Episodes

We sprint through Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can” and discuss: cinematography; movie tricks; story techniques; and much more! “What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes.” – Harry Houdini Notes & References: Cinematography discussion about nets & lens filters This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 51: “Catch Me If You Can” appeared first on The Pestle.

We take 7 minutes to dive into Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky” and discuss: SFX Makeup; importance of nudity; cinematography; and much more! “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – Ludwig Jacobowski This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 50: “Vanilla Sky” (7 Minute Pestle) appeared first on The Pestle.

We dissect Tom Cruise’s new action movie “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” and discuss: Acting; opening; writing; and much more! “Women are more sympathetic creatures in jeopardy, plus they’re more interesting to photograph. I’d rather photograph a woman walking around with a candelabra than a guy. It’s as simple as that. Somebody once said that the history of cinema was made photographing women, and I think one could truthfully say that.” – Brian de Palma This Week’s Recommendations: The po...

We visit Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning picture “Gladiator” and discuss: cinematography; telling a story through wardrobe; VFX; and much more! “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.” – Marcus Aurelius This Week’s Recommendations: The post EP 48: “Gladiator” appeared first on The Pestle.

We rock out with Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” and discuss: cinematography; editing & story techniques; themes and symbolism; and much more! “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance.” – John Lennon This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 47: “Almost Famous” appeared first on The Pestle.

We sneak a look at Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and discuss: 180º rule; themes; the importance of theme; and much more! “Justice is incidental to law and order.” – J. Edgar Hoover Film Analysis No huge analysis. We can see the backlighting is really separating the subject from the background so much that it doesn’t even look like the Uncle is a part of the scene at all. This could be an intentional jab at the character to indicate that they are not part of Bill’s world moving forward....

We take a look at Ryan Reynolds in “Deadpool 2” and discuss: cinematography; satire and sincerity; writing; and much more! “I was given such a great gift. It’s a miracle that never stops amazing me and reminding me to give thanks, every day. Having a wife and daughter gives me a lot more purpose. I was much more selfish before, but now I think about what kind of role model I’ll be. I just want to be a better man.” – Jake Owen Notes & References: This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 4...

We gaze into Samuel L. Jackson & Tommy Lee Jones’s HBO movie “The Sunset Limited” and discuss: cinematography, shooting in a small room; acting; writing; and today we are also joined by a special guest and close friend, Barnabas! “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” – Carl Jung Film Analysis: There is some simple yet great imagery that clues us into their relationship, told in a single composition. Here we can see what could just as eas...

We find ET in Steven Spielberg’s Sci-Fi classic “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and discuss: Spielberg’s cinematography; storytelling devices; aliens; and much more! “The past is the beginning of the beginning and all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn.” – H.G. Wells This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 43: “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” appeared first on The Pestle.

We search for extraterrestrials in 1997’s Robert Zemeckis Sci-Fi classic “Contact” and discuss: the themes of “Contact”; visually reinforcing the themes; cinematography, framing and compositions choices; and much more! “We’re made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” – Carl Saga Notes & References: This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 42: “Contact” appeared first on The Pestle.

We dissect Marvel’s “The Avengers: Infinity War” and discuss: Great villains, and the unexpected antagonist; VFX; Writing for an ensemble; and much more! “The atom bomb was no ‘great decision.’ It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness.” – Harry S. Truman “But I couldn’t help but think of the necessity of blotting out women, children and more combatants. We picked a couple of cities where war work was the principle industry and dropped the bombs.“ – Harry S. Truma...

We analyze the romantic comedy “The Big Sick” and discuss: themes of “The Big Sick”; storytelling with wardrobe; establishing tension; and much more! “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance.“ – John Lennon Notes & References: Hollywood vs History – Seems like Kumail is still on speaking terms with his family. This Week’s Recommenda...

We dive into David Fincher’s 1995 masterpiece “Seven” and discuss: character arcs; cinematography & camerawork, including one simple but brilliant foreshadowing technique; psychological violence; symbolism; and much more! “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.“ – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Notes & References: David Fincher video essay – Every Frame a Painting Film Analysis: After the ...

We dive into John Krasinki’s 2018 horror film “A Quiet Place” and discuss: the metaphor of “A Quiet Place; the opening scene; sound; acting; and much more! “‘The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.“ – William Shakespeare Notes & References: Screenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods explain how they went from under-the-radar directors to make a big budget horror movie. This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 38: “A Quiet Place” appeared first on The Pestle.

We dive into Ridley Scott’s sci-fi/horror classic “Alien” and discuss: the symbolism in “Alien”; cinematography, and editing; design; and much more! “‘Alien’ is a C film elevated to an A film, honestly, by it being well done and a great monster. If it hadn’t had that great monster, even with a wonderful cast, it wouldn’t have been as good, I don’t think.“ – Ridley Scott Notes & References: Ridley Scott on making “Alien” Cinematographer describes filming & lighting “Alien” (and getting ill...

We dive into Joe Cornish’s sci-fi/horror “Attack the Block” and discuss: the beasts of Attack the Block; theme & symbolism; horror gimmicks; John Boyega; and much more! “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: ‘Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.“ – Ma...

We dive into Disney’s “Moana” and discuss: musical efficiency in storytelling; lessons of Moana; Heihei as a sidekick; what filmmakers can learn from cartoons; and much more! “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.” – Amelia Earhart This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 35: “Moana” appear...

In this episode we drop into the Jim Carrey comedy classic “Dumb and Dumber” and discuss: the cinematography of comedies; why this movie works; Wes goes on a rant; and much more! “Pure entertainment is not an egotistical lady singing boring songs onstage for two hours and people in tuxes clapping whether they like it or not. It’s the real performers on the street who can hold people’s attention and keep them from walking away.“ – Andy Kaufman This Week’s Recommendations: The post Ep 34: “...

In this episode we break down Marvel’s “Black Panther” and discuss: symbolism of “Black Panther”; Ryan Coogler; camera settings (aperture/f-stop/iris, frame rate, shutter speed); and much more! “It has been my observation that parents kill more dreams than anybody.“ – Spike Lee Notes & References: IcarusFilmSchool.com – Sign up here if you want to know when the video settings course is released! & Black Panther director Ryan Coogler thoroughly breaks down the symbolism and visual effect...

In this episode we dive into the indie drama “Call Me By Your Name” and discuss: the camerawork of “Call Me By Your Name”; audio; the story; and much more! “Concentrate on what you want to say to yourself and your friends. Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness. You say what you want to say when you don’t care who’s listening.” – Allen Ginsberg Film Analysis (spoilers): This is an interesting scene, because it maintains a very loose feel as we dolly around, tracking with the ...

In this episode we take a look at David Fincher’s cult classic “Fight Club” and discuss: the title sequence of “Fight Club”; lighting in the bar scene; the transitions; voiceover; camerawork & composition; and much more! “Filmmaking isn’t if you can just strap on a camera onto an actor, and steadicam, and point it at their face, and follow them through the movie, that is not what moviemaking is, that is not what it’s about. It’s not just about getting a performance. It’s also about the ps...

In this episode we discuss: intersectionality; lighting and camerawork; we interview Carl Effenson, one of the producers of “Mudbound”; and much more! “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.“ – Martin Luther King, Jr Notes & References: Rachel Morrison discusses the cinematography of “Mudbound” Carl Effenson’s IMDB page Thi...

In this episode we discuss: Lighting and camerawork; framing & compositions; film stocks; and much more! “The aim is to postpone frailty, postpone degenerative disease, debilitation and so on and thereby shorten the period at the end of life, which is passed in a decrepit or disabled state, while extending life as a whole.“ – Aubrey de Grey Film Analysis: Let’s take a quick look at some of the lighting and framing choices. The film keeps a strong sense of window lighting which allows for rat...

In this episode: Wes gets drunk and ruins The Pestle; we discuss the failures of The Room, The Disaster Artist; and much more! “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And...