Talk On Filmmaking

Last month, I gave a talk on filmmaking to students from Icknield Community College in Watlington.Following the success, I will be giving the talk again alongside Tanya Beckett, more tailored to an industry & general public audience.Topics will include: Scriptwriting in context of low budget filmmaking, inspiration, preparation, production to residuals, lessons learned and much …

Ben Wheatley – Low Budget Filmmaking Talk

Last Wednesday I attended a talk on low budget filmmaking by Ben Wheatley. He's very straight forward and a cool guy. He screened his new film Bulk in the evening. Learnt some cool stuff - Television is a first and second act medium. How Down Terrace gave him his start. Being singular and being the …

Berlin Film Festival 2026

Last week I visited Berlin for the Berlin Film festival. My first impressions of Berlin is that it’s flat, very flat. Lots of concrete everywhere, few trees or green. No hills. I find that unsettling for some reason, no vantage point. I stayed near Alexanderplatz. Been listening to german pop songs like 99 Red Balloons and …

1960’S War Movie Posters

Its been a long time since I last wrote on here. I was exploring the Star Wars movie posters and came across some of the movie posters from the 1960's made by wonderful artists. I wanted to share a selection of them. Some of the posters might be better then the movies! Ice Station Zebra, …

Anagnorisis and Peripeteia

Today we call it "the twist" and for modern audiences this literary device might appear blunt, crude, sneaky and formulaic. However the twist’s origin comes from two terms Anagnorisis and Peripeteia, both have a history stretching back from antiquity in ancient Greece to today's day big budget Hollywood films. Anagnorisis is the moment of ignorance …

Total Cinema

Now and again a film comes along which blows your socks off. Where everything clicks, the music, story, plot, character, themes, camera, dialogue, sound, set design, costumes, editing and lighting. It’s a rare feeling but when it comes it’s like a theme park ride. You don’t look at your watch, your not distracted. You are …

That “How Did They Do That” Moment

One of the reasons a great film resonates, is because there is normally a moment during the film where you say to yourself “how did they do that? This statement might be confused for visual effects achieved on a computer. No, I mean craft. The craft of great set design, the craft of camera movement, …

Some Faces Are Born For Cinema

Some faces are born for the big screen.  I wanted to explore some actors who make the screen light up. Here is a list of just a few: Battle of Algiers (1966) – Brahim Haggiag as Ali La Pointe To me this is the best character introduction in cinema. Its incredible gripping, tragic and makes us …

Is Film A Unique Artform?

What makes a film a film? What differentiates it from other arts such as theatre, stage, books, radio-plays, opera, musicals, painting, ballet, sculpture, music, architecture excreta. FILM TYPES Film can be a combination of all these artforms but it can be its now thing. One can make a film which is basically a radio-play with …

Great American Cinema

I wanted to highlight films which portray great American ensemble film making at its best. On The Waterfront(1954) I saw this film blind. I.E. not knowing anything regarding the plot, story, characters, all I knew was that it had Marlon Brando in it. Thus I was fortunate to watch the film without the cloud of …