Mise en Scene -camera placement

The camera's placement sets up a shot from angles to lens, tiny little movements here and there increase the drama of the moment.

Timeless Formulas

Have you ever watched a movie and had the vague feeling of deja vu? You ask yourself, didn't I just see that somewhere else? You probably did. Expanding upon the Three Acts of a Screenplay, there is something called a formulaic Screenplay. I recommend finding the book Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting you'll ever need! Written by an "insider" it explains why somethings seems to always be present in certain movies. 

How editing changes a scene

After actually filming a movie, the next time consuming effort is on editing. That is where the magic happens.

Below is a scene in a basic screen play format.

The Departed: The Power of Cross Cutting

The Departed is one of my favorite movies. I'm not usually into crime or gangster movies, but this lighter version doesn't have all the violence but still tells a good story with enough action and suspense to entertain.

Cross Cutting is like parallels. Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) and Colin Sullivan (Damon) are opposites. Castigan works and earns everything. Sullivan is handed everything. Costigan is a good cop pretending to be a gangster. Sullivan is a gangster pretending to be a cop. This movies just does such a great job of pitting these two against each other and building the suspense of who will be discovered first.

O Brother Where Art Thou? Breaking down the three acts

How does the story begin? As the audience when we watch the finished product, but before the camera even beings to roll a story has to be established.

The screenwriter, before the producer or director, has to create a script and present sell his or her idea.    The screenwriter has one shot to make the perfect impression, if the reader is not hooked after the first page then the movie never gets made. O Brother Where Art Thou? is one of my favorite comedies. It may be odd to hear that I like it so much because of the screenplay rather than the laughs, but writing a comedy is hard.  I appreciate that the movie never strayed off track and didn't resort to vulgar or idiotic tactics.  So how does O Brother Where Art Thou break down?

The Playwright vs. The Screenwriter

What is the major difference between a playwright and a screenwriter?

CGI in Animation

CGI and animation seem like an obvious combination, but before computers and digital software, the pencil and paper were the creators. Cel animation has it's charm. Below is a quick overview of the transformation of animation.