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Directing

24 Filmmaking Video Essays that Will Make You Think

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January 14, 2019

- Directing

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!

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Filmmaking

92+ Links: Huge Directory of Free & Cheap Filmmaking Assets

By on

December 14, 2018

- Filmmaking

I hate wasting time – and I like saving money.
I originally created this list because I was sick of wasting so much time looking for that one perfect video clip (when I couldn’t afford to buy one), or a nice set of lower-thirds for a commercial video.

So, instead of continually searching each time I needed something, I frontloaded all the work and created this directory of assets. Now, whenever I see something new, I add it to the list. And, when I need to download something for free real quick, I take look at the list to see if it has what I need.

Pretty great, right? I thought so.

And now, you can save yourself a ton of time (and money) too.

Categories included on the list include:  Stock/Archival Footage, After Effects Elements, LUTs, Loops/Background Overlays, Sound Effects, Music, Document Templates, Contracts, Photos/Vectors, Fonts, and more.

No gimmicks with this list. I want to help other filmmakers out there. Filmmaking is tough as it is.

Find the asset directory here.

Save yourself time, money, and irritation, and spread the wealth; feel free to share it with your friends!

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Filmmaking, Self-Development

20 Insanely Helpful Videos New Filmmakers Should Watch

By on

November 17, 2018

- Filmmaking, Self-Development

I’ve rounded up some of the best content in every category.

We’ve all spent hours sifting through dozens of tutorial videos on YouTube (don’t deny it).

But when you are first getting started, it can be a bit overwhelming. Some videos might delve too deeply into a topic or miss key elements, causing confusion, not providing clarity.

As someone who’s been through those stages, I thought I’d do a roundup of some of the best videos out there covering what I believe to be the fundamentals for those getting into filmmaking.

First off, Moviola

I’ve talked about Moviola before. It’s one of many great educational resources for filmmakers, and I’m surprised more people don’t know about it.

It’s chock-full of totally free video courses on every topic of filmmaking, from cinematography, to sound, to visual effects, and covers a range from beginner to moderately advanced skills.

These videos that are great for beginners but also wonderful recaps for those looking to brush up on a skill they haven’t used for a while.

I highly recommend checking out the free Moviola video courses.

Film set safety

First thing’s first!

It’s important that you do everything you can to keep your cast and crew safe while they work for you.

Filmmaking can be a fulfilling activity, but no movie or short film is worth getting someone hurt over.

Your conscience – and your wallet – probably can’t afford someone getting badly hurt on your set, so take care of your team. This means providing adequate hydration, food, shade, avoidance of overly risky filming practices, and protection from environmental hazards of all kinds.

Writing and formatting a script

The screenplay/script is the canvas on which you paint your film. It’s the blueprint for what goes on screen, and the way in which it is formatted has a long history – and specific purpose.

Don’t be fooled – proper script formatting will be important later on.

Learn about the origins and history of the screenplay.

And, more practically, here’s how to format your script.

I recommend using CeltX script software. It’s cloud-based and there’s a free version.

Breaking down the script

In order to properly schedule, budget, and plan out the details of your film shoot, you need to understand the basics of breaking down a script.

Essentially, this involves figuring out how long each scene is as well as the who, what, when, where, and why of each scene, in order to figure out what you will need to shoot each scene.

Here’s a great video about breaking down a script by RocketJump film school. (I’ll be sharing more of their videos because they’ve done a great job explaining a number of topics.)

Scheduling your film shoot

After you’ve written your script and broken it down into its elements, a natural next step is creating a schedule for your film.

You can do this even if you don’t have everything figured out yet.

The schedule is a living and changing document and you can adjust as needed, but doing an initial schedule will tell you how much time you need to make your film.

There are a lot of tricks that go into creating an efficient schedule – I might have to create a video about that process myself (no promises, though)!

However, what it really comes down to, and is explained great in the below video, is this question – ‘how much can you film in a day without killing people [your cast and crew]’.

How much filming can you pack into a day while still getting good results and without wasting too much time?

Another important tool in the filmmaker’s toolkit is the call sheet. It’s one of the most common film scheduling tools and used by all professional productions to tell their cast and crew where to be, when to be there, and other important details.

I think that staying on schedule is very important to maintaining good long-term relationships with your cast and crew and making a good reputation for yourself.

Budgeting your film

Whether you have a lot of money, or very, very little money to make your film, this is still an important step. Even on a ‘no-budget’ film, it’s good to not be struck with any surprise expenses.

So, by thinking through what may cost you some of your hard-earned cash, you can anticipate and plan for/avoid expenses.

Even the smallest shoots usually cost the little amount needed to provide water and food or snacks for the cast and crew.

That said, $0 or $200 million, you should understand film budgeting.

Finding cast and crew (collaborators)

Without cast and crew, you are going to have a hard time. Not to say you can’t use friends or family to fill these roles. (That said, getting volunteer cast and crew to show up is another issue.)

But I’ve tried running sound and camera at the same time – and also being in front of the camera. Good luck!

Finding competent, reliable crew is no joke. But having good crew makes a world of difference in quality for both your finished film and the experience you have while making it.

Even better than finding a crew one time is learning how to develop a team of collaborators that you can work with again and again – your rockstar filmmaking team.

This video covers some of the casting process and where you can find cast. Personally, I get in touch with local acting agencies, post in Facebook groups catered to the local filmmaking community, and anywhere else I can find.

It’s important to present yourself professionally, and then treat your cast and crew like professionals. You’ll build a good reputation for yourself in the community and people will want to work with you again.

If you don’t, well… people may stop working with you. Word travels.

Finding locations

As a low-budget/no-budget filmmaker, the rule of thumb is to write your script keeping in mind the resources you have available. This usually means you shouldn’t make your story take place in a military space station on Mars, in zero gravity… if you don’t have the resources to do that.

It’s good to stretch yourself, but be realistic.

Personally, my filmmaker brain never shuts off. I’m constantly on the lookout for great locations.

Camera and cinematography essentials

In the beginning, it’s likely you will have to pick up the camera yourself in order to make films. Usually, this is because it is tough to find someone who is willing to fill that role for you.

However, it’s a valuable learning experience (especially for aspiring directors) as you will learn the fundamentals of filmmaking technology and visual storytelling–which is a lot of what a filmmaker does.

In order to get the result you want, you will need to learn basic camera functions such as frame-rate, progressive versus interlaced footage, shutter angle/shutter speed (same thing, different ways of measuring it), aperture and exposure, and ISO (digital sensitivity).

Peter McKinnon covers the most essential elements in this video.

This video explains the basic shot sizes and types. Learning industry lingo will help you understand more advanced techniques as you move forward.

Lighting for film

Lighting is hugely important to getting a ‘cinematic’ look. Since films simulate a 3D world in 2 dimensions, good film lighting enhances or exaggerates 3-dimensional space within a scene.

It draws attention to certain things and away from others. It’s critical to a good film.

Editing, or ‘assembly’ (as Alfred Hitchcock called it)

Basically, editing is the connection of multiple images in a sequence that communicates information – your story.

There are a ton of techniques to accomplish this, and people spend their whole lives perfecting their editing craft.

There are also different theories behind why editing works on our subconscious mind, and these are useful to understand for creative purposes.

However, it’s important for any filmmaker (especially aspiring directors) to understand the fundamentals of editing for practical reasons: understanding editing will help you decide what to shoot and what you really need to make your film work, versus what is a waste of shooting time.

Drawing storyboards

Not everyone likes to or has skill sketching. That’s okay. Basic storyboards are important because you can use them to communicate your vision to cast and crew.

In addition, when you draw storyboards, you are going through the mental exercise of picking your shots, which will force you to make more intentional storytelling choices.

I covered in depth why storyboards are a vital part of the visual planning process for directors. I also explained in more detail how I approach storyboarding.

Getting good on-set audio

When you get started, you’ll likely only have a boom microphone and a cheap boom pole. It might be connected right into your camera, but more likely, you’ll record into a cheap recorder such as a Zoom H4N.

Whatever equipment you have, it’s important to know how to record correctly with a boom mic.

Seems like it’d be really easy, right? Wrong. It’s deceptively simple – and very important.

This video provides a good overview of different systems of recording audio.

Here are some good tutorials on how to use a boom mic setup properly.

How to ‘slate’, or use the clapboard

I’m always surprised how many people don’t understand etiquette and the purpose behind using the slate. But then again – I didn’t understand at first either.

It’s an iconic piece of film equipment – and it has two very important jobs – syncing your audio with your footage, and helping you keep track of your takes.

This is by far the best video I’ve found on how to slate.

I’m repeating myself… which means it’s important

I’ve said this many times. I feel like a broken record (but I’m also talking to myself) when I say this:

Education is great. Reading, watching, and learning theory is important.

But at some point, STOP! Don’t watch hours of videos, read dozens of articles or books, without actually getting out there and making films. You’ll never become a good filmmaker that way. 

Try writing something. Make your own film. Network and meet other people. Work on someone else’s film. That’s how you will learn in leaps and bounds.

At some point, you’ve got to put your foot down and decide to make something – and finish what you start.

Take that as a call to action. Go out and film!

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Visual Storytelling

Case Study: How to Avoid the Failures of “Sacramentum”

By on

November 13, 2018

- Visual Storytelling

What kills pretty much any short film?
I recently created a commentary on my old short film “Sacramentum”. Back when I made that film, I learned a lot about organization, perseverance, and more.

In particular, my friend Christian kept me from calling it quits when it looked like rain would ‘ruin’ our shoot (hint: it rained on and off but didn’t ruin the shoot – where there’s a will there’s a way, more often than not).

But most of all, I learned how important it is to do visual planning as a director, and told myself I’d never again not know what my film would look like–more or less–before the camera starts rolling.

Why? Because not planning out the visuals (and therefore a large chunk of what makes a film work) killed my short film “Sacramentum” and kept it from being better.

Here’s my case study on what did/didn’t work about my film “Sacramentum”, and what you can learn from my mistakes.



Why, exactly, is it so vital that you go through visual planning?

The main reason is that it forces you to think through each of the elements present in your film (yes, even sound), consider what your film might end up looking like, and then justifying each element by actively thinking of how it’ll affect your audience.

Visual planning also allows you to make many of your difficult creative choices before ever stepping foot on set. You can then use all available brain-power to solve the problems that will inevitably come up on set instead of trying to puzzle through a tough creative decision on set and figure out how it will affect your audience.

I go over the visual planning process for directors much more thoroughly in this article. I also explore one aspect of visual planning – the director’s visual reference (lookbook), which is something I do for every film, no matter how small, because it makes for that much better of a film in the end.

As always, I’m glad you took the time to check out this article, and I hope you find it useful. Now get out there and make another film!
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Directing, Filmmaking

How to Fail Up: BTS from my Directorial Debut

By on

November 12, 2018

- Directing, Filmmaking

Ah, the good old days. My first feature film.
It’s crazy to look back and see all the things I’ve learned.

There was so much we didn’t know. But we all start somewhere – it’s just part of the process of learning.

However, not only was there so much we didn’t know – we had no idea where to find the information. Where do we learn, who will tell us how distribution works? What do they even do? How do you raise money? How do we do… really, any number of things?

We had serious roadblocks in front of us. There seemed to be an invisible barrier between us and the next step.

So, what did we do?

We figured we weren’t going to find out how to move forward by waiting around. We decided to learn the hard way. We’d reached a point where it was time to take action.

We made a feature film. And this is our behind-the-scenes featurette. It was included with the DVD, and I’m finally sharing it.



Oh, the things we learned.
It was fun. It was painful. We carried many heavy things, told people to do lots of things in front of a camera, with varying success, and spent all our money. Also, it was hot. (Really freakin’ hot. Arizona Summers are no joke!)

Over the course of perhaps 2 or 3 months, shooting anywhere from 2-4 days (some half-days) a week, $5,000, and 1,000* arguments later, Joe and I finished our first feature film.

*Not really 1,000 arguments. Joe and I got along great since I’d been so particular in ensuring we were compatible before deciding to partner with him. That’s an important part of finding a partner, and I detailed that process here.

The experience I’ve had with overcoming personal filmmaking roadblocks is one of the main reasons I had been wanting to start a site like Storyteller for a long time.

I figured I could help alleviate some of the doubt and provide helpful info to other filmmakers, then motivate them to just get out there and make it happen (because ultimately, that is what we all have to do. No amount of information can change that).

If you are in a place where you aren’t sure what to do next, or seem to be stuck and not moving forward… consider joining the Storyteller community. Let’s get your goals figured out and discover what your next step should be.

Join fellow filmmakers in the Storyteller community.
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