Do I Need to Know the Act Breaks in a Movie?
Can you really break down a movie into three neat acts? Here's why screenwriters should care about movie structure for sure, but act breaks? Not so much.
Articles
Adding a Story After the Shoot
Adding a story first? No problem—you can add a story after the shoot is done. Reality shows do it all the time
Shooting Ratio: How Much is Enough Footage?
How do you know if you've shot enough for your next video project? Learn about the shooting ratio, and why directors always aim to waste footage.
There are No Fish in "The Abyss"
MIsdirection is at the heart of great filmmaking, as exemplifies by James Cameron's 1989 film The Abyss, an underwater movie with no fish.
Toy Story: Learning to Use Video Tools
"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Never use video tools (like a drone) without using your brain too.
Why Making Video "Ask for the Order" Doesn't Work
How to really motivate change? Try "intrigue" instead.
Tricks to Storify Your Travel Video
Even when you can't plan your shoot, you should be able to find a story in almost anything you do. This post: how do we "storify" our vacation.
The Curse of the Inactive Hero: Lessons from "Ant-Man and the Wasp"
The hero is the subject and driver of any video. What happens to a film when you don't let the hero make choices? Lessons learned from Marvel's new movie, "Ant-Man and The Wasp."
Shoot Just Enough and No More
Directors go off the rails by not knowing what they need to shoot. Often they do too much, or not enough. How do you know just how much to shoot?
Shoot Like a Pro: Crew-Free Video Production Tips & Tricks
Shoot Like a Pro but if you're shooting without a crew, can you still get great looking video? Of course Shoot Like a Pro
Wedding Video Blues: 5 Tips for Better Wedding Videos
Are you doing a wedding video? Here's how to use your knowledge of the ritual to plan your shoot. They even hand out a program to help you!
How to Make a How-To Video That Works, Part II: The Journey
In Part I of this post, we laid down the basics for making your how-to video. Now let's go for mastery.