What Makes a Film ‘Artsy’?

How do we know if a film is 'artsy' or not? You may hear the phrase 'artsy film' being used rather loosely when talking to friends and family. "That is an artsy film" etc, and you might even be inclined to disagree with them. But how do we actually know if it's an artsy film...

How to Channel Your Creative God/Goddess

As a writer, or even an artist, the most annoying question anyone could ask us is 'how do your get your ideas?' Because truth us, we don't know. While many of our ideas spawn from long nights of lengthy, passionate thinking, (See what I did there?) a lot of our ideas will come without thought or...

What Am I Learning? (Pt. 1)

I am an independent film student, meaning I am taking initiative and time out of my day to study film at my own pace. I'm not attending any classes or schools, and I will not be receiving any 'degree' or 'qualification'. Here's one thing I'm learning with my own studies. Film changes. Constantly. And so,...

The Relationship Between Writer and Character (Stranger Than Fiction – SPOILERS)

When you're writing  the characters for your story or script, more often than not, you will grow to know and love your character, maybe more than anybody you actually know. Characters first start off as a mere concept or basic idea. The more we flesh them out and give them 'quirks' or flaws, the more...

Editing: Why is it So Important?

Editing is arguably the most powerful tool of video. It creates movement, and can shift the meaning one way of another. With editing, you can control the pace of the scene being edited. For instance, in a fight scene you would want to edit in a way that would correspond to the fast-paced action going...

Mise-en-scene: What is it?

  The term ‘mise-en-scene’ is derived from the French language and translates to ‘putting on stage’. The term is used to describe the visual theme and elements used on screen for a theatre production, television show, film, or even a painting and would include things like set composition, lighting, colours, actors/characters, props, framing etc. Mise-en-scene...