Every single blog post or news article that follows an award show focuses on all of the snubs and surprises of the previous evening. Now this may be a silly question, but what makes an Emmy snub a snub? Nominations seem a fairer game to judge, but once a person is nominated, how can you be that surprised? Well, this year, even the winners themselves were surprised, because the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards “snubbed” nearly all of the incumbents, and yet they seemed so well-deserved. Continue reading What’s a True Emmy “Snub”? Best Emmy Snubs and Surprises of All Time
Sidney Lumet directed feature films and television for over 50 years. In other words, we can learn a lot from his perspective about the film business and film directing. We were lucky enough that Lumet decided to share these thoughts in book form. "Making Movies" by Sidney Lumet is an invaluable resource for any filmmaker. In particular, we're going to review Lumet's idea of a "lens plot," its three variations, and how you can use these concepts in your next project. Continue reading What We Can Learn from “Making Movies” by Sidney Lumet
James Gray’s new film Ad Astra is a visually stunning journey through our solar system that explores concepts like solitude, commitment, and a focus on the essential to the exclusion of all else.Precision.That’s the word that immediately comes to mind when watching this film. Both from the impressive direction from James Gray to the flawless cinematography from Hoyte Van Hoytema, but what really stands out is Brad Pitt’s precisely measured and uniquely powerful performance.Continue reading “Ad Astra” Review: A Precise Exploration of Solitude
Death scenes are just… one of those things. A good death scene is totally subjective, but these are a few that really stand out. We’re going to take a look at some of the craziest and best movie death scenes from the past decade. These are scenes that are memorable either because of their impact on the story, they were presented in a particularly interesting way, or were just plain shocking for the audience.Continue reading Top 10 Best Movie Deaths of the Last Decade
Earlier this year, the American Society of Cinematographers celebrated its 100th year anniversary. The ASC’s mission is to not only tell incredible stories, but to preserve the history of those that it made it possible. So what’s a better way to celebrate than with a really, really long list of the best cinematography movies of all time! The society voted and did an amazing job. But did the democratic system fail them? Just kidding, it’s an incredible list, but there are a few other insanely influential films that we think they might have missed, (and we may have added the).…
Ican’t imagine what it must be like to be a comedian. You work for hours, days, or even months, to get a tight 10 or 15-minute bit. As you bring your hard work onto the stage, you pray the audience doesn’t deafen you with their silence. If success on the stage is measured by the lack of objects being thrown at you, it’s no wonder why even famous comedians experience stage fright. Because even if you’re absolutely hilarious, there might be a night when you bomb, because you’re also, absolutely human. Continue reading How to Overcome Stage Fright — Jenny…
Best Tarantino MoviesQT's Directing StyleQT Directing Tips QT DialogueOnce Upon a Time AnalysisBasterds Breakdown Speculation about Tarantino's last movie has now reached full tilt — but are we really ready for Quentin Tarantino's Star Trek? There is only one final film to go before we find out if QT was bluffing or not. But what should it be? For us fans, what would be a satisfactory swan song?Quentin Tarantino movies are special — we know this because Tarantino lets us know how special they are. It all started with Kill Bill Vol. 1 when the poster informed us that this…
An unproduced feature script has a .3 percent chance of being made in Hollywood. Short film ideas, on the other hand, can be made for significantly less money, increasing their chances of being produced.Continue reading 30 Ways to Brainstorm Short Film Ideas You Can Actually Produce
When I watch the Netflix series Mindhunter, I’m blown away by how accurate the production design seems to portray the time period. I think to myself, “How do they find these places?”The short answer… they don’t. They find locations that have the right skeleton, and then collaborate with a skilled VFX team to enhance scenes with CGI like matte paintings, 3D tracking, and composites.Take a look at the Mindhunter VFX in the video below:Continue reading VFX in Netflix’s Mindhunter: Matte Paintings, Composites, and 3D Tracking
Cycloramas are commonplace in video production, and they make the lives of those shooting on a green screen that much easier. So what is a cyclorama? Let’s find out. Continue reading What’s a Cyclorama? How Can Cyc Walls Help My Shot?
