The art of great cinematography begins with great photography – here are a few ideas to start working your eye when it comes to still photographs. How to simplify a scene The secret of effective composition is to remember that it’s not only what you frame within your viewfinder that’s important. Just as critical is what you Read MoreRead More
It’s almost the reverse form of storyboarding – take a film you like and storyboard it out shot by shot. It doesn’t matter if you can draw or not – the important thing is to break apart films shot by shot to study how they work. Drawing from films Drawing from films is a ridiculously Read MoreRead More
Patrick Tucker is one of Europe’s most experienced film directors with over 400 shows broadcast on television. At the end of a Take you shout “CUT!” – then what do you do? 1: Did you like the take? On balance, were all the major elements in place? (framing; camera movement; lighting; design; properties; costumes; make-up; script; Read MoreRead More
Art Adams explains why it may be a better idea to move the equipment rather than moving the actor. On a recent shoot a discussion arose as to whether it was better to move an actor or to move the camera to maintain a composition. The actor kept settling into a position that obscured an Read MoreRead More
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola recall their collaborative process in scripting Moonrise Kingdomand explain why, for them, writing dialogue is like a musical experience. Since his first feature, Bottle Rocket, Wes Anderson has forged a distinctive voice while collaborating with a string of co-writers: Owen Wilson, Noah Baumbach, and with Darjeeling Limited and Moonrise Kingdom, Roman Read MoreRead More
The Oscar Winning director Kathryn Bigelow began her career on the advice of an artist who’s famously painted cans of soup. Kathryn Bigelow is on the cover of the next Time, looking cool as all get out in a slim white suit. Though the profile and corresponding Q&A (the full profile is currently under a Read MoreRead More
Mary Ann Skweres explores the difficult task of judging editing during awards season. Of all the collaborative filmmaking crafts, editing is perhaps the hardest creative art to judge, yet among the most critical in terms of shaping the story. Although during the course of the production the editor usually puts the initial edit together, sometimes with Read MoreRead More
After a Collection Screening of his film El Mariachi, celebrating the 20-year anniversary of its Sundance Film Festival premiere, Robert Rodriguez reminisces about the film’s production and answers audience questions. Recorded January 19, 2013Read More
Rian Johnson opens up about the long road of writing and getting financing for his Looper. Writer/director Rian Johnson‘s Looper is an intricately told film. Nearly every scene in the movie is packed full of new information, from character development to world building. As Johnson explains finding that structure, it was like creating stepping stones across a pond for Read MoreRead More
Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Direction for the male dominated film, The Hurt Locker. Her follow up film, Zero Dark Thirty, which traces the hunt and assassination of Osama Bin Laden, features a lead character that is not so different from the director herself. MAYA, the unyielding Osama bin Laden hunter at the center ofKathryn Read MoreRead More
