It’s well established that most modern Hollywood movies are made up of three acts. Often, however, the second of those three acts can be divided into two — before the midpoint, and after. A midpoint is a major plot point that happens around the middle of a film which has big ramifications for the protagonist and the story arc. Sounds pretty vague, right? That’s because a midpoint can take many forms– bringing the protagonist closer to their goal, or away from it, or something else entirely. In other words, you know a midpoint when you see one. In this post, we’ll…
Have you ever winced while listening to an amateur band hit the wrong notes? Have you ever felt discomfort when you’re tasked with a job that goes against your beliefs? Or have you ever stumbled over a poem’s lines that seem to just sound bad? Dissonance in its many forms is all around us. Often we think of it in a negative light, as something to avoid. But dissonance can be used in various artistic mediums to deliver a point, heighten emotion, or add texture. Let’s get to the bottom of "what is dissonance," and how we can use it…
The filmmaking process can be broken up into a series of stages. Perhaps the most demanding of these stages is production. The production stage is not for the faint of heart, and it can make or break a movie. But what is film production? And what does it usually look like?Continue reading What is Film Production — Stages of Filmmaking Explained
James Cameron’s Avatar was successful by almost any metric. It became the highest-grossing movie of all time, received rave reviews, and was nominated for a whopping nine Academy Awards. As many have noted, while Avatar’s story is compelling, it is its groundbreaking visuals that set it apart from other blockbusters. So how did James Cameron and his team create the vibrant, expansive world of Pandora? In this article, we’ll look at Cameron’s game-changing approach to filming Avatar and how he raised the bar for the film’s much-anticipated follow-up Avatar: The Way Of Water.Continue reading Making of Avatar & Avatar 2:…
Even in a decade filled with countless iconic blockbusters, The Terminator stood out when it was released in 1984. Its meticulously thought-out world in combination with its cutting-edge visual effects was immediately arresting, and it introduced the world to the artistry of James Cameron. The Terminator script is lean and mean: it chugs along at a break-neck speed as the Terminator slaughters his way through Los Angeles. It’s a science-fiction tour de force, well-deserving of dissection.Continue reading The Terminator Script PDF — Download & Breakdown
Filmmaking is a collaborative process, but without a doubt, the most important role on set is that of the director. The director receives most of the credit when a film succeeds and most of the blame when it fails. In other words, there is a lot of pressure and responsibility placed on their shoulders. So, how much do directors make in terms of salary? The answer isn’t as simple as it might seem. The average director salary depends on the nature of the project, the size of the budget, and the director herself. In this post, we'll lay out the typical…
What do Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Rick and Morty, Friends, and iCarly all have in common? They’re all sitcoms. The diversity of the genre can be confusing. If The Simpsons and I Love Lucy are both sitcoms, what is a sitcom exactly? In this post, we’ll get into the history of the sitcom and what makes a show a sitcom.Continue reading What is a Sitcom — Definition, Examples and History Explained
Is there power in nonsense? Some might say that nonsense is by definition meaningless. But for Dada artists, nonsense was the ultimate political tool to smash existing power structures and artistic norms. In this article we’ll look at the historical context in which Dadaism artists arose, what Dada looked like, and how it still casts a long shadow over the world today.Continue reading What is Dadaism Art — Movement, Style, and Artists Explained
What do you think of when you think of Gothic Art? Imposing cathedrals? Creepy baby Jesus paintings? Teens in black eyeliner and JNCO jeans? Gothic art and architecture is more than its stereotypes (and if you’re thinking of modern goth fashion… it’s kind of a misnomer). This art movement was a dominant style for centuries in Europe, and gave birth to some of the continent’s most famous buildings and paintings. Let’s look at the Gothic genre in art and literature: what it is, where it came from, and why it still matters.Continue reading What is Gothic Art — History, Characteristics…
There are few movements that shaped the literary arts in the 20th century more than Magical Realism. The genre reinvented what a novel could do, and gave writers new tools with which to shape their stories and social commentaries. In this post, we’ll define Magical Realism and examine why it became so popular.Continue reading What is Magical Realism — Fantasy vs Reality in Art & Literature
