Directing
24 Filmmaking Video Essays that Will Make You Think
Video essays are a great way to stimulate your creative mind.
Video essays aren’t really ‘instruction’, but they give you a new perspective on various filmmaking techniques, and that’s valuable. They can get you thinking about all the ways that you, as a filmmaker, can approach music, action, dialogue, and so on.
They introduce you to new techniques you haven’t thought of and cause you to consider other directors’ creative approaches.
The following essays have introduced me to a bunch of creative concepts that I now hold in my filmmaking toolkit, ready to go when the opportunity arises.
World and scene building
I consider world-building and structure to be two of the most important aspects of storytelling.
They strongly affect the experience your audience has. How you introduce characters, how they interact with one another and the world around them, and how you show the world in which they live…
These tell the audience a huge amount about your story.
Creating an immersive world without exposition
One of the greatest things about Studio Ghibli films (and by extension, much of Hayao Miyazaki’s directorial work) is how immersive they are despite being so fantastical.
It’s very easy to believe that the characters live within that world.
They don’t try to explain the world through exposition to try and make you believe in it. They just let it exist. They fill the world with the little details of everyday life so it feels like a living, breathing society.
This is the same way that Blade Runner makes its world feel so believable. There’s an ecosystem – a natural flow within the world – that makes it believable.
Creating suspense within a scene
If you’ve seen “Inglorious Basterds”, you know that Quentin Tarantino knocked that opening scene out of the park.
He masterfully creates suspense and thrusts you into the world of occupied France, circa 1943.
This video breaks down exactly how he does that by using tools of suspense that Alfred Hitchcock popularized, among other techniques.
Creating depth and filling your world with movement
Atmospheric elements such as rain, wind, and are powerful storytelling tools. They set the tone, create depth and add to a believable world, if used properly.
This video breaks down how director Akira Kurosawa used natural elements such as smoke, rain, and wind, to add depth to his scenes.
Character conflict within a scene
You may not have thought of a scene in terms of which character ‘wins’ or ‘loses’ in a particular interaction, but maybe you should.
Scenes are miniature conflicts within your story. Characters each have their own goals in mind, obvious or not, and often those goals are conflicting. This sometimes manifests as physical conflict, but far more often will just be a conversation between two people.
Introducing characters to the audience
The old adage ‘first impressions are the most lasting’ seems to apply to film too.
You should carefully consider how you introduce characters – particularly your main character – to the audience. It will speak volumes about who they are and how they react to their circumstances, whatever those might be.
In feature films, the first 10 minutes or so are usually the period of time where the director uses the main character’s circumstances and behavior to tell you exactly who they are.
They use that first impression to set expectations for how the character will behave throughout the film, until they have a change of heart.
Structuring a long scene – a look at story structure
I think this video is a very interesting look at how important structure is within a film – and even within a scene.
Small victories, increasing pressure, and increasing stakes, leading to an engaging experience for your audience.
Visual storytelling
Center framing
Okay, so this isn’t technically a video essay, per-se. But it’s so interesting, I had to share it.
Everyone talks about golden ratio, rule of thirds, and so on, but this video will help you think outside of the box.
You don’t have to do what every tells you is ‘normal’ for your film. Try new things.
Using camera left or right to show character choice
This is an interesting technique. It isn’t common, but I think it’s a solid approach that’s worth considering.
It never hurts to add to your storytelling toolkit. You never know when it might come in handy.
Manipulation of space and time with editing
This is one of my favorite video essays of all time. I think that animated films can teach live-action filmmakers a lot.
This essay in particular really gets me thinking about how I use transitions and communicate the passage of time and movement from place-to-place to my audience.
Could I be doing it more efficiently? Could I create a more impactful moment by using a particular scene transition?
These are good questions to ask yourself in pre-production, because often, these are techniques that you must plan in advance. You can’t always decide last-minute.
Using slow-motion ‘the right way’
I’m not a proponent of doing something ‘just because it looks cool’. I do my darndest to have stuff in my film because it will make for a better film, not just because it’s cool-looking.
However… I also happen to be a big fan of slow motion, because it usually just does look really freakin’ cool.
But don’t worry, because there are ways to use slow motion to create impact, to bring audience attention to specific elements, and other legitimate uses.
Sound design and music
Is modern film music forgettable?
How can – or should – film music be used? This video will get you thinking about how you may want to approach scoring for your films.
Personally, I like the idea of the music being like its own character more than just background, but that’s my preference. I think using music to amplify the emotion in the scene (as background) is a legitimate technique with its own place in film.
How modern film music came to be
A response to the previous video, this video dives deeper into why modern film music came to be how it is now.
Dan Golding argues that it isn’t just because modern music is ‘temped’ based on other films, but because of the style in which the music is made.
The use of silence
Remember, silence is a tool too. You don’t have to constantly have noise in your scene. Silence can speak just as loudly, in the right circumstances. Keep that in mind the next time you make a film.
Musical themes to reinforce character, show growth, and foreshadow
While you may not be composing music for your own films, it is useful to know the different options available to you, as a director.
Knowing your options allows you to communicate a stronger vision to your composer.
You will be able to better envision how your raw shots will transform into a moving experience for your audience, which will help you when planning and executing scenes.
Mixing music and world
Blade Runner is famous for its musical score by Vangelis, and Nerdwriter breaks down what about it works so darn well.
It’s all theoretical, but it will get you thinking. And the music is awesome.
Selectively isolating sounds to tell a story
Spielberg did something very interesting with this scene from “Munich”. By selecting which sounds would be focused on by the audience, he subtly enhances the storytelling of the scene.
Characters
Creating an effective villain
This video explains what makes a great villain, using Joker from Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” as an example.
Any fan of “The Dark Knight” can agree that the Joker was a magnificent opponent for Batman. But why is that, exactly? Is it just due to Heath Ledger’s great performance, or is it something more?
What makes us care about a character
This episode of Lessons from the Screenplay examines what makes a character likeable – or more specifically, what makes us empathize with them.
What better example to use than an anti-hero; a main character with many negative qualities? How does one get their audience to care about someone who is, at best, morally ambiguous?
Film dialogue isn’t real conversation (but it can simulate it)
This is a great look at how film dialogue works. Film dialogue is never the same as real conversation, since hardly any of us speak with clarity.
We repeat ourselves, stutter, go on boring tangents… and that doesn’t really make for good film dialogue. But there is a way to get the same feeling across without boring our audience, while also revealing character.
Physical conflict
Creating intimate violence
Nerdwriter argues that what makes the violence in director Shane Black’s films work so well is that each violent interaction is devastating. There are real stakes. It’s also awkward. Instead of the refined, clear fare of most action, it’s bumbling.
It’s closer to the videos of street fights you find on Facebook than the typical movie fight scene.
It may not be the best approach for every film, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Making the audience feel your characters’ pain
When I watched “Green Room”, I cringed with each stab, slash, and gunshot. I felt the impact, and it stung.
The filmmaker makes you empathize with each character, then with sudden brutality, bring violence upon the characters. Why does it work so well? Find out in the video.
If you’d like to watch the death scenes from “Green Room”, check them out here.
Chaos with clarity
“Saving Private Ryan” is the quintessential war movie. It depicted the attack on the beaches of Normandy in a way that was never done before.
It’s chaotic, painful… you feel as if you are there. Spielberg did this intentionally, but with so many longer shots (compared to most action scenes), wouldn’t the pacing feel slow? Not so, and in this video you’ll learn why.
Rhythm as a structural tool
I’ve watched “Mad Max: Fury Road” more times than I can count. I’m always blown away by how absolutely gripping it is.
As explained by Rossatron in this video, it’s the rhythm – both of music and action – in this film that keeps the audience engaged throughout. There are ups and downs, losses and victories, and it keeps you wanting to know what will happen next.
Intensity of sound to amplify action
“Heat” uses sound to turn up the tension and intensity to 11 in this heist scene. I hardly noticed how sanitized gunfire sounded in films, until now. What a difference it makes!
Learn and apply
I hope you enjoyed this list of video essays. I love each one of these videos and find that each one brings new perspective to my filmmaking experience.
Now that you have more storytelling tools available to you, you should make an effort to try some of them out. See how it goes.
If you’d like to learn more, you should check out my list of educational resources or my coveted film reading list.
Go forth and make great films!
Author
Entrepreneur & Storyteller. Co-founder of Occulus Films. I love working with teams to create compelling and engaging films and commercial video content. Fave films include Blade Runner and Mad Max: Fury Road.
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