Alexander Derry

Before I kick off, I want to say Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. Things have been horribly busy here these last few weeks, with deadlines and house moves, so this blog has been somewhat neglected. Now I'm back, and figured I should post a short little something for you to read on Boxing Day. A while back, someone told me: "Watch bad films." For a while, I didn't know what to make of it. I kept asking myself "Why do I need to watch bad films? I hardly have any time to watch the films I want to watch to begin with, so why waste what precious time I have on watching bad films?" That's when it struck me. You need to watch bad films, because they will help you understand more about storytelling and filmmaking. Let me elaborate:  "Oh, hi Mark." - The Room (2003). When we watch a good/great/amazing film, we're always left satisfied with the content, we think about the quality of the cinematography, the cohere

Every now and then, I hear about how phone cameras are picking up speed to be on par with digital cinema cameras. In the video above, co-founders of Corridor Digital, Niko Pueringer and Sam Gorski look into the differences and "what makes a camera good?" between the iPhone X and the RED Epic W 4K camera. There are five main points to be made: 1. Resolution - refers to how many pixels your image has. The more pixels, the more detail is available. The RED Epic W holds 8K, which is double the amount of pixels in comparison to the iPhone X's 4K. So, naturally, when the image is zoomed in, in this particular example, certain details are lost, such as the bricks on walls, and the STOP sign at the back. In this aspect, the RED stands strong. However, from a distance the iPhone and RED's quality differences are minor. 2. Dynamic Range - how well does the camera deal with differences in light and dark before being either overexposed or underexposed. The RED

The recent  Murder on the Orient Express , directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh and adapted from Agatha Christie's novel of the same name, left me with mixed feelings. Please note that this piece will include SPOILERS , so if you plan on watching the film, please wait with reading this. How many award-winning actors can we fit into one train cart? Answer: many. First and foremost, I'd like to talk about the acting. The star studded cast - including Dame Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz - all did a very solid job at playing their respective roles. Their eccentric elements were very well portrayed and I did feel as if every character had a unique element to it. Their style of acting was reminiscent of that seen on a theatre stage, old school in a way that was both interesting to watch, which I found befitting given the era in which the film is set, as well as the history of the original novel as well. Another, small thing that I enjoyed was

This week's video is from the YouTube channel Just Write , which I can highly recommend subscribing to.

Last night I finished the second season of the Duffer Brothers' Stranger Things, and my feelings about the show are mostly positive, with some caveats. Seeing as this is the first post on this blog, I figured I should look into a piece of fiction that is and has been widely watched. Please note that all these points are my own thoughts and opinions, and should not and are not final verdicts on the show. YOU should watch it and make up your own mind. Just in case you haven't watched the series yet (both 1 and 2), I will warn you now:  SPOILERS AHEAD Man, I wish I'd come up with this title card. To kick off, I'd like to say that I am incredibly impressed with the high quality present throughout the series. Every shot and scene felt like something out of a high-budget film released in the cinema. It may not be Roger Deakins or Vittorio Stroraro behind the camera, but nor is it your run-of-the-mill TV broadcast shot at 25/30 frames per second. It looks great. To