Rafael Abreu received his M.A. in Cinema Studies from New York University. He’s written reviews, scripts, and analytical essays focusing on all aspects of cinema. He can’t stop talking about aspect ratios.
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
When you browse for movie scripts online, you can get all kinds of results. And in these instances, what you look up online may not be exactly what you’re looking for. In some cases, what a screenwriter ends up finding is a script and not a traditional screenplay. This is how we get into the… Continue reading Screenplay vs Script — Differences Explained with Examples
Most movies can be characterized as being one genre or the other. If the plot involves a love triangle, that’s most likely romance. If the plot is about a space marine, it’s most likely science-fiction. If the plot involves a group of kids running away from a monster, that’s probably horror. The things that make… Continue reading Genre Conventions — The Building Blocks of Genre Storytelling
Trope EssentialsOpen menu What is a Trope What is a Cliche Tropes & Cliches to Avoid Character TropesOpen menu Character Tropes Stock Character Mary Sue Manic Pixie Dream Girl Mad Scientist Femme Fatale Damsel in Distress Plot TropesOpen menu Plot Device Deus ex Machina Flashback MacGuffin Plot Twist Red Herring Deal with the Devil Narrative… Continue reading What is a Stock Character — Definition, Examples & Tropes
Acting EssentialsOpen menu What is a Screen Test in Acting What is a Casting Call What is the Taft-Hartley Act What is SAG-AFTRA What is a Cold Reading Best Acting Agencies What is a Demo Reel Acting TipsOpen menu How to Become an Actor as a Kid How to Become an Actor How The Best… Continue reading What is a Walk-on Role — Background Support Roles Explained
You’re pretty familiar with Bruce Wayne, aka Batman. He lives in Gotham City, he stops crazy villains, and he spends a lot of his time with bats. But did you also know his parents are dead!? That’s what we call backstory, something most characters in fiction have with them whenever we start their story. So… Continue reading What is a Backstory — Building a Foundation for Your Narrative
Storyboard EssentialsOpen menu What is a Storyboard Best Storyboard Software What is a Storyboard Artist Websites to Find a Storyboard Artist Storyboard Classes Online What is a Digital Storyboard Introducing Storyboard Builder Ultimate Guide to Storyboard Rules Storyboard Dimensions What is an Animatic What is an Animation Storyboard Storyboard Montage Ultimate Guide to Storyboard Composition… Continue reading Storyboard Notes — A Guide to Making Storyboard Annotations
Screenplays, as well as script treatments, are well known as the foundation for any movie. People in the industry also know that there are so many screenplays out in the wild that have not been produced. But what about those that are chosen for production? Well, they evolve to become shooting scripts. What is a… Continue reading What is a Shooting Script — Purpose and Differences Explained
Editing EssentialsOpen menu What is Film Editing What Does a Film Editor Do How Does an Editor Control the Rhythm of a Film How to Become a Film Editor What is In Camera Editing What is Screen Direction in Film What is a Rough Cut in Film What is Continuity Editing in Film What is… Continue reading What is Film Editing — Editing Principles & Techniques Explained
In speeches, in poetry, in literature, you may have come across a grammatical and rhetorical technique known as parallelism. It is famously known for its use of repetition, its use of emphasis, and its use of persuasion. Writers and politicians use parallelism in different ways for different reasons, as do authors and poets. But what… Continue reading What is Parallelism — Definition and Examples for Writers
For centuries, narrative works were strongly positioned to be one of two things: a comedy or a tragedy. Even these days, the two genres of drama and comedy are usually the most prominent or easiest to ascertain. Even if one has minor elements of the other, they can still exist as separate entities. Unless, of… Continue reading Dramedy Explained — A Study of the Comedy Drama Genre
By GenreOpen menu Comedy Sci-Fi Action Romantic Animation Thriller Drama Crime TV Scripts Horror Fantasy Western Musical War ResourcesOpen menu Best Screenplays to Read Shane Black Movies & Screenwriting Explained Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Best Horror Movie Scripts to Download StudioBinder Screenwriting Library Write Your Script for… Continue reading Ghostbusters Script PDF Download: Quotes, Characters & Plot
Animation BasicsOpen menu What is Animation Types of Animation What is Pre-Production in Animation What Does an Animator Do What is Cel Animation What is Pixilation Animation What is Tweening in Animation What is Anime What is Claymation What are Keyframe What is Persistence of Vision What is Stop Motion Animation What is Rotoscope Animation… Continue reading Pixilation Animation — Definition, Examples and Techniques
Movies are a visual medium first and foremost, which means making on-screen imagery as effective as possible. And if you’re making a narrative feature, you will more than likely be needing dialogue. Movies didn’t start with traditional dialogue tracks, but these days, virtually every movie in existence has it. But what is dialogue, why does… Continue reading What is Dialogue — A Writer’s Guide to Spoken Words
By GenreOpen menu Comedy Sci-Fi Action Romantic Animation Thriller Drama Crime TV Scripts Horror Fantasy Western Musical War ResourcesOpen menu Best Screenplays to Read Shane Black Movies & Screenwriting Explained Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Best Horror Movie Scripts to Download StudioBinder Screenwriting Library Write Your Script for… Continue reading The Sopranos Pilot Script PDF Download and Analysis
ProcessOpen menu How to Make a YouTube Video How Do You Make a Video on YouTube How to Add Subtitles How to Make Money on YouTube How to Make A YouTube Channel That Stands Out How To Make An Intro For Your YouTube Video ResourcesOpen menu Best Filmmaking YouTube Channels Best Camera for YouTube Videos… Continue reading Best Camera for YouTube Videos — Prices, Specs & Top Picks
When shooting a motion picture on physical celluloid, there are different types you can choose from. Each type will be a certain width, which contributes to its quality, size, grain count, and more. When identifying the different types of celluloid used in filmmaking, we refer to these strips by their film gauge, which is often,… Continue reading What is Film Gauge — 8mm, 16mm, 35mm, 65/70mm Explained
WGAOpen menu What is WGA How Do You Join the WGA WGA Minimums SAG-AFTRA IATSE Local 600 ResourcesOpen menu Complete Guide to Movie Unions Guide to Working with Unions While watching a movie, have you ever noticed certain logos or acronyms in the credits? Sure, there’s plenty of those from companies and such, but some… Continue reading Movie Unions — A Complete Guide to Film Unions & Guilds
EssentialsOpen menu What is Sound Design What Does a Sound Designer Do Sound Editing vs Sound Mixing What is Voice Over What is a Foley Artist What is Diegetic Sound What is Non-Diegetic Sound What is a Film Score What is Asynchronous Sound What is Music Licensing What is a Film Composer What is a… Continue reading What is Dolby Stereo — History of Game-Changing Sound in Film
BasicsOpen menu What is Post-Production What is VFX What are Special Effects What is Virtual Production What is SFX Makeup What is CGI What is Mocap What is Compositing What is Matte Painting What is Chroma Key What is a Green Screen What is a Blue Screen What is Practical Effects What is Motion Graphics… Continue reading What is CGI? How CGI Works in Movies and Animation
