Director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel has had an illustrious career — working on such films as The Usual Suspects, Cherry, Da 5 Bloods, and many more — but perhaps his most iconic work can be found in Drive. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive is a mood piece, and its dreamy visuals stick in… Continue reading Newton Thomas Sigel — Drive Cinematography & Style Breakdown
Perhaps Drive’s most lasting impact is its look. The exquisite framing, blocking, and lighting throughout the film immerse the audience in a nocturnal cityscape that’s as dangerous as it is hypnotic. But the ethereal tone of Drive doesn’t just come from director Nicolas Winding Refn. The Drive script is a masterclass in restraint, allowing for a meditative… Continue reading Drive Script PDF Download: Genre, Characters & Ending Analysis
If Nicolas Winding Refn is known for any one thing, it’s style. Each of the Danish director’s films is imbued with a powerful, coherent aesthetic which guides viewers through a dark social underworld. Ranking Nicolas Winding Refn’s filmography, therefore, is a practice in ranking the effectiveness of his style. At its worst, it overcomes the… Continue reading Nicolas Winding Refn Movies — The Entire Filmography Ranked
Music plays an integral role in how a movie communicates tone. When thinking about a movie, we often recall back to a moment when the soundtrack swelled at the perfect moment, how it transported us to other worlds, or interweaved popular culture into the narrative. We can learn a lot from how filmmakers use music… Continue reading 25 Best Movie Soundtracks That Changed the Game
A crucial part of filmmaking lies in preparation during pre-production. Developing an idea of what a film will look and feel like takes some deep thinking. Creating a film lookbook is a great way to compile all of these thoughts into one place for your benefit and the benefit of the entire film crew. In this… Continue reading Film Lookbook Examples & How to Make a Lookbook for Film
In psychology, there’s something called the serial position effect. It means people tend to remember what comes first and last, not what occurs in the middle. Filmmakers know this phenomenon all too well. Combine that with today’s stream-ability and countless options… and the opening to a film is as important as ever. Today, we study the best… Continue reading 25 Best Opening Scenes in Movies & What Makes Them Great
The Scorpion and the Frog story is a classic fable that has only become popular over the last hundred or so years. But just like the most famous animal fables of all-time, like the Tortoise and the Hare and the Ants and the Grasshopper, the Scorpion and the Frog is a tale that can be… Continue reading The Scorpion and the Frog Story — How Writers Use Fables
You’re looking for a list of the best crime movies of all time. Maybe you want to find action crime films, or crime thrillers, or perhaps even a crime comedy movie or a crime drama. We’ve got you covered. In this post, we’ve compiled a list of the best crime movies of all-time, including American crime… Continue reading 73 Best Crime Movies of All Time, Ranked for Filmmakers (2022)
What makes a great music score? Does it need to dominate the soundtrack or can go unnoticed in the background? Should a contemporary movie always use modern music or is it blasphemy for a period piece to include pop songs? Whether you have answers to these questions or not, there’s no denying the power of… Continue reading 23 Best Movie Scores of All Time — Filmmaker Playlist
Introducing StudioBinder’s screenplay library — your one-stop-shop for reading, downloading, and analyzing the best movie scripts online. Our collection contains all the feature-length screenplays in our database as well as scripts that we have broken down by plot, character, ending, quotes, and more. Our hope is that screenwriters everywhere can have access to these iconic… Continue reading Explore and Read the Best Free Movie Scripts Online (with PDF Downloads)
Every month, dozens of movies arrive on Netflix, but it can be a hassle keeping track of all the great content that comes and goes. Don’t fret though, we’re going to break down the best new movies on Netflix each month to help you decide on what to watch. These are the best of what’s… Continue reading Best New Movies on Netflix, Ranked for Filmmakers (June 2020)
Two is always better than one when it comes to Juxtaposition. Other than being the game-winning word in your next Scrabble match, what is juxtaposition? It is a frequently used term throughout the artistic world from photography to literature to film. Despite its frequent use, its meaning can be quite vague. We’ll define juxtaposition with… Continue reading What is Juxtaposition in Film? Definition and Examples
Every month, dozens of movies arrive on Netflix, but it can be a hassle keeping track of all the great content that comes and goes. Don’t fret though, we’re going to break down the best new movies on Netflix each month to help you decide on what to watch. These are the best of what’s… Continue reading Best New Movies on Netflix, Ranked for Filmmakers (May 2020)
From 2001: A Space Odyssey to pretty much every Edgar Wright film, some of the best films of all time have effectively used needle drops to take their films to the next level. This list runs through the best movie songs of all time, and as you go through the scenes, you will find they… Continue reading 60 Best Movie Songs Of All Time — Top Needle Drops, Ranked
Telling a story isn’t enough. You have to grab your audience by the eyeballs. Whether you’re a seasoned director or just learning what framing in film is, the way we see things is just as important as the things themselves. In his video essay on Drive, Tony Zhou uncovers 4 simple rules of composition that… Continue reading Rules of Composition: How to Show Deeper Meaning in a Single Frame
What’s black and white and red all over? It could be a newspaper — or it could be a neo-noir film. It’s hard to tell. Neo-noir is notoriously difficult to classify. An offshoot of the historical film noir genre, it’s painted in such broad strokes that it can subvert, parody, heighten, or reimagine the prototypical stories… Continue reading Top 30 Best Neo-Noir Films, Ranked for Filmmakers
Best of…20102011201220132014201520162017201820192010-2019 As much as people bemoan Hollywood being devoid of ideas, the truth is that major studios and independent filmmakers alike continued to push the boundaries of what you could do with film in the 2010s. From small-scale projects to blockbusters that doubled as art, movies delivered in this last decade. If you’ve been… Continue reading 20 Best Movies of the Decade, Ranked for Filmmakers (2010—2019)
Best of…20102011201220132014201520162017201820192010-2019 2011 was a year where ambitious filmmakers embarked on deeply personal projects. From Terrence Malick’s ambitious chronicling of the universe in Tree of Life to Martin Scorsese’s tribute to filmmakers of the past with Hugo, there was plenty for cinephiles to chew on this year. Now that there’s been some hindsight, StudioBinder presents… Continue reading The Best Movies of 2011 — The Year in Review
