How To Analyze Movies – Film Studies 101

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CAST & CREW

Co-edited by Ryan Alva
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Music by Epidemic Sound
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SEND US SOME MAIL:
Patrick Willems
P.O. Box 380333
Brooklyn, NY 11238

00:00 Intro
03:50 Asking Why
07:08 What Is The Story Saying
11:22 Visual Language
13:07 Style & Aesthetic
16:45 Perspective
18:41 Lenses
23:53 Color
27:45 Aspect Ratio
30:54 Lighting
32:58 Blocking & Camera Movement
39:34 Editing
46:37 Sound
55:50 Putting It All Together
01:01:28 Auteur Theory
01:07:32 Cinema History
01:10:48 Genre
01:15:11 Other Lenses
1:18:09 - Ending

[cmjunk]

Holy crap, making a video like this is like you read my mind. I've been wanting to get better at film analysis lately.

[martinh]

I studied Film for five years and this is the most concise conveyance of the core principles of Film Studies that I think I've ever seen. Another great essay!

[obrien]

I literally spent 4 years and too much money getting a degree in this, but you bet your ass I'm not missing a Patrick upload

[galactic]

Thank you Patrick. I was an english major so I'm kind of used to asking "Why?" about every piece of art I consume, but there are plenty of young kids growing up right now who are learning to love movies. They need videos like this one to start them on their journey, not stupid reddit comment sections rehashing the same arguments over and over again about which movies are overrated.

[papalosopher]

The difference in how Patrick looked between the two camera lengths at 00:20:00 was UPSETTING

[bb]

Man, I wish I had film profs when I attended film school who could explain cinema as simply and succinctly as Patrick does here. Excellent!!

[AmazingBlur]

It almost brought a tear to my eye to think about some of this. Like the use of lenses on the old man or the use of warm colors on the mom while everything around her is cold, when I think about how I felt about this film as a kid and then look at these moments with this in mind the emotional impact hits me harder and it's just so sentimental and endearing.

[moviehoovie]

You just turned my 73-year-old mom into a cinephile, Patrick. She enjoyed it from first chapter to last and then we watched and analyzed Saturday Night Fever. Thank you!
(And I'm working now on showing each of my friends...)

[chriskinsel]

Can’t wait to watch this Patrick. I teach a high school Intro to Film class. I look forward to hearing your insights.

[HowStoriesWork]

In an era where everyone gets an opinion (and they're usually bad), this is an excellent walkthrough of critique vs. opinion. Nice work! One of the things I found really interesting (as a writer) is that you spoke mostly in terms of storytelling and techniques, but didn't mention writing as much. And here's why I love that: The common YouTube take "it's bad writing" rarely applies. Because so much is done post-script that knowing how it was written is incredibly difficult. Great video! Now, I'd love to see a video on "why every amateur Twitter critic thinks writing is the problem." LOL

[blokey]

I really like how this gently makes a really good case for learning to be media literate. I feel like it's often sort of... mis-sold to us in school as a thing you're meant to look for, rather than something that gives you full access to a story. Also, things you can use yourself. Turning the old "the curtains are just blue!" on its head, if you know your stuff, then curtains can be a weapon in your arsenal

[MixedNutsProductions]

This is fantastic, Patrick! As filmmakers ourselves and former film teachers, we can really appreciate what went into making this. You're one of the best film essayists out there. Keep up the great work!

[Dylan_Platt]

This video would've be worth making just for the color analysis of Home Alone, honestly. You broke that all down in a way that makes it staggeringly clear in hindsight, but I've seen that movie a thousand times and never picked up on that. Then later in the video, you cut back to the cops taking the Wet Bandits away at the end, and all I can see is that their sirens and brake lights are all red, pure warm tones as Home reasserts. Awesome stuff.

[adeadgirl]

Home Alone is about materialism and consumerism versus relationships and love. Everyone who pursues happiness through consumerism or greed, including Kevin, doesn't find lasting happiness. That only comes through love and relationships.
Thanks for the great video. Now I can be annoying at parties too!

[eltonarthur]

How to analyse films (cinema):

Analysing art is about looking closely at the piece, describing what you are seeing and what is happening in it. Ask why. Treat every choice the artist makes, ask why they did it? The purpose and goal and the effect it has on the viewer. Analyse does not end at what the artist intended.

Art is subjective.

What the story is saying:

Identifying the themes. Every film is about something with something that is expressing their ideas.
Look at the events of the movie, describe in simplest terms, what the story is. How does it begin and end? Like maths, particularly fractions, break the story down into its simplest form.

Movies can have not just 1 themes but multiple themes that are connected.

Visual language:

It is important to show how the story is told, and with images. How its shown. Where the camera is placed, moved, shot uses light and the actors positioned. Changing them can change how we interpretation something.

French word: Mise en scene - what is in the frame? The choices of costumes, locations, lenses and lighting which result in what we see on screen. The forms of the tools of cinema

Style and aesthetic: films teaches us how to watch movies. The aesthetic is a deliberate choice. Everything a director does is for a reason.
Realism vs formalism - real and grounded vs fake. Classicism - in the middle.

Perspective:
A major component. Is it subjective Perspective or a objective perspective? Objective - seeing the story from an outside point of view. Subjective- when a film uses its visual language to convey how a character is feeling and telling the story from their pov. Wide shot - Objective. Subjective - pov and a pan.

Lenses/technical: have a basic knowledge of camera and lenses.
Every lenses has a focal lens. Short/lower number = wider while a higher/longer = longer or narrower lense. Every lenses has its own qualities. Long lenses are used in close ups. Wide lenses are used for comedy, motion, warp, weird realities. 22.22 to 23.17.

Colour: vital. It's a powerful tool. Colour manipulation in post production. Can effect the audience emotionally can also create Meaning and subtext. Colour can mean anything in any film. Directors need to know why they are using it in their movies. Warm colours - appealing, fire places and sunsets, comedies have warmer colors as well.

Aspect Ratio:
The frame. THE RATIO OF THE FILM'S WIDTH TO ITS HIEGHT. this is all the Director's decision. (2.39 to 1 is the usual cinemascope) putting the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen in post.
Wide lenses are not just only for comedy but also to show the importance of size of characters and animals.

Lighting - camera and source of light as it creates a mood and atmosphere. It tells us where to look. High key lighting - very well lit. Key light, for light and back light.
Low key lighting - poor lit lighting. Where only a single light is lighting the characters. Conveys danger.

Blocking and movement - the movement of the camera and the actors, together.

Editing: continuity editing, editing of knowledge of spatial geography, temporal and time. When people are talking, they are looking at each other. They are both looking so each other, back and forth, as one finishes talking, we cut to the other one, talking. Just observe what is happening and ask why its happening.

The montage - cuts for time. Compressing time. Cross cutting - cutting back to action and story or action to s different action. Cross fade - blending 2 shots into one. Shows that time has passed or dream like feeling.

Sound - just as important as visual. It does its job invisibility. Foley.

Music - music can do a lot as it can create subtext, underline the mood of a scene or express how a character or animal is feeling. Comment on the story (ironically). Even the opening of a film get help the audience understand what the vibe and genre of the film is.

Assume eveything the filmmaker and the entire crew do are intentional.

Always pay attention as to how the main character or characters is/are introduced as they may be how they/he/she is treated.

When actors look into the camera, it's breaking the 4th wall. We are exposed and feels uncomfortable to us. Filmmakers avoid this using it as a pov shot.

Auteur theory - directors perspective on the world, injecting themes, interests and beliefs into their films. Creative power and input.

Every movie ever made is a small part of cinema history and is influenced by other movies and references it again, they are in conversation with each other. Ask what their influences were and how they used them?

Genre:

It doesn't matter when reviewing them. Genre is mostly about the audience's expectations. Genre is another filmmaking tool. We associate it with sounds and music, conventions and tropes. Why is the Director doing this in a scene? What is he trying to get or communicate?

There ate other ways to interpretate films. Films are different to different people.

[dylanbrackett]

SUCH A GREAT VIDEO!!! As a person in a creative field, who has always loved movies, this was such a refreshing and honest look at the art and how to observe it. Literally an entire semester of intro to film class in an hour and a half.

[sidneyjacques.]

This video makes Home Alone look like a cinematic masterpiece that every cinefile should study. That's great work.

[directorsclubpodcast]

Oh, and nicely done with the line "Give the same script to Alfred Hitchcock or Stanley Donen and you'll get very different films.", seeing as Donen's "Charade" is regarded as the best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock didn't actually make. Chef's kiss on sneaking that one into the video!

[jkapp]

I was a film student and Patrick's video here definitely sounds like the first couple of weeks of a very memorable class I took called "Directing for the Camera" Anyone who wants to become a great film director has to be able to break down a script and get to the core meaning and message of a film before directing it

[seasong]

0:07 Seven seconds in and he's already breaking the 4th wall by looking directly into the camera, and making me feel like my safety of being an invisible observer is gone 🥹