How do you create a compelling character in the editing room? The choices an editor makes greatly impact how audiences receive a character. In moments of change or distress, we want the audience to actively engage with the thoughts and emotions that motivate our character’s decisions. By understanding their characters, editors can employ editing techniques to create a consistent visual language signifying moments of character development. This is called character-driven editing. In this post, we will be breaking down character-driven editing in The Godfather restaurant scene so that you can implement these techniques in your next project.Continue reading The Godfather…
Motion pictures have enticed and inspired artists, audiences, and critics for more than a century. Today, we’re going to explore the history of film by looking at the major movements that have defined cinema worldwide. We’re also going to explore the technical craft of filmmaking from the persistence of vision to colorization to synchronous sound. By the end, you’ll know all the broad strokes in the history of film.Note: this article doesn’t cover every piece of film history. Some minor movements and technical breakthroughs have been left out – check out the StudioBinder blog for more content.Continue reading The History…
When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them no, I went to films. - Quentin TarantinoQuentin Tarantino is not just a world-class filmmaker but also a renowned film lover. He is a lifelong cinephile with an encyclopedic knowledge of the medium. Tarantino always packs his films with homages to the movies he loves. He even uses his renown as a means to provide exposure to films that he believes deserve more success. These are often foreign language films or older films that never found their audience. The following list is not in order of preference.…
Human beings have been telling stories for as long as we have roamed this Earth. Storytelling has gone from oral tradition to a natural part of the cinematic landscape. And in-between it all, we have learned how to end a story. Throughout our years telling stories, we have learned that there are ultimately four ways to end one. We will be going over each of these four ending types and explaining their characteristics for knowing how to end your screenplay. Let's begin at the beginnings before we end with the endings! Continue reading How to End a Story — Different…
Production design is everything that goes into making the world of a film – sets, props and more. But despite its importance, production design is a facet of filmmaking that I think many people take for granted. We often ascribe credit to the writers, directors and stars of a picture rather than the artists working in the shadows. But today, we’re going to honor the great production designers of Hollywood by looking at every Academy Award for Best Production Design winner – then we’ll rank some of the best production designs of all-time. Before we rank the “best” Best Production…
The Academy Award for best cinematography is one of the most prestigious honors bestowed each year at the Oscars. The best cinematography Oscar has been around since the inception of the award ceremony but it underwent a great deal of experimentation and evolution in the early years.Continue reading Academy Award for Best Cinematography — Top 20 Winners
The Godfather is nothing short of a masterpiece. That’s because every single facet of the film’s production is layered with detail, emotion, and purpose. But everything that we see visually in the final cut was once just an idea in the minds of Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, initially transcribed onto the page as The Godfather script.Continue reading The Godfather Script PDF Download: Plot, Quotes, and Analysis
Every month, dozens of movies arrive on Netflix, but it can be a hassle keeping track of all the great content that comes and goes. Don’t fret though, we’re going to break down the best new movies on Netflix each month to help you decide on what to watch. These are the best of what’s coming to Netflix in November, 2020. Continue reading Best New Movies on Netflix, Filmmaker Playlist (January 2021)
The best movie directors of all time — the idea of such a list sparks immediate debate. Rather than try to impose any sort of definitive or objective best directors list, consider this more of a celebration of the entire medium. Woefully underrepresented on this list are women. While women have been an integral part of the film industry since the beginning, the opportunity to direct was rarely given to them. That means that any list that covers the entirety of film history will be unfortunately one-sided. Thankfully, women have been making great strides in reversing this over the years…
Francis Ford Coppola is one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time; his seminal classics, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, and The Conversation, consistently rank among cinema’s pantheon – but did you know he’s directed 20 other feature-length films? We’re going to rank every Francis Ford Coppola film, from top to bottom. By the end, you’ll know the best Francis Ford Coppola movies, and just might find a hidden gem or two!Continue reading Best Francis Ford Coppola Movies — Every Film Ranked
