Visual Storytelling
Watch the Hands During a Conversation
Study a small physical task during film dialogue and compare what the hands do with the timing and content of the conversation.
Look closer.
Feel the film.
For the scenes that stay with you. Explore the images, sounds and small choices that make cinema worth looking at again.
The starting point / Visual storytelling
Why movie locations do more than set the scene
Look beyond the scenery to see how a film's locations, doorways, distances and familiar spaces can shape the way a story feels.
Read the guide →Worth a closer look
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Sound & Score
Listen for the Sound That Arrives Before Its Source
Follow a sound whose source appears later in the scene, noting what you infer before the image confirms or complicates your first impression.
Visual Storytelling
A Familiar Place Under Different Light
Compare two visits to the same film location by tracking visible light, character placement, and the limits of what the image reveals.
Film Guides
When a Film Lets Us Read a Note
Examine how long a film shows a letter, label, or handwritten note, and separate what the audience can read from what a character knows.
Visual Storytelling
What an Empty Chair Can Do in a Film Scene
Look at the unoccupied part of a film frame and test how it changes your expectations without assuming that every empty space is a symbol.
Visual Storytelling
A Reflection Gives a Film Frame Another Place to Look
Study mirrors and window reflections as parts of a film’s composition, tracking what they reveal before turning them into symbols.