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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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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.
0
Directing, Self-Development

Becoming a Movie Director – 9 Tips for Success

By on

September 29, 2018

- Directing, Self-Development

You dream of directing. You can see the lights, the camera… the action!
Whether it be directing commercials, short films, or one day, directing feature films, you have a big dream.

Your dream is attainable. As many before me have said, it is no easy path–but it is doable with consistency and hard work. However, even if you have the drive and energy to do what it takes, it’s hard to aim that energy if you aren’t sure where to get started.

I plan to point you in the right direction. word-image These items are basically what I’ve done to get where I am today.

If you put time into growing and learning new skills, you can become an effective storyteller and leader; a movie director.

For now, I’ll assume that you’re really starting from zero and haven’t made a lot of progress toward your goal, but you’re ready to start.


1. Should I go to film school, or figure it out myself?
There’s not much that hasn’t been said on this topic, but it’s still a very popular question because it’s often where aspiring filmmakers get hung up (and it’s a big decision, so no surprise there).

Here’s the disappointing answer: It depends.

There are pros and cons both to film school and self-teaching.

Basically, they look like this:

Pros – Film School:

– Access to network with many passionate, creative, driven individuals (some, but not all of your classmates)
– Access to mentors right away in your instructors (with varying quality based on school)
– Use of school equipment for class projects (varies by school)
– A step-by-step walkthrough of filmmaking fundamentals
– Learning the ‘right’ way to do things (the Hollywood industry standard)
– Learn lots of theory and understand why things work how they do

Cons – Film School:

– Cost of school and debt (unless you get financial assistance or scholarships)
– Can get stuck in the Hollywood mindset of how to do things (‘they must be done this way!’)
– Time is utilized as dictated by your courses
– If you aren’t mature yet, you may waste time in money in school if you aren’t focused
– If the school isn’t great, you may not do enough hands-on practice to apply the theory you learned


Pros – Self-Teaching:

– Flexibility to approach filming however you like
– Learn to think outside the box and use unusual solutions, not pre-taught answers
– Spend your money on your films and practice instead of school (or just save the money and shoot on the cheap)
– Avoid potential debt of school
– Forced to network more and increase people skills in order to meet collaborators
– You focus on and learn what works on screen

Cons – Self-Teaching:

– No classes, teachers, or structure to compel you to do the legwork for your learning
– No special guidance from people unless you go out of your way to find mentors
– Don’t necessarily learn the finer elements of technique due to less theory learning

What did I do?

I learned most of what I know through self-education and hands-on practice.

I did not go to film school. I wrote, shot, edited, and repeated for four years.

Then, I finally caved and went to film school for a full semester.

I also took a handful of random night classes in film over the next few months. I learned some additional skills and made a couple films, but then decided it would be better for me to continue on my own.

The fact is that your circumstances will vary. However, there are so many wonderful (and often free) online resources out there, and more all the time.

It’s worth checking them out before you make a decision. If you’d like to read people’s thoughts on film school, here’s the Reddit thread you need.


2.  Get on any film set you can, in any role
What does this do for you? Immersion.

Student. Professional. Intern. Actor. Background actor. Whatever.

By getting on a ton of sets and experiencing different things, you will be immersing yourself into the practices of filmmakers.

As with those learning a second language and living within a foreign country, you too will learn more quickly if you live in the filmmaking environment.

You’ll pick up on their lingo, language, methods of communication, learn the function of equipment, see good and bad practices, and much more. 1378304_723601087656020_616885665_n Even if you are an unpaid Production Assistant and you don’t do a whole lot, soak it all in.

Observe your surroundings and take note.

I remember the very first set I was on. I volunteered to be an extra for a film student’s final project, a WWII short drama following a Soldier on his way home from war. I couldn’t have known that this was a student film by what I experienced.

It was so out of my league that I was starstruck. I thought it was amazing. I got a feel for the environment, how crew went back and forth, constantly communicating, each handling their own specific tasks.

It was very much worthwhile.


3.  Get experience in different crew roles
Experiment!

On my first set, I was an extra. Then, a script supervisor (‘sure, I can do that!’, I said, having never done it before) for a 4 day student film shoot. After that, I was a grip. I distinctly remember carrying, by hand, a 50+ pound box of camera jib weights, about half a mile through sand. That was a multiple day shoot for a student film.

Then I was a gaffer, assistant camera, and so on.

This is highly valuable for a director for several reasons.

First, when you get started, you won’t always have all the crew you need.

It’s going to help you a lot to know how to jump in and, with some competence, light an actor, set up a piece of equipment, break down a script, and so on. What’s the alternative, to give up? That’s obviously not an option, so the next best thing is to give it your best shot–and it helps to be well-rounded.

Second, as you grow and work with more crew, you will be a better director.


No one expects the director to be an expert at everything.

However, if you understand the basics of what each of your crew does, you will be able to speak their language. You will have an easier time knowing what to ask from them, what they need, how to make their experience pleasant, and much more.

Ultimately, this leads to better teamwork, a more streamlined shoot, and a higher quality film.


4.  Self-educate with books, videos, articles, and courses
This is pretty straightforward. If you want to become good at anything, you have to dedicate some time to learning.

Absorb the knowledge and wisdom of filmmakers past by consuming their content. There’s decades of valuable knowledge out there. Personally, I love to read, and some of the greatest knowledge I’ve gained as a director was from these books.

Just remember: Practice without learning from others experience leads to making mistakes you can avoid. However, book-learning and theory without hands-on, real application and practice leads nowhere.

Don’t let reading articles and watching videos become a method of procrastination. Get out there and make films! That leads me to my next point…


5.  Write, shoot, edit, collaborate, repeat
This is where things get real! In the end, a director is a storyteller.

Yes, a good director is many things – a leader, a manager, a diplomat, an organizer, a motivator… But while that is all important, it happens behind the scenes.

What people see is the story that unfolds before them. Ultimately, the only way for you to become a good storyteller – and director – is to practice telling stories in your medium.

You must write, shoot, edit, and repeat. With each iteration, though you will make painful mistakes and criticize yourself harshly, you will be growing in leaps and bounds with each project. Whether you write, shoot, and edit a scenario, a short scene, a skit, or an entire short film, you need to practice.

Here’s my last note. While I stole the mantra ‘write, shoot, edit, repeat’ from Film Riot (because it’s a great catchphrase), the ‘collaborate’ bit is my own addition.


Here’s why I say ‘write, shoot, edit, collaborate, repeat’.

Practice is great. Even practice all by yourself is helpful. However, you will learn even faster if you make an effort to collaborate on projects with other crews. Other teams. Work with other directors. Don’t stay within your little bubble.

Other teams will do things differently than you do, and you will learn from them.

Chances are, they will learn something from you as well. In the process, you are networking and making strong connections for future projects and possibly even partnerships. Win-win.

6.  Find a mentor
A common piece of advice for any aspiring professional is to find someone who is 2 steps ahead of you and reach out to them.

Why only 2 steps?

If you look too far ‘above your station’, your chances of getting a response are much lower. Steven Spielberg isn’t going to reply to your Facebook message. But a local production company owner or director who has a couple of feature films under his belt just might.

The reason you should look for a mentor is the same reason you should take advantage of books, articles, courses, and other knowledge that experienced pros have shared.

What makes a mentor different is they can actually help you get hands-on experience, specialized knowledge, and help you with unusual problems or questions.

How do you find a mentor? Good question. You can find mentors on sets where you are helping out, networking events, or you can reach out to production companies.

How to Become a Movie Director - 9 Tips for Success
But how do you ask someone to be your mentor?

Well, you don’t really just come out and ask them. Don’t be so blunt and say, “will you be my mentor?” It comes across as a request for a large commitment, which can be a turn off for someone who’s very busy. It’s a bit unnatural as well.

Let the relationship develop naturally.

Make it seem like a small commitment for them in order to make it a more attractive request.

Ask them for a limited, defined piece of their time. “Can I reach out to you once in a while with a quick question? I would really appreciate any information you could provide.” Or, simply ask if you can have their contact info in case you have a question and could really use their expertise.

People love to feel important and valued, so the chances they will say no to that request are very low. Another thing you could ask is, “would you mind if I came into your studio/on set some time to see how you do things? I really want to learn and I’m happy to help out. Alternatively, I can just observe if you’d prefer that.”

Just make sure that you are more of a help than a hindrance. If that means being a silent ‘fly-on-the-wall’, so be it. Make sure they will want to have you around again and talk with you.


7.  Hone your people skills
As a director or freelancer of any kind, your people skills are incredibly important to your success. A lot of this industry is about networking, communication, diplomacy, and managing or leading people.  


So, it stands to reason you need to constantly work on those skills if you want to be a director.

In particular, you should be putting regular time into networking. Connect with new people, reconnect with people you thought were good to know, and maintain relationships.

Business is about people working together, in the end, so stay at the forefront of people’s minds and make sure they like being around you.

As a director, I find it especially important to learn and apply principles of a servant leader. People love to work with someone who genuinely appreciates their input, cares for their team, and is a strong decision-maker.

Learning these qualities can help you put together a terrific crew.


8.  Stay outside your comfort zone
The place where you will make the most progress is always somewhere between comfortable and stressed. There is a place where a moderate amount of stress and new experience will help you grow.

Most people just call that ‘getting outside of your comfort zone’, but science backs me up on this. Good stress is a real thing. On one extreme side of that good stress is laziness and backtracking, and on the other side is a panic attack.

How to Become a Movie Director - 9 Tips for Success (1)
How do you stay in the middle of that spectrum? Here’s the warning sign: If you feel complacent or like things are too easy, take on a new challenge. That’s what I do.

If I feel like I’m slipping into laziness and not being productive, I first recognize what’s happening. Then, I find some kind of project that I can work on to keep my skills up to speed and learn something.

Whether that’s tackling a writing project, shooting a practice scene for a technique you haven’t tried, or making a film, do something. On the other hand, you can fend off overwhelming stress by instituting good daily habits that will stabilize your life: good diet, adequate sleep, stress outlets (friends, family support, exercise), a regular schedule and rituals, etc.


9.  Make your first movie
This is really a suggestion. But… if your goal is to make a feature film someday, you need to do it at some point, right?

Here’s my biggest tip for you: Don’t wait until everything is ‘just right’. It will never happen!

If you’re a perfectionist or a planner like me, this is especially difficult. You want things to be set up and planned out just-so, so your film can be the perfect masterpiece you want it to be. A great saying is that ‘perfect is the enemy of good’.

In other words, if you don’t take the leap at some point and simply do it, your goal of perfection will keep you from creating anything, much less anything good.


This also holds true for any large project, including short films, writing a feature film screenplay, or shooting a full feature film.

Take it from someone who has been there, done that. When I made my first film, I had a great partner, and though I hadn’t learned this lesson yet, he had. He knew that if we didn’t just start, even though we didn’t feel ready, our film would never happen.

(By the way, that’s why having a good partner for your first movie is a great idea!)


How to become a movie director (one step at a time!)
1. Should I go to film school, or figure it out myself? Film school and self-teaching have their own pros and cons, but I strongly suggest checking out all the resources out there before you take the leap and spend money on film school.

2. Get on any film set you can, in any role. By immersing yourself in the world of filmmaking, you will soak up all sorts of knowledge. This is especially great for those not getting a formal education, as it will help fill in any knowledge gaps.

3. Get experience in different crew roles. By being well-rounded, you can pitch in when you need to for your films. Your knowledge will also make you better at communicating and working with different crew types.

4. Self-educate with books, videos, articles, and courses. Take the time to educate yourself as much as possible – but don’t forget to get out there and apply it.

5. Write, shoot, edit, collaborate, repeat. The only way you get better at filmmaking, storytelling, and directing is by making films. (Whoa, no way!) Go make some films, then find people to collaborate in different capacities so you can learn what other people are doing.

6. Find a mentor. A mentor is great at sharing very detailed, in-depth knowledge that you might not find online, where a majority of content is directed at beginners. They can also answer specific questions when problems arise and you can’t find the answer any other way.

7. Hone your people skills. Filmmaking involves working with people. Lots of them. So naturally, you need to make sure you can communicate effectively, are enjoyable to work with, and can network.

8. Stay outside your comfort zone. You don’t want to end up having a panic attack from stress overload… but you also don’t want to become so comfortable that you are complacent. Keep growing by challenging yourself periodically.

9. Make your first movie. You want to be a director, right? Remember that there will never be a perfect time, nor will you ever have everything you think you need to make a film. Eventually, you have to make the leap.

Well, this was an enjoyable article to write. I had to think back to when I got started – and what I wish I knew (and applied).

I sincerely hope that if you are an aspiring director or filmmaker of any kind reading this, that you found something valuable for you. If you did, you can get more stuff like this every week by subscribing below.

I hope you will join our Storyteller community! I answer questions for my subscribers who reply to my emails.

Best of luck to you – get to work on that dream of yours!
2
Directing, Filmmaking, Visual Storytelling

5 Challenging Scene Types and How to Conquer Them

By on

September 15, 2018

- Directing, Filmmaking, Visual Storytelling

Practice, practice, practice!

As the saying goes, you need to put 10,000 hours of practice into something to become a phenomenal practitioner of that thing. (It might actually take less than 10,000 hours, but that’s another story.) Well, it may hurt to think about how much time that means you really need to put in to become a master of your craft. I get that.

Don’t think about it too hard. Just practice when you get the chance and make it a habit.

So, a great way to become a great filmmaker is by practicing some of the most common scenes.

Each of these scene types reveals something important about your characters, create or resolve a conflict, or advance the story, so they are important to get under your belt if you haven’t tried shooting them before.

This article from Yeah Write! goes into depth about the elements of a scene, what makes a scene work, and what the goal of a scene is.

Basically, a scene mimics an entire film in that it has a beginning, middle, and end, and should reveal something about your characters as they make active decisions toward a goal.

That said, you need to make sure your scene has all the important elements of drama to make it effective and not simply a filler scene.

The dinner scene

This scene is deceptively simple. The mistake I made when I got started as a filmmaker was thinking that having a ‘normal’ dinner scene showed that my main character was a family man (or something like that). Just by having it in there.

Instead, the scene felt fake, because there was no conflict within the scene–what family never has conflict at the dinner table?

By having no conflict, my characters revealed nothing about themselves, and the story was not advanced. It was essentially a waste of time.

A dinner scene (or any meal, really) is a great opportunity for storytelling. You are taking your audience and inserting them into one of the most private moments anyone has; eating a meal at home, away from the prying eyes of the public.

They are probably at their most relaxed and vulnerable and may reveal something about themselves.

What if they are eating with family, but are totally clammed up and uneasy? Or, perhaps your character is eating all alone in a small apartment littered with cigarette butts and empty bottles.

See what I mean?

Quick Tip: think about the setting of the meal, the people present, and what their goals are during the meal in order to reveal more about your characters in this scene. This breakdown by YouTube channel “Now You See It” goes into depth on how powerful dining scenes are.


The foot chase scene

This type of scene is both fun to shoot but also challenging to pull off. Using the right kinds of shots, lenses/focal lengths, and editing to make the scene feel energetic and intense is not as simple as it might seem.

While you might not do very well on your first try, practicing and reviewing your work afterward is key to mastering this scene. If you can nail it down, it becomes a great tool for advancing the plot and injecting a little excitement into your film.

Remember, though, that the scene should reveal things about your character and your character should be doing it to achieve a specific goal.

If we don’t have a reason to care about the outcome of the chase, it won’t be interesting. Is he lazy, an overachiever, overconfident? Perhaps he is chasing a criminal but intentionally lets him get away, revealing he may be hiding something?

Quick Tip: use long lenses to shoot characters moving side to side, and use wider lenses to shoot characters moving toward or away from the camera – that will make them seem to move more quickly than they are. You can also get great results by tracking behind or in front of a character.


The fist-fight scene

If you go ahead and practice this, you don’t have to do anything too crazy. However, knowing how to shoot a fight is good to know how to do in a pinch. Ever needed to just have a character punch someone in the face?

Beginner filmmakers can have a hard time selling this single, straightforward action on camera.

It certainly confused me at first!

Like the foot chase, a fist fight comes with a variety of technical challenges, since you have to ‘cheat’ the position of your actors and camera to simulate that they are actually striking each other.

As far as storytelling goes, a fist fight or physical struggle is a legitimate method for a character to attempt resolving a conflict or issue.

Your character may even be making a bad decision, but it’s a strong choice that reveals much about your him, nonetheless.

You just have to make sure that physical altercations advance the story and aren’t there just for their own sake.

Quick Tip: the actor’s arm/fist should always hide the gap between their fist and the other actors face, like Ryan Connolly demonstrates in the below video breakdown.

Oh, and for a good laugh, check this out.


The travelling scene

Travelling scenes aren’t just for cookie-cutter transitions!

This is a multi-purpose scene in that it can really tell your audience a lot–if you use it well.

A traveling scene can range from a montage of your character going on an epic journey, to traveling from one city to the next, or even just walking a few blocks.

However, in that rather short span of time, the audience sees many things.

Environment. World-building. Tone. Character attitude. How the character interacts with his world. How they fit into the world.

Do they ignore their surroundings? Do people avoid them? Do they take the back alleys, looking around cautiously? Do people spit insults at them?

Is their world busy and full of stimulus? Is it a slow country town?

Give your audience a sense of the world your character inhabits, and tell them a bit about who they are and what they do.

Travel scenes are often used as a transition, such as going from one city to the next as a matter of plot progression, but you should always try to use that time to show your audience something about your character.

Quick Tip: take a look at a scene where your character is traveling. Think about the layers of information you can convey through this scene–who, what, when, where, and why–and try to communicate more than the obvious through your travel scene.

The exposition scene

Exposition: “the insertion of important background information within a story; for example, information about the setting, characters’ backstories, prior plot events, historical context, etc.” (Wikipedia)

The rule of thumb for filmmakers is ‘show, don’t tell’. This is incredibly important. You should always look for ways to build vital information into your story through characters’ actions and their world.

Exposition, if done badly, tends to tell, not show. So, only once you have built as much information into the scene as possible through non-dialogue means should you use dialogue.

At that point, dialogue can be a good way to communicate information (like in this great breakdown of how to use dialogue), but you need to get to the point, and you need to make it interesting!

Don’t have your characters sitting and doing nothing but chatting, pandering to the audience. Not only is that boring, but… well, that’s actually a great reason not to do it.

Part of your job is to entertain the audience.

A way to handle exposition is ‘the walk and talk’.

Sometimes the walk and talk can double as a traveling scene (from one location to another) and way to deliver exposition. It can show a lot about the character’s world, their busy life, and deliver information that will be important for later in the story.

The video below hints at some ways you might effectively use text and dialogue to communicate information without pandering to your audience.

You can also use a traveling scene as an opportunity to have characters deliver important information while also getting to a critical next step for the story. This might be traveling on a plane, bus, in a car, or another mode of transportation.

Quick Tip: try to communicate as much information as possible with action, tone, and world-building. Whatever you need to tell the audience through dialogue, have your characters say it while doing something relevant or interesting. Traveling, Building something, cooking, cracking jokes, struggling to get the kids to the dinner table, hiking to their hunting blind… anything–just keep it entertaining.

Oh, and then there’s this:


Try these and many more

Like I said, the key is to practice. This is obviously not an exhaustive list of the types of scenes, the ways you can execute them, or what you should try. Regardless, I’d encourage you to bust out a camera, call a couple of friends, and go try out these scenes. Good luck!





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Directing, Filmmaking

[Free Film Questionnaire Form] 3 Foolproof Steps to Apply Feedback to Your Film

By on

July 14, 2018

- Directing, Filmmaking

Clear feedback is key to pulling together an effective final cut of your film.

You just finished the cut of your recent film and are feeling oh-so-competent. Who among your peers have done what you have? You had gone with your genius instincts and can do no wrong. You declare, “it is complete!”. Cackling madly, you hit ‘export’ like the Dr. Frankenstein of auteur directors. You’ve just pieced together a monster.

Deep down in your soul, you shiver slightly. You know what you did is wrong.

A couple of days later, your inner fears are validated when someone comments on the film, which you posted on YouTube.

(Why did you put your feature film on YouTube? …Oh, it was a short? Okay. Well, this information still works for you, too.)

SpinKick74:

“Just really not worth watching. A strange and bad movie all around. 3/10.”


Brutal.

A visual representation of your hopes and dreams after reading the comment on your film.


If only you would have sought out honest, thorough feedback from filmmakers, friends, and strangers! Alas, you did not.

But since you’re reading this, you’ve either learned the error of your ways or know better and want some ideas on how to get great feedback.

Show off the most complete project possible

Before you get started on refining your project, it’s important that you bring it as close to something resembling the final product as possible. Why? Your filmmaking friends may largely understand your intention with the film, already have a general idea of the story, and distinguish from what will be improved and what is being presented in its final form.

These are people you can get feedback from while the film is still under construction or in early stages, and you should seek out their feedback if you can.

However, more ordinary viewers will not necessarily understand or react properly to a film that is not complete in its most important aspects.

Therefore, the closer your project is to being view-ready, the more accurate audience feedback will be.

Some things you can do to make sure feedback will be neutral include:

1. Add basic sound design.

2. Add a simple color grade and some atmospheric sound.

3. Add titles explaining absent visual effects

4. Ensure there are no black frames, missing shots, non-uniform scaling issues, or other distractions.

5. Add anything that is crucial to the viewer to understand the story.

Know your viewer and how to interpret feedback

Depending on the kind of person you get feedback from, you are going to receive different kinds of feedback. Some of it can sometimes be… less than helpful, let’s say.

Your grandma will probably just pat you on the back. “You did such a great job. You are amazing, dear.” You appreciate the affirmation, but it isn’t particularly useful for improving your project.


That’s okay. You love her anyway.

At different points in your film’s creation, you’ll need to reach out to different people depending on what you are looking for.

Audience types and the type of feedback

General viewer:

These are people that aren’t really huge movie-lovers and aren’t necessarily in your target audience. In other words, these might be people you don’t know all that well; maybe that friend on Facebook you don’t know. 34, female, legal clerk. Your film is a thriller. It may not be in her wheelhouse based on demographic trends, but she’s willing to provide feedback.

Target audience:

These viewers are almost identical to the general viewer. The difference is that their feedback will lack any strange reactions or anomalous feedback. They will understand the genre conventions of your film and appreciate the staples of it (ex. action sequences).

What kind of feedback. General feelings, like or dislike, whether it feels professional, what characters they like, whether the acting is good or not, and other general feedback.

What to look out for. For the general viewer, there can be bias in their feedback, such as dislike of genre conventions or an unusual response to scenes meant to elicit specific responses. Their feedback can have abnormalities because they don’t react the same way as the fan of your film’s genre. Your target audience will not have this problem. Always remember that this is ultimately the group of people for which your film is intended.

When to ask for feedback. When trying to work on project pacing, flow, and the arrangement of scenes. Whether plot points make sense and are logical.


Cinephile:

These viewers are frequent moviegoers and have more discerning tastes. They know what they like, know what they dislike, and are usually not afraid of saying so. They are more likely to like a variety of films and genres, so they may be quite similar to your target audience.

What kind of feedback. This will vary greatly by how avid a moviegoer they are and how picky they are, but the cinephile will likely be able to provide more critical, specific feedback to you than the standard viewer, while also providing their general reaction to your film. Some of this feedback might include:

Moments of the film or elements that seem ‘off’ but they aren’t sure why, plot holes, inconsistencies, or character issues, basic structural problems, and critical evaluation of the quality of your special effects, action, or other elements requiring the audience to suspend disbelief.

What to look out for. While they can provide great feedback that is more detailed than the average viewer, they have the potential to be more critical than the average viewer and may not be a completely accurate representation of how your target audience will react.


When to ask for feedback. When trying to work on project pacing, flow, and the arrangement of scenes. Whether plot points make sense and are logical. Quality of music and sound design’s ability to enhance the story. Identifying plot holes and character issues.

Casual filmmaker:

These are those people you’ve met who’ve done some film work but aren’t rabid filmmakers. It’s not that they don’t know anything or have no ability, but they take more of a casual interest, making a little film here and there when they have some time.

What kind of feedback. They are more likely to provide feedback that’s a mix between a layman’s perspective and someone who knows what they are looking at. They aren’t so specialized that they can’t look past issues your film has or the technical aspect. They can provide some technical insight paired with the thoughts of a normal viewer.

What to look out for. They can focus on the technical achievements of your film, slick shots, and other aesthetic elements instead of providing substantive feedback on the crucial parts of your film. This likely won’t always be the case, but it is something worth keeping in mind.

When to ask for feedback. When you need a more discerning eye to take a look at your film, or need a set of fresh eyes to look at a certain shot or cut that hasn’t been tainted by viewing the material too much.

Family and friends:

Friends and family can give decent general feedback on your film, but there is a strong chance that they will not give you detailed or challenging feedback, but rather give you a nice pat on the back and a ‘good job, buddy’.

Their feedback will most likely be broad notes on what they thought was good about it while leaving out the negative. They aren’t looking to cause any trouble and don’t understand that you may be okay with them being brutally honest. This isn’t always the case, but it’s a good rule of thumb.

Professional filmmakers:

If you have any mentors within the industry, or people a couple steps ahead of you in different industry roles, especially writers, they can provide incredibly useful feedback.

What kind of feedback. If they are willing to take the time to give you detailed feedback, they will tell you exactly what they thought worked well and what has issues, and perhaps even offer potential solutions.

What to look out for. Similar to the casual filmmaker, not all professionals understand the essentials of story structure or other storytelling necessities. Instead, each professional tends to have a specific specialty and so they are likely to hone in on that area more than others.

When to ask for feedback. If you are trying to dial in your film and really get it fine-tuned for a competition or for distribution, that’s a good time to ask the opinion of any connections you might have.

Identify patterns of feedback and adjust accordingly

Two times is a coincidence, but three times is a pattern, as they say.

This is a decent standard by which to apply feedback to your film. A professional screenwriter once told me that if he hears the same feedback from three separate people, he almost always will make changes based on their feedback. It’s the smallest sample size from which you can predict what needs to change for the better, in most circumstances.


This standard has held well for me in all kind of projects, both creative and otherwise.


That said, there will be times when someone points something out that you didn’t see before, or their perspective allows you to see a glaring issue that clearly needs improvement. Give it a shot and change it up. No rule is absolute when it comes to implementing feedback to your project.

Free resource – film screening questionnaire

I’m including a link to download a questionnaire to help you collect feedback for your films.

Originally I designed it for viewers to fill out after our preliminary screenings, but I’ve repurposed and improved it for your purposes. I do hope you find it helpful as you work to make your project the best it can possibly be.

Click here to get the questionnaire. The link will take you to a signup form. After filling it, you will be able to download the questionnaire.

Page 1 of the questionnaire (with question 5 filled in completely as an example)

Recap: this is how you apply feedback to your film

1. Show off the most complete product realistically possible. Include non-visual elements that are important to getting the story across, such as particular sound design or sound effects, or a title card explaining a missing visual effect. Doing this will help you get the most neutral feedback possible.

2. Know your viewer and how to interpret their feedback. Understand what kind of feedback you are likely to receive based on who is viewing. From there, figure out how to implement that feedback appropriately without giving too little or too much weight to it.

3. Identify patterns of feedback and adjust accordingly. Remember this rule of thumb: two times might be a coincidence, but three is a pattern.

Just like prep and production, the process of collecting feedback and implementing it effectively is an important step in the filmmaking process.

Now get out there, and make your work the best it can be!

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