Planning & Directing

Stuff You Need to Know

Working with Your DP

How to Effectively Collaborate with Your DP

Your Director of Photography can help bring your cinematic vision to life, but only if you work well together.
Pizza chef holding a cooked pizza

How to plan a successful video ad

Here we’ll focus on the pre-production aspects of producing a video commercial. We’ll discuss all the steps that must be completed before you press...
7 Tips to Help You Start Editing Your Film Script

7 Script Editing Tips that Will Take Your Screenplay from Good...

Even though you’ve finished writing your script, it's still a first draft and most scripts need more than one draft to be ready for...

How a shot list makes your shoot easier, better and cheaper

If you go back and look at your early work, it probably looks like it was directed by someone who needs a guide dog....
No matter how you go about your contract, the most important thing is that you actually devote time and attention to it.

How to write a comprehensive video production contract

Have you ever asked yourself whether your video production contract was good enough? If you’re like most freelancers or small business owners, you probably...
How NOT to be an Overbearing Director

How Respectful Directing Leads to Better Performances

Directing is a tough job. The long hours and pressure of keeping a production on track require a strong leader. While the stereotype of...
Studio set up with furniture, lamp and artwork on the walls.

Fully furnished: 5 tips for using props effectively

Whether you’re shooting a feature-length narrative or a simple interview, props add richness to your video’s environment and can alter the viewer’s interpretation of...
Film Crew on set.

Creative Collaboration: Building Team Dynamics for Your Production

When you start building a team for production, you are creating your most valuable asset.

How to direct actors to get the best possible performance

It's essential for a director to know how to direct actors and form a successful working relationship to deliver the best performance.
Film studies featured image

An introduction to film studies

We often focus on the logistics of making films. However, knowing how to apply those techniques through film studies is just as important.

Video Courses

What's New

Projector showing fIlm history

Film history: The evolution of film and television

When it comes to film history, cinema started with a bang, developed rapidly and never stopped. From silent films to Netflix, we cover it all.

Each camera bag needs these 4 things

Camera, check. Battery, check. AC power, check. Recording media, check. For the final thing, read on. Camera Packing camera bags is simple on the surface, so let's dig deeper. The camera is necessary for obvious reasons, but its fit in a camera bag isn't always clear when you...
How to craft an effective production workflow for small teams featured image

How to craft an effective production workflow for small teams

Today’s video technology allows small video productions to give major film productions a run for their money. Here’s how they can do it.
"The Dark Knight"

Character foils in film defined

Buzz Lightyear, Han Solo and Draco Malfoy — while these characters are quite different, they have a major thing in common: They're all foils.
"What does a 1st assistant director do?" featured image

What does a first assistant director do?

Almost everyone knows what a film director does, but what about the first assistant director? Let's go over what they do on set.

The film noir genre defined

Defined by its dark themes and sharp visual contrast, film noir rose to popularity in the 1940s and has been a cinema genre cornerstone since.
Film editor selecting models during pre-production

How to stay organized in pre-production

Every film project must start at the pre-production stage. And the best way to navigate pre-production is to start (and stay) organized.
"F. Jullien Genève", maybe Frank-Henri Jullien (1882-1938) - "Indogermanisches Jahrbuch." Edits made to image: Cut out. Link to license: CC BY-SA 4.0

Ferdinand de Saussure: The linguist who unexpectedly helped create film theory

Ferdinand de Saussure's groundbreaking linguistic theories have had a major influence on cinema and narrative interpretation.
The importance of DOT documents

The importance of DOT documents: Lessons learned from a near-disastrous cross-country...

Ask any industry professional and they are likely to have plenty of horror stories. However, this one could have ended in complete disaster.
Greta Gerwig

What can we learn from Greta Gerwig?

Being one of the most successful directors in the modern era, there's a lot we can learn from acclaimed director Greta Gerwig.
The role of the mood board in pre-production feature image

The role of the mood board in pre-production

Mood boards are used across various industries and for various reasons. But for filmmakers, they can be a huge help.
The purpose of video editing featured image

The purpose of video editing

Ever since the dawn of cinema, there has been a need for video editing. But why is that? What is the purpose of editing the videos we shoot?
What is an executive producer?

What is an executive producer and what do they do?

While there are many jobs on a film set, one of the most important roles is the executive producer. Here's why they are so vital.
Risk-taking cameraman filming from the top of a very high cliff in the canyons of Utah

The art of risk-taking in filmmaking

Taking risks in filmmaking can be quiet scary, but it can be also highly rewarding. No one shows us that better than Wes Anderson.