Masters of Cinema

So awards seasons is in full swing with the Golden Globes and Critics Choice having already been and passed, and the BAFTAs and Oscars creeping up in the next few weeks. So we've decided to host our own film awards.  Similar to any other awards we're going to have a group of nominees in a number of different categories, but unlike shows like the Oscars and Golden Globes, we are going to have a winner as well as a runner up in each catagory, the winners of each category will be announced on Thursday 31st January. So without further ado, here are the nominees for the very first Masters of Cinema Film Awards. Best Film Cold War The Favourite Hereditary Roma Shoplifters Best Director Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) Ari Aster (Hereditary) Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters) Paweł Pawlikowski (Cold War) Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite) Best Actress Joanna Kulig (Cold War) Sakura Ando (Shoplifters) Olivia Coleman (The Favourite) ...

A question I get asked constantly during my Q&A sessions is "Should I go to film school?" or "How did you get a job if you didn't go to film school?" and so many other variants of the same question, and 99% of time it's a question that I don't answer because I don't have a definitive answer for it. That's because it's an answer that is completely dependent on the individual, it's not a question you should be asking somebody else, it's a question you should be asking yourself because you're the only one that can answer. Think about where you are now in your filmmaking career and look at you end goal, if film school is a vital part of that path then go for it, if it's not essential for you then don't. But there's a lot more to it than that, so I'm gonna discuss a couple of points that are worth considering. So I'm gonna start by talking about the reasons I didn't go to film school, because it was s...

It's hard to think of a time where CGI didn't exist. But in the not so distant past, if a filmmaker wanted to create a something or somewhere that didn't exist in the real world they couldn't fall back onto a team of CG artists to render that world for them, they had to get their hands dirty and build everything practically. But building everything full scale would take too long and cost too much money. So filmmakers started experimenting with building miniatures to cut down on cost and be more time efficient. But it's not as simple as building a smaller version of something, filmmakers had to conquer a lot of challenges to make sure that a 3 foot long model could look 200 feet long on film. But before I discuss the smaller details in how filmmakers pioneered the illusion of scale, let's dive into where it all started. One of the earlier films to use miniatures was Georges Méliès' 1902 classic "Le Voyage Dans la Lune" or in English "...

Overall 2018 was quite a decent year for cinema, far from a great year but far from a bad year either. I really enjoyed a lot of films from last year so it was really difficult to narrow them down into a list of 10. But I tried my best and finally got there. So without further ado, here's the list of my top 10 films from 2018. 10.First Man On the heels of their six-time Academy Award®-winning smash, La La Land, Oscar winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling team up again for First Man, the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost on Armstrong and on the nation as he undertakes of one of the most dangerous missions in history. It’s incredible how half of this movie is a plaintive, quiet drama that might read to some as boring (i mean, it’s from one of the writers behin...

Ridley Scott's masterpiece "Blade Runner" paved the way for a lot of science fiction films to follow, captivating the minds of many science fiction fans since it's conception in 1982. Blade Runner set the bar higher than ever before in terms of special effects. And whilst the stars of the show are the more obvious effects such as the jaw dropping miniatures or meticulously detailed matte paintings. One of my personal favourite practical effects of all time is the illumination of the replicant eye. It's such a genius yet simple effect that plays a massive role in telling the story. And what makes it even better is that it's all done completely in camera without any aid from digital effects.  For this effect you will need a small list of items; A camera (duh) A subject (preferably human) A light A two way mirror The first thing to do is to compose your shot how you like, it will make your life a lot easier if you have your subject looking di...

Within the past 3 years of my filmmaking career, I've constantly been on the pursuit for a tripod that strikes the balance between affordable, lightweight, strong and with a fluid head. And in that time I've tried out a lot of different tripods from a lot of different brands including Manfrotto, Sachtler and Oconnor. But I've never been fully satisfied with a tripod. For someone who does a lot of run and gun documentary work means that I have a lot of very specific needs when it comes to what I consider a good tripod. And I have finally found one that does the job for me. The Benro Aero 2 is my idea of the ideal tripod and it has absolutely blown me away. The full aluminium construction gives the tripod a premium and high quality feel without compromising on the strength and durability whilst also maintaining an incredible lack of weight. Once this camera is attached to your camera bag it becomes barely noticeable due to it's light weight and ability to fold do...

Thanks to the internet, we now have an entire world of information literally at our fingertips. And for us filmmakers, YouTube is an absolute goldmine of education from people who really understand the craft. I never went to film school so pretty everything I've learnt has come from films, books and the internet, and YouTube was a massive chunk of that. So here's a list of 10 of my favourite channels on YouTube for filmmakers. Vice Vice's YouTube channel is great for filmmakers, especially their "Vice Talks Film" series. My personal favourite is this video with Roger Deakins and Matthew Heineman discussing their films Sicario and Cartel Land.What I really love about this video is the way it draws comparisons but it also the differences between documentary film and narrative film. An outstanding and honest conversation between two masters of their craft. This video came into my life at exactly the right time where I started work as a documentary filmmaker. B...