Of all of the parts of a screenplay, the opening scene is perhaps the most important – not only because it has to establish the world of the story, but because it also has to grab the attention of the script-reader. We’re going to look at a few different ways you can start your screenplay… Continue reading Screenplay Opening Scene Examples — 6 Ways to Begin a Script
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
Blade Runner 2049 breathed new life into Ridley Scott’s world of replicants and blade runners due to its great performances, steady direction, and bold cinematography. But all of the visual splendor that we see in the final cut, was once just words on a page. The Blade Runner 2049 script set the stage for a… Continue reading Blade Runner 2049 Script PDF — Download and Analysis
Types of LensesOpen menu Prime Lens Zoom Lens Anamorphic Lens Lens Basics More About Lens Types Focal LengthsOpen menu Wide Angle Lens (14mm – 35mm) Standard (35mm – 70mm) Telephoto Lens (70mm – 200mm) More Focal Lengths Specialty LensesOpen menu Macro Lens Fisheye Lens Tilt-Shift Lens Split-Diopter Lens Deakinizer Lens Lens BrandsOpen menu Lens Buying… Continue reading Camera Lenses Explained: What’s Inside & How Do They Work?
You’re looking for a movie and TV genre list, maybe for inspiration, but every list you find has categories that are either too broad or so hyper-specific that it becomes overwhelming. We’ve created the perfect movie and TV genre list that will explain the various categories of film and television with their specific subgenres, and we’ll… Continue reading Ultimate Guide to Movie Genres — 90+ Genre Examples for Film & TV
The best movie directors of all time — the idea of such a list sparks immediate debate. Rather than try to impose any sort of definitive or objective best directors list, consider this more of a celebration of the entire medium. Woefully underrepresented on this list are women. While women have been an integral part… Continue reading 55 Best Movie Directors of All Time and Their Greatest Films
S hooting projects on a budget can mean limitations on your gear. So how can you maintain a “cinematic” look without a cube truck full of lighting equipment? In today’s post, we’ll examine what exactly it means to have a cinematic look. Then we’ll break down several lighting techniques that are achievable on any budget. Although… Continue reading 5 Best Film Lighting Techniques: Filmmaker’s Guide to a Cinematic Look
Audiences and filmmakers alike love sequels. And we all love to rank and debate which are the “greatest.” But deciding which films belong on a “best movie sequels of all time” list can feel overwhelming. How does one choose from every film ever made? And how to rank one above the other? While such a… Continue reading Best Movie Sequels of All Time, Ranked for Filmmakers
The term “postmodernism” gets thrown around a lot. Anything that seems to buck normal conventions or breaks the fourth wall tends to receive the label, but what is postmodernism really? For this blog, we’ll look into the history of postmodernism as well as its place in the cinematic landscape today. We’ll examine several postmodern films,… Continue reading What is Postmodernism? Definition and Examples for Filmmakers
It’s easy to mix up the different types of camera shots and types of angles. To make a shot list, a filmmaker or video creative must know the classic types of shots based on attributes like shot size, shot framing, camera movement, camera mechanisms, and depth of field. We’ll break down all the camera shots… Continue reading The Ultimate Guide to Camera Shots (50+ Types of Shots and Angles in Film)
If you grew up in the home video era, you may have found yourself asking, “What is a Director’s Cut?” When DVD emerged, some movies would claim to be a “Director’s Cut,” which could imply many things to the potential consumer. It might seem straightforward, but there’s a lot more to Director’s Cuts than just a… Continue reading What is a Director’s Cut? Every Type of Director’s Cut Explained
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
The 1980s have a special place in the pop culture canon. It turns out a lot of great movies came out in this decade, which means limiting them to a list is not as easy as it sounds. While plenty of beloved films won’t be seen here, we did our very best to make sure… Continue reading Best ‘80s Movies of all Time — A Filmmaker Playlist
Storytellers have been using literary allusion for thousands of years – Sophocles, for example, used Greek mythological allusion in Antigone way back in 441 BC. But while the device is a crucial element of literature and drama, it’s not always easy to recognize types of allusion or understand how they are used. Exactly what is… Continue reading What is an Allusion? Definition and Examples for Screenwriters
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)
Tall buildings, smoke filled rooms, femme fatales, people on the margins of society, late nights, bright signs….and cybernetic implants? No, it’s not film noir, it’s cyberpunk. It’s a genre that has slowly but surely integrated itself into popular media from the 1970s all the way to the 2020s. Taking inspiration from hard boiled fiction and… Continue reading What is Cyberpunk — Genre Definition, Origins & Examples
Browse Terms A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Whether you’re working on your first or 100th film, there is always something new to learn. When you need to update your film terminology, this resource will be… Continue reading Ultimate Guide to Film Terms: The Definitive Glossary of Film Terminology
What is world-building? And, more importantly, why does it matter? World-building is an integral element of storytelling that often goes overlooked and underappreciated. Good world-building might be felt rather than explicitly noticed, and a lack of world-building can leave a book, film, or video game feeling shallow. We’ll get started with a world-building definition, then… Continue reading What is World Building?
Over the years, animated movies have changed the landscape of cinema with fantastic imagery, other-wordly stories, and sobering morals. We all remember watching animated movies when we were children, whether it be the work of Disney, Pixar, Studio Ghibli, Dreamworks, or another production house – but there’s so much more to animated movies than what… Continue reading Best Animated Movies of All Time — From Aardman to Zootopia
The 1980s were a seminal time for the horror genre. It was the decade of slasher films and when the genre began to become deconstructed as audiences became more familiar with the tropes present in horror films. It was also a great time for films involving vampires, which is why we are ranking the best… Continue reading 20 Best 1980s Vampire Movies, Ranked for Filmmakers
