Streaming your games is easier than it has ever been. A reasonably recent gaming PC can play and stream at the same time, and the main software is free. Most of the work is in a one-time setup that balances image quality against your internet connection. What you need Choose the right encoder The encoder … Read more
Editing is sometimes called the invisible art. When it works, viewers do not notice the cuts; they simply feel the story move. Yet the editor decides what the audience sees, in what order and for how long, which can completely change a scene. Continuity editing Most mainstream films use continuity editing, a set of conventions … Read more
Critics have shaped film culture for over a century, from newspaper reviewers to online video essayists. But how much do reviews actually change what people buy tickets for? The answer depends a lot on the type of film. From critics to aggregators Influential critics such as Pauline Kael at The New Yorker and Roger Ebert, … Read more
For many people, films are the main way they encounter historical events: wars, revolutions, famous lives. That gives filmmakers enormous influence over how the past is remembered, for better and for worse. The power of historical films A vivid film can make distant events feel real. Saving Private Ryan (1998) changed how many viewers imagined … Read more
Audiences rarely notice good sound, but they immediately notice bad sound. Sound design covers everything you hear in a film apart from music: dialogue, effects, footsteps, wind, the hum of a room. It makes images feel real and directs attention. The layers of film sound Famous examples Ben Burtt created many of the sounds of … Read more
Superhero films went from rare, risky projects to the dominant force at the global box office in about two decades. Their rise has transformed how Hollywood plans films and has sparked a lively debate about what it means for cinema. Early milestones Comic book heroes appeared in film serials as early as the 1940s, but … Read more
Film noir, “black film” in French, describes a group of dark American crime films made mainly in the 1940s and 1950s. Its shadows, cynical detectives and dangerous femmes fatales have influenced filmmakers ever since. Where the term comes from French critics coined the term after World War II, when Hollywood films that had not been … Read more
A large budget buys stars, visual effects and marketing. It does not buy a good story. Film history is full of cheap films that became classics and expensive films that failed. Low budgets, big results Expensive failures Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate (1980) went far over budget and contributed to the collapse of United Artists. Disney’s … Read more
Every year, thousands of films are released and most are soon forgotten. A few keep being watched, discussed and copied for decades. What do these classics have in common, and was there really a golden age that modern cinema cannot match? The golden age of Hollywood Film historians often use “golden age” for the period … Read more
Film festivals are where many careers begin and where many films find their audience. They screen new work, bring together buyers and critics, and give smaller films a visibility they would rarely get otherwise. The major festivals What festivals do Are they still necessary? With streaming and online platforms, some argue that festivals matter less. … Read more
