The Royal Ocean Film Society

What makes a film a film? What really makes it unique and separate from novels, plays, photos, and radio? Here, I want to show you one of the most subtle tools of the language of cinema. You can tell a story with nothing but your characters' faces. Further Reading- Alan Zilberman- "Lenses and Reflections: 'I Origins' and the History of the Eye Closeup"

Let's talk about a segment of the film industry that's doing phenomenal business at the box office. A trend that very few people are talking about: Independent Christian films.

In the realm of underrated filmmakers, Brad Bird stands out as a director whose work has been and continues to be some of the most joyful. This is an analysis of his playful, theme-park-attraction, stuff-your-face-with-popcorn, blockbuster style. Further Reading- Brad Bird on How to Compose Shots (Bird was a creative consultant on 'King of the Hill' and this pdf is a collection of composition notes he gave to the animators) http://www.animationmeat.com/pdf/televisionanimation/brad_bird_on_comps.pdf

I could sing Jaws' praises all day everyday, but let's talk specifically about one of its very special, very human moments- and other moments like it in Spielberg's lineup.

Capturing characters at any age is a challenge, but it's especially difficult if the characters are teenagers. Let's look at 'American Graffiti' and see how it sidesteps that and other problems that modern-day teen films often fail at solving. Further Reading - 'Modernism, Cinema, Adolescence: Another History for Teen Film' by Catherine Driscoll - http://bit.ly/1KplM8k

Today's subject is the idea of a story filter or lens. Often utilized through genre, this idea is sometimes the very best method at getting to the heart of what your story is really about. So, let's explore that idea- but rather than through genre- through animation. And let's use the work of one of the of form's greatest contemporary directors as our example. Further Reading- The Anime Machine by Thomas LaMarre - http://amzn.to/261kA7E AnimeLand interview w/Takahata - http://bit.ly/1Ug6Z6L Pile of Shame review of 'Hols, Prince of the Sun' by Justin Sevakis - http://bit.ly/1WR7ODt

Despite whatever presets there are in Premiere, scene transitions are not limited to wipes, fades, or dissolves. Let's examine the work of David Lean and see what unique ways we can find of cutting picture and sound together to make transitions really shine. Further Reading- Kristin Thompson on match cuts- http://bit.ly/1x960Em

One of cinema's great craftsmen, Saul Bass is a name you may not recognize, but you no doubt know his work- particularly his striking, minimalist title sequences. Let's dive into the philosophy of his work and see what we can learn, and how we can apply it to other areas of filmmaking. Further Reading - Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design by Jennifer Bass and Pat Kirkham - http://amzn.to/2bAqcee The Look of Saul Bass w/Kyle Cooper - http://bit.ly/2bEgzvM

What are the single cinematic images that have lasted in your memory, the ones that you go back to and think on again and again for no clear reason? Why do those images make the impact that they do? Do they mean anything on some sort of grander level? These are questions I think about from time to time, and I want to discuss them alongside a few memories of my own to help illustrate. Sources/Further Reading- Film and Memory by Winfried Fluck- http://bit.ly/2dnyc7y Your Memory Is Like The Telephone Game by Marla Paul- http://bit.ly/1ptJ7Ya

In the late 1980s and 1990s, there was a great movement in independent cinema of no-budget filmmaking that was the beginning for some of the most successful and popular filmmakers of the modern day. Let's take a look at five features from that movement and see what lessons we can learn on how to make a great film with as little money as possible. Further Reading- Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez - http://amzn.to/2fpAjVJ Spike, Mike, Slackers, and Dykes by John Pierson - http://amzn.to/2fLXeyB The ABC's of No-Budget Filmmaking by Peter Broderick - http://bit.ly/2fDeG9t

If you watch a lot of film essays, then you've probably heard the complaint that visual comedy is something of a lost art nowadays, with most mainstream comedies opting instead for jokes done strictly through dialogue and improv. So, let's look back at one of cinema's greatest visual comedians and see where he found his visual comedy. Further Reading- Things Fall Together by David Cairns - http://bit.ly/2gbc4j4 Composing in Sound and Image by Jonathan Rosenbaum - http://bit.ly/2h70G7h