Thomas Flight says his favorite 15 seconds of The Godfather consist of Michael Corleone lighting a cigarette. In a new…
If Paul Verhoeven has taught moviemakers anything during his time spent directing blockbusters, it's that action and violence can be as…
An integral aspect of Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai's mastery is his recurring use of frames within the film frame.…
From Maya Deren to David Lynch, the cinematic "fever dream" has been conjured by many, but mastered by few. Ingmar…
A comprehensive filmmaker's toolkit is grown slowly over time: picking up technical knowledge here and there until one is equipped…
For every production, there are existing sets, and then there are additional set layers whose creation depends upon harnessing those sets'…
“When Harry Met Sally... shows how a clever writer can flip genre conventions to create a fresh take on a…
What makes a scene work? Does it lie in the carefully executed plans of a film's cast and crew? Or…
With one of the most distinct eyes in cinema, Wes Anderson has been gracing screens with his playhouse-styled, candy colored…
Slow motion: For people with clinical depression, it's the human brain's own in-built special effect. A sense of warped, skewed…
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. We’ve all been there before.…
A select few actors have managed to maintain some semblance of control while going "over the top." By now the…
From Five Easy Pieces to The Shining to A Few Good Men and even the latest Lakers home game, Jack…
How has the contemporary American comedy lost its way? It's not that it's no longer funny, says Every Frame a…
During a time when "one-man army" stars of the rugged individualist 1980s like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone set the bar of…
When it comes to movie violence, a perennial question for writers of sanguinary screenplays is, "Am I only writing violence for…
Jackie Chan understands what a well-thrown punch and a well-delivered punchline have in common: When each of them land, they strike a…
The dolly shot: It's an eye-popping technique. The characters it frames seem to float through the scene, divorced from their…
In a filmography chock full of demented body horror, twisted tales of sexual gratification and mentally unhinged psychological thrillers, David…
As it turns out, a mask isn't the only thing that can conceal the killer's identity in a horror film.…
Do you love animated cinema but don't know how the hell its techniques will help you make your movie? As…
Stanley Kubrick wasn't coined the "Total Filmmaker" during his rise to directorial dominance for nothing. Kubrick's authorial presence could be…
For George Miller, the sound of slews of asses being kicked is, quite literally, music to the ears. In Miller's manic magnum…
Sense memory has long been a practice of method actors. But have you ever seen it put into action to…