The best use of “Day For Night” in cinema was on Jordan Peele’s NOPE.
It looks significantly more realistic than most other films that try to pull it off, largely because of a technique that DP Hoyte Van Hoytema brought over from his experience shooting AD ASTARA.
A 3D camera
Filmmakers often overlook the importance of aspect ratio choice, or feel confused when it’s time to make a decision.
Here’s a little cheat sheet I made that you can bookmark for your next project.
As a director your job is to fight for the best movie.
Your DP wants more time to get the perfect shot.
Your AD wants to reduce coverage to finish on schedule.
Your actors want to change the blocking.
Your editor wants to pull out all the music.
Your composer wants to add
Ridley Scott directed his first feature at 40.
Alfred Hitchcock’s best films were made in his 50s & 60s.
Manoel de Oliveira became a full time filmmaker at age 73.
You have plenty of time.
Some more examples:
Christopher Nolan uses a detailed shot list, but Steven Spielberg prefers to improvise.
Aaron Sorkin plots out his films meticulously, but Quentin Tarantino writes without an outline.
David Fincher shoots dozens of takes, but the Coen Brothers shoot very few.
There are as
If I were starting over as a filmmaker, I would:
- Learn to shoot with an iPhone
- Make a short film every month for a year
- Submit all 12 short films to festivals
- See which film performed best
- Turn than short into a DIY feature
I’ve met several filmmakers who have spent $50K - $100K on a single SHORT film.
Not one of them got into a major festival.
More money doesn't buy a better movie.
Nothing compares to the look of an extreme telephoto lens used on a feature film. This type of depth compression is one of the most effective ways to ratchet up tension, entirely in camera.
I’ve been researching extreme long lens shots in cinema, and this has to be one of the
Some free resources for filmmakers on my website:
- No Budget Screenwriting Workflow
- 4K End Credit Photoshop Template
- Musical Drones & Textures
- Monitoring LUTs
- Camera LUTs
- VHS Textures
- Letterboxes
Links for all are below:
Love the lens choices on Poor Things. Antique Petzval glass for closeups. A 4mm s16 lens modified for 35mm. Distorted 10mm Arri Ultra Prime… And gorgeous zoom work with the Arri / Zeiss 16.5 - 110 Master Prime.
Good reminder that it’s okay to mix and match glass.
