Examples — How to Use Time and Place in Film & Lit.
You’re looking for a movie genre list, maybe for inspiration, but every list you find has too broad or hyper-specific categories that it becomes overwhelming. We’ve created the perfect movie and TV genre list that will explain the various categories of film and television with their specific subgenres, and we’ll also include helpful examples for… Continue reading Ultimate Guide to Movie Genres — 90+ Genre Examples for Film & TV
Tall buildings, smoke filled rooms, femme fatales, people on the margins of society, late nights, bright signs….and cybernetic implants? No, it’s not film noir, it’s Cyberpunk. It’s a sub-genre that has slowly but surely integrated itself into popular media from the 1970s all the way to the 2020s. Taking inspiration from hard boiled fiction and… Continue reading What is Cyberpunk — Genre Definition, Origins & Examples
The term “postmodernism” gets thrown around a lot. Anything that seems to buck normal conventions or breaks the fourth wall tends to receive the label, but what is postmodernism really? For this blog, we’ll look into the history of postmodernism as well as its place in the cinematic landscape today. We’ll examine several postmodern films,… Continue reading What is Postmodernism? Definition and Examples for Filmmakers
Close UpsOpen menu Extreme Close-Up (ECU) Medium Close-Up (MCU) Medium ShotsOpen menu Medium Shot (MS) Cowboy Shot (CS) Medium Full Shot (MFS) Wide ShotsOpen menu Full Shot (FS) Wide Shot (WS) Extreme Wide Shot (EWS) Create Free Shot List It’s easy to mix up the different types of camera shots and types of angles. To… Continue reading 50+ Types of Camera Shots, Angles, and Techniques
BasicsOpen menu Basics of Film Lighting What Does a Cinematographer Do What is Cinematography What is Digital Cinematography Cinematography Terms What is Motion Blur Lighting EssentialsOpen menu 3-Point Lighting What is Key Light What is Fill Light What is Backlight What is Practical Lighting When is Golden Hour E-BooksOpen menu FREE Ebook: Camera Lenses Explained… Continue reading Film Lighting Techniques — How to Get a Cinematic Look
In psychology, there’s something called the serial position effect. It means people tend to remember what comes first and last, not what occurs in the middle. Filmmakers know this phenomenon all too well. Combine that with today’s stream-ability and countless options… and the opening to a film is as important as ever. Today, we study the best… Continue reading 25 Best Opening Scenes in Movies & What Makes Them Great