You may have a great idea you’ve thought about for a while. It sounds good in your head, but translating that idea into details isn’t as easy as it seems. Perhaps you even have it all down already in an interesting novel sample. However, turning that into film is something entirely different.  You quickly learn […]

Cult classics are movies that start with a small, devout following but grow in popularity, evoking passion and familiarity everywhere like a religion. These films have become timestamps of special years, offering a reference to look back on like an anchor to a period’s memories.  Filmmakers make movies to win awards or accolades. However, not […]

The term coming of age refers to the phase of life where a teenager grows into a young adult. Coming of age movies typically focus on this transition between youth to adulthood.  They take us on the journey, analyzing the consequences of growing up and taking on new responsibilities. They are often set in the […]

Both cinema verite or direct cinema have similarities: They employ a hand held style of cinematography. The audience can feel real life unfolding in each movie style. Each uses editing to create visual metaphors (similar to how post production is used in French Wave style of making movies). So if you’re considering a movie idea […]

You’ve been staring at a blank page for hours. No matter how hard you scratch, you come up empty each time. You wonder: How do I find the next great movie idea? Day after day, you just can’t seem to get past that blinking cursor. It’s easy to sit down and say a movie was […]

Location serves more than to just provide background for your characters. When thought through, it can almost be like a separate character that injects personality and charm into your film. Location is an important element when applying mise en scène to your film. Good locations are as important to movies as colors are to a […]

A plot is a predetermined storytelling formula that maps out the sequence of occurrences in a movie. In other words, it is the order of events in any cinematic work. It describes the protagonist, the antagonist, and the various points of interest in a film.  Generally, the protagonist has an end goal but there are […]

Found footage cinema is a filmmaking technique that mimics a documentary-style approach, or cinéma vérité. True to its name, the content is presented as if the footage were a recording of something that happened in the past and found by someone else. Usually, in this category of film, the characters operate or appear to operate […]

Modern film is significantly influenced by the French New Wave of the past century. This movement sought to bring a change to the way cinema was executed at the time.  The French New Wave looked to revitalize filmmaking by straying from conventional principles into newer and more innovative tactics.  This movement had a profound effect […]

Clichés are overused expressions or scenes that we continually see in movie scripts over the years. A famous example would be a scene where a car won’t start when one character is desperately trying to get away.  While clichés aren’t necessarily a bad thing, bad ones can distract from the plot. It certainly won’t help […]