Darius Khondji is everywhere. The esteemed cinematographer’s list of collaborators is as long as it is impressive; he’s worked with directors like Wong Kar-Wai, James Gray, David Fincher, the Safdie Brothers, Michael Haneke, Alejandro Iñárritu, and more. As you may be able to tell from such a list, Khondji is chameleonic, tailoring his aesthetic to whichever director he’s working with. Unlike other cinematographers, it can be difficult to discern when you’re watching a Khondji film. With that said, Khondji is not just a journeyman director of photography — he brings several cinematic qualities with him from film to film. In…
One could point to any number of impressive techniques used in David Fincher movies, but perhaps one of the most important is his movie color palette. As he himself once said, “In film, we sculpt time, we sculpt behavior and we sculpt light.” That last one is what we're focusing on today. Here are some of the more powerful ways Fincher’s color palette enhances his stories and characters. Continue reading How David Fincher Uses Color in Film Explained
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…
Though best known for producing many of the best television shows of all time, HBO is also home to many excellent films. HBO caught on quick that streaming was the way of the future, and got into the only media game early. We’ll be taking a look at what movies are on HBO right now. HBO-Go is home to not just every great HBO original series, but also hundreds of films ranging from all-time classics to new releases. Joining us in counting down the top 50 HBO movies available right now. Continue reading Best Movies on HBO Right Now —…
Shot List SeriesShot SizeShot FramingCamera AnglesCamera FocusCamera GearCamera MovementCamera Lenses When faced with a blank canvas, a painter must first choose their brush, colors, and subject before they even make a single stroke. Similarly, a filmmaker approaches a shot by first choosing the right tools that serve their story. Some of the most impactful tools to how a shot both looks and feels are camera rigs.Camera rigs are camera support systems that help cinematographers add specific movement to a shot. However, they can also be camera gear that move a camera in a completely unique way. We’ll break down the…
If you’re familiar with David Fincher movies, you know they focus on serial killers, robbers, brawlers, and murderers alike. You might also know that he has a reputation for being an exacting, obsessively technical director. However, dark subjects and visual meticulousness belie Fincher’s overlooked secret weapon: his ability to connect with actors on a human level to draw out authentic and defining performances. This humanity, this messy warmth, doesn’t simply transcend Fincher’s bleakness and robot-like technical rigor: it exists because of it. That’s the genius of David Fincher films. Continue reading The Directing Style of David Fincher
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 of its predecessor and still be considered "neo-noir."Many of the greats have made their bones in the genre, even if their movies don't appear the same at surface level.So — how can you tell? We’ve put together a list of the best neo-noir movies to…
Best of...20102011201220132014201520162017201820192010-2019 2011 was a year where ambitious filmmakers embarked on deeply personal projects. From Terrence Malick’s ambitious chronicling of the universe in Tree of Life to Martin Scorsese’s tribute to filmmakers of the past with Hugo, there was plenty for cinephiles to chew on this year.Now that there’s been some hindsight, StudioBinder presents to you the 20 best movies of 2011. It’s part of an ongoing series to review and rank the best movies of the last decade, so make sure to continue reading through our blogs to see what else topped the lists. For those of you wanting…
Whether you want to make a short film, or a feature, having an insanely low budget, or barely a budget at all, may seem like a road block, but it doesn’t have to stop you. No budget movies can also cultivate creativity, encouraging a sort of ‘Necessity is the mother of invention,’ mindset. In this type of mode, you can take your film to unexpected places and surprise yourself. You do not need a ton of money to do this, but there are a few things to make this process easier. Below are some quick zero budget filmmaking tips, or…
