What is Technicolor? Whether you knew at the time or not, you’ve probably seen a Technicolor movie. If you’re trying to recall an example, just think, color, color, color. Technicolor changed the course of cinema forever with bright and bold visuals, saturated to the point of near-surreality. We’re going to look at some examples of Technicolor in films like The Wizard of Oz and The Godfather but, first, let’s check out a quick video to see where it started.Continue reading What is Technicolor? Definition and History Explained
Screenwriting books and instructors often warn aspiring writers against writing flashbacks in their scripts. They know that beginning and amateur writers often use them in a way that can bring a film to a dead stop. However, so many great films have used flashbacks with resounding success. So, let’s learn from some films that figured out how to write a flashback in a script the right way.Continue reading How to Write a Flashback in a Script — Techniques & Format
In 1990, Francis Ford Coppola released the third installment in the universally acclaimed Godfather series: The Godfather Part III. But unlike its predecessors, The Godfather Part III was anything but universally acclaimed. In late 2020, Ford Coppola released a recut version of The Godfather Part III, titled The Godfather Coda The Death of Michael Corleone. We’re going to look at what we can learn from The Godfather Coda by comparing it to the original cut. We’re going to analyze pacing, audio enhancements, and structural differences with the intent of better understanding the final chapter in the Corleone crime family.Continue reading The…
The Academy Award for Best Director is the most prestigious honor any director can receive -- well, at least in theory it is. You may be shocked to find out that many of “the greatest directors of all-time,” like Alfred Hitchock, Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Stanley Kubrick, Fritz Lang, Ingmar Bergman, and Federico Fellini never won the award. Of all of the Academy Awards, the Best Director category probably has the greatest discrepancy between its winners and its retrospective, critical consensus. No matter though, we’re going to list all of the Academy Award Best Director winners, then we’ll rank some…
Mafia Movies hold a dear spot in the hearts of many filmmakers. Every filmmaker remembers the first time they saw Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather; a type of film that inspires us as cinema fans. But before we rank the best mafia movies of all time, let’s define the key characteristics.The ranking of these films is in relation to their quality and importance as Mafia movies rather than just general gangster movies. Many of the films from our top gangster movies of all time list were excluded, with special exceptions for extraordinary impact as Mafia movies.Continue reading 13 Best Mafia…
You’re looking for a list of the best crime movies of all time. Maybe you want to find action crime films, or crime thrillers, or perhaps even a crime comedy movie or a crime drama. We’ve got you covered. In this post, we’ve compiled a list of the best crime movies of all-time, including American crime movies and the top crime films from around the world. All of these movies are worth a watch, so pop some corn, call your lawyer, pour a glass of your favorite pruno, and start the show. Continue reading 73 Best Crime Movies of All…
There are a lot of intricacies in scripts that present challenges to even the most veteran of screenwriters. The process of writing a script is difficult enough but the vocabulary, abbreviations, and defintions related to the job can be a bit elusive. But don’t worry, we’re going to cover a variety of screenwriting terms that every screenwriter needs to know. By the end, you’ll be ready to apply a variety of screenwriting techniques to your own script. Continue reading Screenwriting Terms — Abbreviations, Definitions & Vocab
There are multiple ways audiences can learn about who a character is. How they talk, how they dress, how they move, and how they interact with other characters all reflect a character’s personality. To capture a character as a whole, filmmakers often use the full shot. In this article, we’ll answer, "What is a full shot" along with the various reasons to use a full shot in film. We’ll also take a look at some iconic full shots from some of cinema’s best films of all time. Let’s dive in. Continue reading What is a Full Shot in Film? Types of…
Amazon Prime Video is chock-full of great movies but it’s a nightmare trying to find them. Unlike Netflix which offers strong curated playlists, Prime Video does a poor job of highlighting all the amazing movies on its service. Don’t fret though, we’ve scoured the depths of Prime’s film catalog to deliver our list of the best movies on Amazon Prime right now. We’ll be updating this list every month as movies come and go on Prime, so be sure to check back for new additions! And, without further ado, in no particular order, the best movies on Amazon Prime! Continue…
Amazon Prime Video is chock-full of great movies but it’s a nightmare trying to find them. Unlike Netflix which offers strong curated playlists, Prime Video does a poor job of highlighting all the amazing movies on its service. Don’t fret though, we’ve scoured the depths of Prime’s film catalogue to deliver our list of the best movies on Amazon Prime right now. We’ll be updating this list every month as movies come and go on Prime, so be sure to check back for new, great additions! Continue reading The Best Movies on Amazon Prime Right Now (August 2020)
