Articles for tag: Acting, Cinematography, Imagination, Narrative, Sound Design

April 22, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

The Perfect Combo: Performance + Cinematography

For today’s Big Screen Video Inspiration, we focused on how plot points can drive home larger thematic elements in storytelling. Combined with the power of symbolism, a simple scene can open up entirely new narrative directions. Such is the case in our example from the 2001 film, A. I. Artificial Intelligence  (2001 – Directed by Stephen Spielberg / Cinematography by Janusz Kamiński), based on a concept originally designed by the late Stanley Kubrick . Our class focussed on one scene from early in the film, where Monica (Frances O’Connor), triggers the imprinting protocol on David —an uncomfortably realistic mecha child—thus committing the

April 14, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

The Single Shot: Old Boy

Today we started class by introducing the concept of the single shot, and the complexity of pulling off compelling visual narratives without any camera breaks. The iconic single-shot fight scene in Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy has been celebrated and discussed since first viewed on the big screen in 2003. This scene from Oldboy is a brutal and visceral display of the raw determination and pent-up rage of the main character, Oh Dae-su, after years of imprisonment. Armed with only a hammer, he navigates a narrow corridor filled with multiple adversaries, each encounter a flurry of desperate swings, dodges, and grunts. The extended, unbroken camera shot intensifies the

April 9, 2025

Jeremy Towsey-French

Scene Analysis: Moonlight

Today’s class kicked off with an analysis of the beautiful water scene in the 2016 film, Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins. I’ve included some analysis slides below for a summary of our analysis. The water scene in Moonlight, where Juan teaches young Chiron (“Little”) to swim, is a pivotal moment of cinematic and storytelling excellence. Director Barry Jenkins uses the ocean as a powerful symbol of transformation and acceptance. The cinematography, often placing the camera at water level, immerses the viewer in Chiron’s experience, highlighting his vulnerability and the burgeoning trust he places in Juan. The natural light and the fluid

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