This opening paragraph is a hook to get you to keep reading. And just as a blog post needs to quickly capture the interest of a reader, a screenplay needs to grab the attention of its audience. Scripts with great hooks are more likely to be read all the way through, and scripts that are read all the way through are more likely to turn into movies. In this post, we teach you how to write the first ten pages of a screenplay. Are you hooked?Continue reading How to Write the First Ten Pages of a Screenplay
Watch any film by David Lynch, and you’ll see that he has a singular style. The focus of his films varies — from chaotic romances to high school murders — but there are recurring themes and moods that the director evokes. Because of this, many critics and fans have begun using the term “Lynchian” to describe films or even real-life events that have that Lynch flavor. But what does Lynchian mean exactly? Let's rock!Continue reading What Does Lynchian Mean — David Lynch’s Cinematic Style
Production call sheets are arguably the backbone of a well-run film production. They provide all the crucial information everyone needs to know before they show up on set. Without a call sheet, it is exponentially more difficult to maintain professionalism, organization, and efficiency during your shoot. Let’s look at what call sheets do, why they're important, and what you need to know to make one.Continue reading How to Make a Production Call Sheet From Start to Finish
Humans are multitaskers. We can listen to the news while doing dishes; we can pat our heads and rub our stomachs; and we can walk and talk. Humans in movies and TV especially love to do the last option. The walk and talk is a strategy used by directors in countless shows and films. Let’s look at how the walk and talk works, where it shows up, and why you may want to use it.Continue reading The Walk and Talk in Film & TV — Writing & Shooting Tips
There’s no one way to make a movie. In fact, there’s an infinite number of ways to make one. But in Hollywood, the general contours of a film’s creation hit similar story beats (to borrow a screenwriting term). Whether you are helming a massive studio blockbuster or grinding away at a microbudget indie film, the stages of film production often are the same.Continue reading Stages of Film Production — Overview of the Entire Process
Yorgos Lanthimos films are always a tangled knot of provocations. The filmmaker came out of the Greek Weird Wave, and the years have not faded the weirdness in his works. Lanthimos’s newest and biggest film to date, Poor Things, is as unwieldy and playful as what first earned Lanthimos international recognition. So, of course, the question must be asked: when the Victorian dust has settled, what is Poor Things about? Continue reading What is Poor Things About — Plot and Themes Explained
Making a movie is an extraordinary accomplishment that requires skill, perseverance, and a little bit of luck. But just because you’ve made a movie doesn’t mean anyone is going to see it. That’s where marketing comes in. What is film marketing? And what marketing approaches are most effective? Let’s break it down.Continue reading What is Film Marketing — How to Sell Movies to an Audience
Film festivals are everywhere. There’s a festival for every niche you can imagine, and every niche you can’t. Today, festivals can take many shapes and sizes, from massive industry mainstays to scrappy yet exciting startups. A savvy independent filmmaker understands the festival circuit, knowing what to apply to and how. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about film festivals.Continue reading What is a Film Festival — Everything You Need to Know
Watching a film can sometimes feel like looking at the world through someone else’s eyes. This someone else may be a particularly auteurist filmmaker, or they can be a character within a movie that a filmmaker wants us to identify with. Referred to as subjective cinema, this filmmaking technique can be incredibly powerful.Continue reading Subjective Cinema — Types and Techniques in Filmmaking
Some of the greatest scenes in movie history take place in a car. The dino-tour in Jurassic Park, the “Contender” speech in On the Waterfront, the “Bohemian Rhapsody” rendition in Wayne’s World — what would these iconic scenes have been without a car? Let’s take a look at how car scenes are captured and how your next car scene can enter the movie automobile pantheon.Continue reading How to Shoot a Car Scene — Camera, Sound & Rigs Explained
