The Evolution of Cinema
Cinema has come a long way since it first began in the 1800's. Read as we take you through the film eras that defined it.
Film Theory
Our take on all things film theory, including Film Movements, Auteur Theory, and Representation. Analyzing iconic films and modern classics, cinema past and present, and explaining the theoretical stuff in a way that just makes sense!
What is the Universal Structure? The Hero Journey Explained
As is the case with Blockbusters, most of the traditional stories that survived the passage of time in each culture have a very similar structure, something Joseph Campbell decided to name the Monomyth in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Some filmmakers not only …
What is Meta-Textual Storytelling?
SPOILERS AHEAD! With the multitude of means of storytelling from video-games, literature, television, plays, songs, poems and of course, cinema, we have collectively become very sophisticated and experienced in our ability to understand fictional representations. Copyright by Syncopy, Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures Indeed, storytelling has, for centuries, …
What is the Hays Code? Hollywood Production Code Explained
The Hays Code was a set of rules and guidelines that would police the production of content from major Hollywood studios, as a form of self-censorship by these same major American studios between 1934 and 1968. Formally known as the Motion Picture Production Code, but …
Sound Production for Film
Sound in Film is an extremely broad term and can be broken down into a variety of components: dialogue, music, and SFX. These, in turn, can be broken down even further. It can compliment, transcend, or oppose what we see on screen, and is a vital …
What is German Expressionism?
The History of German Expressionism Politics in 1910 Germany was highly tumultuous. World War I dominated the country, and most of its films were geared towards recruiting soldiers for the war effort, and hardly any films were made, simply for the enjoyment of making films. However, …
Blaxploitation Cinema
In the early 1970s, blaxploitation (or blacksploitation) became a popular subgenre of film emerging from the US. Uniquely, these films depicted black characters as protagonists, subjects, and oftentimes the heroes of the narrative. However, the genre was equally criticised for perpetuating certain negative stereotypes. The 1970s …
Stop Motion Animation
Stop-Motion or Stop-Frame has existed as a form of animation for many years, but it is only more recently, and with advances in technology, that some of the production processes have changed. Animation of any sort consists of moving an object and taking a photo …
MGM Studios
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was the largest and best known Hollywood studio, next to Fox, Warner Bros, and Universal. It was founded by the merger of several small companies (Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Productions) in 1924. Despite having Samuel Goldwyn’s name on the logo, …
Warner Bros.
In the beginning, there were four brothers, Sam, Jack, Harry, and Albert. Jack Warner was the most outlandish of his brothers, cracking jokes and creating enemies wherever he went. In fact, it seemed as if he was the spokesperson for the budding film conglomerate. Sam, …
