Articles for category: Classroom

May 7, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

Tension & Tone

In today’s class, we analyzed a scene from Taika Waititi’s 2019 film, Jojo Rabbit, where Stephen Merchant’s character, Captain Herman Klenzendorf, arrives to inspect Jojo’s home. The resulting scene showcases Waititi’s use of context and tone to build a subtle tension that builds rapidly with each character beat. In the events before the scene unfolds, Jojo has recently discovered that his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), is secretly harboring a young Jewish girl, Elsa Korr, in the family’s attic. Jojo is grappling with this discovery, torn between his ingrained Nazi beliefs and the reality of Elsa as a person. He’s been

May 6, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

Focus on Title Sequences

As students finalize their first advertising project this week, we’re peppering their work with discussions on film trailers and the technical aspects of title sequences –including some additional discussion on using Adobe After Effects to build simple sequences in Premier Pro. With that, it’s important to consider just what makes great titles. Exceptional title sequences transcend their functional purpose of displaying credits, evolving into an integral part of the cinematic experience by actively shaping the audience’s initial perception and understanding of the film. A hallmark of a great title sequence is its ability to immediately establish the film’s atmosphere and

April 29, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

Direct by Design: The Coin Toss

Today’s class kicked off with an analysis of the coin toss scene in No Country for Old Men (2007 –directed by Ethan and Joel Coen). This specific scene stands out as a masterclass in tension building and character establishment through masterful filmmaking. The Coen brothers utilize a minimalist approach, letting the dialogue and the actors’ performances carry the weight of the scene. Javier Bardem’s portrayal of the chillingly unpredictable Anton Chigurh is immediately captivating, his calm demeanor juxtaposed with the inherent threat of his actions. The seemingly innocuous conversation initiated by the gas station attendant quickly devolves into a life-or-death gamble, highlighting

March 30, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

UNIT 7 – Commercials/PSAs

In this unit of study, students will focus on the details of their first project, which is producing a promotional advertisement for a local business, as part of a team of students constructed under my direction. During this unit, students will also:

March 4, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

Framing & Composition Basics

In today’s class, we analyzed the below scene from Lars von Trier’s 2000 masterpiece, Dancer in the Dark, which leveraged more than 100 digital cameras on set to capture the resulting scene from 100 different angles. Instead of shooting the scene multiple times from multiple angles, the scene was composed in the editing room. The following video from Studio Binder explores the nuances of camera framing –a fundamental aspect of cinematography. While selecting a subject for each shot might appear straightforward, the art lies in how you choose to frame them. Do you opt for the isolation of a single, or introduce

February 18, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

UNIT 2 – Storytelling & Script Writing

In this unit of study, you can expect to explore classic and contemporary story structures, such as the three-act structure or more nuanced variations, and how these frameworks provide a roadmap for a film’s journey. In this unit, we will also examine the art of creating believable and engaging characters, looking at techniques like outlining character arcs, motivations, and relationships. From that point, we’ll cover the writing phase, where we will analyze the specific format and conventions of screenplays, as well as learn how to develop initial ideas into more detailed script treatments. Finally, we bridge the gap between script