What is a Crane Shot? And Why Do the Pros Use Them So Often?

Types of Camera GearOpen menu Tripod Handheld Gimbal Jib / Boom Drone Dolly Steadicam Crane Shot TypesOpen menu All Shots & Angles Camera Shot Ultimate Guide Camera Movement Master Class Create Free Shot List Now The crane shot allows the audience to leave a normal point of view, creating a novel perspective that’s inherently cinematic.… Continue reading What is a Crane Shot? And Why Do the Pros Use Them So Often?

15 Best Film Noir Movies of All Time, Ranked for Filmmakers

The golden age of cinema is surprisingly dark. From 1941 to 1959, American audiences were captivated by melodramas about hard-boiled detectives, dangerous dames, and pulpy mysteries with literary origins. It’s a style that would later be known as film noir. Many of the movies in that classic film noir era-inspired cinema for decades to come.… Continue reading 15 Best Film Noir Movies of All Time, Ranked for Filmmakers

What is Comedy? Defining it Through Technique and Subjectivity

Being a comedy writer isn’t easy. Even if you’re a director, knowing what’s funny and what’s not, isn’t always easy. Comedy is mostly subjective, but if you’re trying to write, direct, or even act in a comedy, there are some techniques that might help. So what is comedy? We’ll give our comedy definition, examples of… Continue reading What is Comedy? Defining it Through Technique and Subjectivity

10 Production Design Tips For Filmmakers on a Budget

What is Production Design What Does a Production Designer Do? Amazon’s The Boys Production Design Production Design Tips Academy Award for Best Production Design We all watch movies but rarely do we pause to think just how those movies were created. It’s the culmination of a large team of specialists and a production designer is… Continue reading 10 Production Design Tips For Filmmakers on a Budget

Christopher Nolan: A Filmmaker’s Guide to Nolan’s Directing Style

Best Nolan MoviesNolan’s Directing StyleNolan Directing Tips Nolan’s CirclesNolan’s Shot List Christopher Nolan films include Memento, The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Prestige, and Interstellar. His films Inception and Dunkirk received Academy Award nominations for best picture. We watched all of Christopher Nolan’s movies, interviews, and documentaries to compile a list of filmmaking tips & techniques.Continue reading… Continue reading Christopher Nolan: A Filmmaker’s Guide to Nolan’s Directing Style

What is a Macro Lens? Tips and Techniques on How to Use One

Types of LensesOpen menu Lens Basics Prime Lens Zoom Lens Anamorphic Lens Focal LengthsOpen menu Wide Angle Lens (14mm – 35mm) Standard (35mm – 70mm) What is a 50mm Lens Good For 35mm vs 50mm Lenses Telephoto Lens (70mm – 200mm) Specialty LensesOpen menu What is a T-Stop Macro Lens Fisheye Lens Tilt-Shift Lens Split-Diopter… Continue reading What is a Macro Lens? Tips and Techniques on How to Use One

30 Best Thanksgiving Movies — What to Watch on Turkey Day

Every family has their own Thanksgiving traditions. Some play football in the backyard after filling up on turkey while others go straight from the dinner table to those Black Friday deals. But if you’re like us, you like to let the tryptophan settle in while you’re cuddled up watching one of the best Thanksgiving movies… Continue reading 30 Best Thanksgiving Movies — What to Watch on Turkey Day

The Best Order to Watch Marvel Movies — The Pegasus Order

Best Marvel MoviesMCU in Release OrderMCU in Story OrderThe Pegasus OrderUpcoming Watching the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe is a daunting task. Not only is it a huge time commitment to marathon through all 23 films, but there’s the question of watch order. Do you rearrange the films chronologically to see the events as history saw… Continue reading The Best Order to Watch Marvel Movies — The Pegasus Order

Top 30 Best Neo-Noir Films, Ranked for Filmmakers

What’s black and white and red all over? It could be a newspaper — or it could be a neo-noir film. It’s hard to tell. Neo-noir is notoriously difficult to classify. An offshoot of the historical film noir genre, it’s painted in such broad strokes that it can subvert, parody, heighten, or reimagine the prototypical stories… Continue reading Top 30 Best Neo-Noir Films, Ranked for Filmmakers

What is a Telephoto Lens? How to Get the Shots You Want

Types of LensesOpen menu Lens Basics Prime Lens Zoom Lens Anamorphic Lens Focal LengthsOpen menu Wide Angle Lens (14mm – 35mm) Standard (35mm – 70mm) What is a 50mm Lens Good For 35mm vs 50mm Lenses Telephoto Lens (70mm – 200mm) Specialty LensesOpen menu What is a T-Stop Macro Lens Fisheye Lens Tilt-Shift Lens Split-Diopter… Continue reading What is a Telephoto Lens? How to Get the Shots You Want

20 Best Movies of the Decade, Ranked for Filmmakers (2010—2019)

Best of…20102011201220132014201520162017201820192010-2019 As much as people bemoan Hollywood being devoid of ideas, the truth is that major studios and independent filmmakers alike continued to push the boundaries of what you could do with film in the 2010s. From small-scale projects to blockbusters that doubled as art, movies delivered in this last decade. If you’ve been… Continue reading 20 Best Movies of the Decade, Ranked for Filmmakers (2010—2019)

The Best Movies of 2018 — The Year in Review

Best of…20102011201220132014201520162017201820192010-2019 From grim dramas to breathtaking action films, 2018 was a great year to go to the movies. It was a year of seismic changes in the cinematic landscape as Marvel’s Black Panther was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, showing that superhero films could be serious fare, too. However, it was also a year… Continue reading The Best Movies of 2018 — The Year in Review