A Tale of Two Macbeths
Justin Kurzel’s gritty, saturated, PTSD-riddled character study keeps a few stage conventions but mostly leans into its more filmic aspects, where Joel Coen’s hazy, black-and-white, machination-laden adaptation neatly splits the difference between stage and screen.
On Midnight Mass and Genre Expectations
The first problem with Midnight Mass is it doesn’t deliver on its promises. That’s not a problem with the show, but happens because its promises are wholly inaccurate. This is becoming a universal problem, exacerbated by handing all advertising responsibilities to detached departments wholly interested (and job-dependent) in getting people to watch a film, rather than … Continue reading
DOLLHOUSE and the Unconventional Pilot
Joss Whedon’s / Eliza Dushku’s Dollhouse had a lot going for and against it. Whedon had some blank checks to cash, Dushku had a deal with FOX, the premise was fascinating, and one actor playing multiple roles week to week is always a juicy prospect. Whether because of marketing, timing, direct competition in an era … Continue reading
Inside the Fast Turnarounds and Wild Stories of Live-Shoot K-Dramas
The more k-dramas I watch, the more impressive it is to know how the sausage is made. Part of the fun in movies and TV is studying how they write and shoot; in the case of k-dramas, some are fully pre-produced, but the ones which aren’t are usually still shooting the middle episodes when the … Continue reading
Character Introduction: Johnny Guitar
Introducing characters is an art form. I’ve been working on a TV pilot and while we’ve had the plot arcs nailed for months, making sure we get the characters across economically while being interesting and not too expository and using action while fitting them seamlessly into the plot and explaining how they relate to other … Continue reading
How Editing Mimics Memory in Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell”
The Farewell is absolutely one of my favourite films of the year, and one of the few which made me cry (twice, if we’re counting) yet want to rewatch immediately. Awkwafina is a star. I look forward to her career of interesting choices and varied projects. I hope she ends up getting offered all the … Continue reading
Shooting, Editing, and Crossing the Line on HBO’s “Succession”
Succession has all the hallmarks of HBO Prestige Television: big names, stunning production design, Shakespeare out the wazoo. It crosses the line as much in its shooting as its characters cross it morally, and just as often for kicks; see Episode 1.04 “Sad Sack Wasp Trap” (video for educational purposes): I did a more detailed … Continue reading
Glitch: Pilot
This is the first in a series of pilot analysis, where I review how the pilot works as such. Eventually if there’s enough interest I may pick up a whole series. First up is Glitch. A good pilot establishes; that’s almost its only job. It establishes the main story, the setting, characters, the look and … Continue reading
The 100: Season 03, Episode 01, Wanheda Part 1
Starting the episode off exactly where it left of in S2, and with Murphy – whose story was mostly ancillary the last couple seasons and whose ending was not really crucial to any plots so far – felt like quite the bold move. Murphy putting the gun to his chin immediately followed by something life-saving … Continue reading
Shot Details and Framing in Wentworth
Wentworth is an Australian prison drama, actually a remake of the show Prisoner. It’s dark and tense and manages some nice plot turns, it’s got a very teal and gray palette but breaks it up with reds and greens, it’s well acted, it uses slo-mo and occasional fantasy sequences to great effect. But you should discover that for yourself. I’m here to just talk about some details in the framing of shots.
Mel Killingsworth - Film and TV blog 