In the film industry, research is commonly understood as audience research. Films, in contrast, are entertainment or a form of audiovisual communication. But can film-making also be a form of academic…
Lighting is a fundamental property of cinema. So called “writing in light”, photographed images, whether live-action or cell animation, need illumination. It is the most essential part of a cinematographer’s…
What do The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Godzilla have in common? Aside from belonging to the summer blockbuster class of 2014, they all feature China in some form or another…
If someone asked you to think of a British film, what would come to mind? For some years now, the most likely answer would have been any of the select but powerful band of little films that made good on…
Out of all the intoxicating phrases that emerge from the study of film, my personal favourite is mise-en-scène, translated from French to mean: what is in the frame. The phrase conjures up the splendour…
If you step back from the perceived glamour of the feature-film industry for a moment and look at it through dispassionate eyes it becomes obvious it’s really about creating a new product and taking it…
Ford or Welles, Scorsese or Coppola, Altman or Campion? One of the most passionate cinema conversations we can enter into is discussing the work of a director we’re heavily invested in. The talk can get…
With the fourth season of HBO’s Game of Thrones (GoT) upon us, many of us will once again escape to the mythical land of Westeros. And we’ll do so thanks to a vast array of international locations and…
Earlier this year The Conversation published an article by Rebecca Mostyn about the audience for Australian films. The article includes useful stats pertaining to Screen Australia’s slate of feature films…