Video Essays + Every Frame a Painting

[Philip J. Fry]

[Dukefrukem]

that's not every frame a painting!

[TGM]

that's not every frame a painting!

He mentioned on the previous page he was gonna use this thread to post video essays in general now.

[Philip J. Fry]

He mentioned on the previous page he was gonna use this thread to post video essays in general now.

Indeed. I'd change the thread title if I could, to be honest.

[Philip J. Fry]

And of course, everybody is allowed to post videos too!

[Grouchy]

I approve of the expanded thread topic but everytime I see a new post I get ridiculously excited because Tony Zhou is the best.

Enviado desde mi GT-I9190 mediante Tapatalk

[Ezee E]

I approve of the expanded thread topic but everytime I see a new post I get ridiculously excited because Tony Zhou is the best.

Enviado desde mi GT-I9190 mediante Tapatalk

Exactly.

[Philip J. Fry]

Thanks mods!

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

[Dead & Messed Up]

One thing that's starting to annoy me a little about all the video essays out there is that they don't seem particularly challenging. They hold up established sacred cows of recent cinema (or hallowed IMDB favorites) and basically find one new way to tell you why you should love the movie you already do. Once I watched the Lessons From the Screenplay video on The Dark Knight, it really started to make me wonder, in part because I thought the premise of LFtS would be that they would take a deep-dive into the actual screenplay and evaluate page-to-screen transitions instead of parroting script teachers like John Truby and Syd Field. Instead, the video added up to truisms like, "The Joker is good because he attacks Batman's weak spot." [They also frequently spend about twice the time they need to to make a point, and the overabundance of young white men being the non-pedigreed lecturers puts limits on the types of films these videos talk about.]

Don't know if any of this makes sense - this is probably partly a result of watching too many of these damn videos, but the more I watch, the more ephemeral and confirmation biasy they feel. The most cynical reading is that these guys spend eight minutes telling you how smart you are for liking the thing you like, and then you subscribe to their channel. But it's probably not that hollow. Maybe I should just take a break.

Apologies if this comes off like a wet blanket.

[Ezee E]

One thing that's starting to annoy me a little about all the video essays out there is that they don't seem particularly challenging. They hold up established sacred cows of recent cinema (or hallowed IMDB favorites) and basically find one new way to tell you why you should love the movie you already do. Once I watched the Lessons From the Screenplay video on The Dark Knight, it really started to make me wonder, in part because I thought the premise of LFtS would be that they would take a deep-dive into the actual screenplay and evaluate page-to-screen transitions instead of parroting script teachers like John Truby and Syd Field. Instead, the video added up to truisms like, "The Joker is good because he attacks Batman's weak spot." [They also frequently spend about twice the time they need to to make a point, and the overabundance of young white men being the non-pedigreed lecturers puts limits on the types of films these videos talk about.]

Don't know if any of this makes sense - this is probably partly a result of watching too many of these damn videos, but the more I watch, the more ephemeral and confirmation biasy they feel. The most cynical reading is that these guys spend eight minutes telling you how smart you are for liking the thing you like, and then you subscribe to their channel. But it's probably not that hollow. Maybe I should just take a break.

Apologies if this comes off like a wet blanket.

I've even felt this way about "Every Frame A Painting" too. This could be because many of us are all educated on these essays, which are sort of in Film School I age. For newcomers that haven't gone through school, I'm sure it's beneficial.

But they do pick some nice visuals at least.

I hope I can figure out which "Top 20 of the Year" guys I like the most, because there's some that just pull from the trailers and put it to a song that was relevant five years ago.

[Grouchy]

I agree with those sentiments. It also started to grate me with the same Dark Knight video from LftS you mention, partly because while Heath Ledger is great, the film as a whole is not what I'd hold up as great writing, and that includes the antagonist.

I think it also has to do with these guys making money from views. If I'm going to create a video about antagonists, it'll probably prove a lot more popular if I name it after The Dark Knight than Kiss of Death or Heat.

Regardless, sometimes the video is titled after a popular or trendy film but the analysis itself brings up many other relevant examples.

[Philip J. Fry]

I agree with those sentiments. It also started to grate me with the same Dark Knight video from LftS you mention, partly because while Heath Ledger is great, the film as a whole is not what I'd hold up as great writing, and that includes the antagonist.

I think it also has to do with these guys making money from views. If I'm going to create a video about antagonists, it'll probably prove a lot more popular if I name it after The Dark Knight than Kiss of Death or Heat.

Regardless, sometimes the video is titled after a popular or trendy film but the analysis itself brings up many other relevant examples.

Yup. Most of the time it's the hook. And while I do agree that some of the things this videos show might seem sometimes too basic and obvious (specially by people who are constantly watching film), they are things that keep getting ignored over and over again by writers and directors in a good chunk of modern cinema (E.G. like half of the modern blockbusters) so it's always good to have material like this since it is more palatable for the average viewer and even some film students. They're good educational material and in the case of stuff like "Lessons...", they can point out authors like the aforementioned Truby and Field to people interested.

[Philip J. Fry]

[Dead & Messed Up]

Friend from RT Master King Sexington just posted a video on the ending of Jaws and all the details, whether obvious or covert, that make it function so dang well:

[Philip J. Fry]

It's amazing how much material can someone take away from a supposedly simple film about a shark.

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

Where Lindsay Ellis (formerly known as the Nostalgia Chick) uses Pocahontas, Moana and other Disney movies to explore representation and cultural appropriation (among other things).

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

When gameplay and story are not in the same page!! Also, their film equivalent.

[Philip J. Fry]

Why Genndy Tartakovsky's action scenes are awesome? Why are they so inventive and at the same time easy to read? Perhaps it's all about timing.

[Philip J. Fry]