It’s well documented that Hollywood is a tough industry to crack. Whether an aspiring writer, producer, or director... you’ll often start in a job that’s neither writing, producing, or directing. And as you spend countless hours on Linkedin or Indeed searching for jobs, you may see posts for script reader jobs, script coverage jobs, or even script analyst. But, what is a script reader? Is it different from script coverage? Script analyst? What do they do? How are they paid? Is it a good gateway into the industry? Enough questions, let’s find out.Continue reading How to Become a Script Reader —…
The saying goes, “If you’re going to steal, steal from the best.” So, is Stanley Kubrick the best? For many filmmakers, the immediate answer is yes. The harder question is “why?” Like a great magician, we appreciate the end result without knowing how it was done. There is certainly a lot of “process” in his work. Kubrick doesn’t just conjure greatness out of the ether. The preparation, the details, the ability to take as much time on a project as he wanted. These elements can be seen, heard, and felt on the screen. Here we present the Stanley Kubrick directing…
Before John McClane was the quintessential action hero, he was just part of someone’s imagination on the page. Die Hard set the template for a generation of action movies that followed. But what made this particular story so special? Let’s journey through the air ducts for a complete Die Hard script analysis complete with the quotes, characters, and ending that made it an instant classic.Continue reading Die Hard Script PDF Download: Quotes, Characters and Ending
From comedy to action to drama, slow motion can be found throughout every movie genre. As camera technology evolves, slow motion is being implemented in both big-budget blockbusters and low budget indie films. Heck, you can even shoot high frame rate slo-mo on your cell phone now. With the tool being more accessible to all filmmakers, it is important to know how to write slow motion in a script.Continue reading How to Write Slow Motion in a Script: Formatting and Examples
What makes a great music score? Does it need to dominate the soundtrack or can go unnoticed in the background? Should a contemporary movie always use modern music or is it blasphemy for a period piece to include pop songs? Whether you have answers to these questions or not, there's no denying the power of music in how we experience movies. These are the best movie scores of all time — some you will spot a mile away, others will raise some eyebrows, but all will get you thinking about what music you'll use in your next project.Continue reading 23…
Never-ending. Eternal. Infinite. People speak in hyperbole quite often but, in real life, everything does come to an end. Everything, that is, except The Shepard Tone, which may be the one thing that truly doesn’t stop. This audio illusion is more than just a novelty, however, and filmmakers like Christopher Nolan have embraced it in their work. From sound effects to the musical score, nothing ramps up tension quite like the Shepard Tone. We'll explain how this illusion works and with some examples of this fascinating trick of the ear.Continue reading What is The Shepard Tone? The Audio Illusion Explained…
Emotions are subjective experiences that shape our daily lives. These experiences involve both physiological and psychological changes, influencing our thoughts, behaviors, and interactions. They are fundamental to our daily experiences, shaping how we interact with the world and each other. Our relationships, jobs, hobbies, and fears are all influenced by the emotions that emerge from our experiences. That said, emotions are at the core of our experience of life itself. So how exactly do they arise within us?Continue reading What are the Theories of Emotion — 4 Theories Explained
It is impossible to overstate how important a role audio plays in the film viewing experience. While it’s perfectly natural to be drawn to the visual side of filmmaking, those striking visuals don’t hold the same weight without strong cinematic sound design to back them up. Whereas a painting is purely visual and a song can be purely aural, cinema combines sight and sound for a unified experience where one bolsters and elevates the other. Read on to learn about the role of the sound designer and other sound design jobs, the fundamentals of sound design, and to check out some…
Cinematographers and filmmakers have depended on camera support mechanisms since the beginning of cinema. With tripods, dollies, and cranes, the mechanisms to support a camera have evolved. One method, however, relies on none of these mechanisms and has only grown more relevant with time. The handheld shot. It's important to understand how filmmakers have utilized the handheld shot to achieve more than just a stylized look, but rather a psychological effect. Before we answer the why and how let’s first address the what. What is handheld camera movement?Continue reading The Handheld Shot in Film — Definition and Examples
Audio is 50% of the film experience, yet many beginning filmmakers don’t place nearly as much focus on audio as they do on the visual side of things. Don’t leave audio as an afterthought. The lavalier is one family of microphones that you may want to consider adding to your filmmaking arsenal. What is a lavalier microphone and how do they work? Let's get into it.Continue reading What is a Lavalier Microphone and How Do They Work?
