Learn About Filmmaking By Watching These Video Essays

The more I watch film, the more I enjoy breaking it down; learning about a director's style, the composition, the lighting, the blocking, the way story is structured. And that's why I subscribe to several video essayists on YouTube who masterfully analyze film and provide helpful insights into the process. Whether you are just starting out, trying to learn the basics of filmmaking, or you are a seasoned veteran, watching a well-crafted video essay is extremely helpful and educational. Watching them will only serve to improve your own filmmaking efforts. Here are some of my favorites.

Every Frame a Painting

I learn something new in every installment of Every Frame a Painting. And even if I don't learn something new, I'm exposed to a perspective on filmmaking that makes me stop and think, "Huh. I've never thought of it that way before," and that's just as beneficial. Start with these episodes.

How to Do Visual Comedy

If you love visual comedy, you gotta love Edgar Wright, one of the few filmmakers who is consistently finding humor through framing, camera movement, editing, goofy sound effects and music. This is an analysis and appreciation of one of our finest comedic voices. For educational purposes only.

The Spielberg Oner

One overlooked aspect of Spielberg is that he's actually a stealth master of the long take. From Duel to Tintin, for forty years, he has sneakily filmed many scenes in a single continuous shot. Eight long examples: https://vimeo.com/tonyzhou/spielberg-eight Twelve short examples: https://vimeo.com/tonyzhou/spielberg-twelve For educational purposes only. English & Portuguese subtitles by Akemi Mitsueda.

Ensemble Staging

How do you emphasize to the audience that something is important? Well, you could always cut to a close-up, but how about something subtler? Today I consider ensemble staging - a style of filmmaking that directs the audience exactly where to look, without ever seeming to do so at all.

Cinefix

Cinefix is an incredibly entertaining channel, filled with "Best Of" videos, "Top 10" lists, "Things You Didn't Know" and more. But if you're interested in the analysis of filmmaking, check out the "Best Of" and "Top 10" lists. You can spend hours browsing through this channel, but it's worth it.

One Brilliant Moment of Tension

For this episode we take a great scene from Denis Villeneuve's Sicario, break it down into the tiniest pieces we can and take a look at how it really works. By ratcheting up the tension for nearly 30 minutes, Villeneuve pays it all off with a mere 9 seconds of violence!

10 Best Structured Movies of All Time

Movies aren't all about the writing or the acting or the fancy camera work. The great ones rely on the underlying structure of the story. It's time to take a look at 10 of the best structured films of all time. More Recent CineFix Videos: Homemade Movies is Back!

Five Brilliant Moments of Camera Movement

Without camera movement, films would be all static play and no fun. The way the camera moves says more to us than just a show-off of technical tricks. Directors, throughout the years, have implemented their own unique camera styles to best tell their stories on-screen.

Channel Criswell

Similar to Every Frame a Painting, each video on this channel dives into some deep analysis of story, editing, color, or composition. He also will dedicate entire episodes to a specific director, breaking down his/her style and what can be learned from his/her techniques.

Composition in Storytelling

Support this Channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Channel_Criswell Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lewis_criswell Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/lewiscriswell/ Business enquiries: lewismichaelbond@gmail.com Press the CC button to see a list of the films. SONG LIST: 0:00-1:58 The Smashing Pumpkins - Melancholy and The Infinite Sadness 1:59-2:49 Funkadelic - Maggot Brain 2:49-6:39 Michael Nyman - Fish Beach 6:42-8:52 David Bowie - Space Oddity 8:52-12:33 Cowboy Bebop OST - Space Lion 12:24-15:55 Arcade Fire - Dimensions Feel free to contact me personally: PO Box 833 STOCKPORT SK3 3BJ

Colour in Storytelling

Support this Channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Channel_Criswell Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lewis_criswell Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/lewiscriswell/ Business Enquiries: lewismichaelbond@gmail.com Press CC to see a list of the movies shown.

Editing in Storytelling

Support this Channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Channel_Criswell Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lewis_criswell Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/lewiscriswell/ Business Enquiries: lewismichaelbond@gmail.com FURTHER READING AND RESEARCH: M. Ondaatje (2004) The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film W. Murch (2001) In The Blink of an Eye C.J. Bowen, R.

Bonus

Also, if you're interested in extensive biographies on specific directors and how they developed their styles over the course of their careers, I recommend The Directors Series from Raccord's Vimeo channel.

What other video essayists do you recommend? Leave your thoughts in the Comments section.