Add Depth to your Film using Visual Subtext

The subtext in your film can be the difference between a completely forgettable experience or one that leaves the audience thinking about it for days. Today, Alex Buono gives us a look at how to use Visual Subtext to add depth and meaning to your film.
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[@enriqueuret]

8:24 "as soon as you release that film is no longer your film, is our film" *soviet music intensifies*

[@Corbych]

*our film*

[@Gadottinho]

tbh it is more libertarian or ancap, considering that intellectual property does not exist

[@jesuisgregory6340]

10 minutes for the golden conclusion that is only 10 seconds long: if you make a film that is meaningful to you, then it will be meaningful to somebody else. Pure gold.

[@jonathanlopez332]

This is one of the most amazing lectures I've ever heard. This has single handedly rekindled my passion for filmmaking. I've been in a rut and have no friends who are interested in it, little equipment and didn't go to school for it but this is my calling. I'll figure it out.

[@huntedguy9013]

How is it going??

[@mr.johnson3889]

I can't believe I saw this for free.

[@WSWEss]

non refundable also.. FU U!! hahahaha

[@No11114]

Me too

[@blurrgblurrg4498]

Sometimes I wonder how ethical it is for folks who were obviously taught all these things with good education to publish these things for their brands/ad money. It feels a little like monopolizing the information and pushing an entitlement at the same time. Teaching is traditionally considered feminine and we see women's work as something not worth paying for and there's entitlement that it should be done without pay. There's a centralization to this too that is almost like gentrification. Rather than a public service that connects people to their communities and others around them it instead connects us to the brands, the internet, the adsense/data collected, etc. I believe in medicare for all, free college, libraries, etc. I believe in publicly funded things that are free for everyone to use, but the key there is publicly funded and community based. Checks and balances for where the money goes. Localized versions available for everyone so there's a connection to your community, plus a lot of job opportunities. At some point there's a line where taking from institutions and intellectuals to have the unions and shared government structures that allos them to be intellectuals and build these ideas to then take from the work of those folks and institutions to publish your own summary of these concepts which you had no or little hand in coming up with for centralized gain and building a brand.. sometimes I think there may a point where it becomes unethical.

[@goatamatix894]

@@blurrgblurrg4498 bruh you wrote a thesis on why free knowledge seems unethical to you. Giving free knowledge is much better than paying for it. Get a life

[@deora2david]

Spielberg answers 6 out of 7 basic questions, like: How, when, where.... but never why. That will be up to the audience to make up there own reason why.

[@mz610]

5 out of 6***

[@MarksMotography]

The first rule of subtext is you do not talk about subtext.

[@goldeneddie]

Massively underappreciated Film Club comment!

[@InexorableVideos]

I love how that comment in and of itself is somewhat subtextual

[@No11114]

😆👌

[@thecoldglassofwatershow]

You can talk about it, but leave it undefined.

[@thebookwasbetter3650]

You can't spell subtext without buttsex.

[@MPproductionschannel]

What a fantastic video on symbiotics, I adored the segment about "handing your work" down to an audience, your work then being theirs to interpret. Loved it!

[@AdamUPNow]

This is the depths not many speak of on KZbin.

[@KshitijKePaar]

My philosophy of the interpretation of art was the same. This gave me more confidence in not worrying how my movie is interpreted. My job was to make the film, understanding it is the audience's job.

[@quadrant7493]

It's simple. I see the dark knight joker in the thumbnail, I click.

[@PeliculasQLS]

Quadrant which is why they do it.

[@SebastianValdebenitoFilms]

wena qls

[@spurgo]

... and for the first time i was disappointed by the outcome

[@nacho_a24]

Criticas QLS q wea wena cabros qls

[@samzamudio7540]

Really!? i thought it was very informative.

[@Z5Z5Z5]

I found it calming when you said to make a film meaningful to me and don't worry about how others interpret it. Thank you I needed that.

[@benjrickard]

I saw his whole lecture a couple of years ago. Amazing! It still resonates with me.

[@Theemptylife]

That Creation Of Adam shit blew my mind

[@jacobryancolon1401]

absolutely incredible lecture, thank you for this, Ryan.

[@TheAnimistOfficial]

this was the most impact full speech about film that has ever meant the most to me personally . I have heard the same speech before but it hit home with this one. its the type of education that makes you move to the next level. thank you Ryan for making this available to everyone.

[@goodlifefrankiefilms4603]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I desperately needed to hear this! It was very freeing to me, pushing me out of a creative block!

[@masterbaiter597]

"I want to unburden you from the pressure of being a genius" - says a genius.

[@AlexCAMS]

Iv taken these online lectures but I love rehearing them. Iv made multiple films before and Its nice to see other people gathering around filming just to understand it. Thanks Ryan

[@howardallen5306]

SUBTEXT has been at the center of my writing workshops since the mid 90's. So good to see this take on it. Great stuff.

[@shelbygundrey]

Awesome advice. Also, the Creation of Adam part was a wow moment for me. I have taken a few art appreciation courses that had that piece but nobody ever brought up the brain. That was amazing.

[@MrBiswas123]

Great speaker - Alex Buono .Thanks for sharing this !

[@Holleylifestyle]

Wow this was amazing. He added some much depth to filmmaking.

[@cheezy0059]

Trust me this is the best video I ever saw on youtube

[@Hollywoodghostwriter]

Dang that was so on point. Thank you for sharing

[@UrbanRiotProductions]

Such an amazing video! I feel like I'm back in film school. Thank you for making this information available to us.

[@darkridge]

The subtext of this video really spoke to me.

[@pilkfilms]

Congratulations! The real meaning of this comment was [whatever you want, insert here].

[@BlackHorseLover]

COLBY Films to see the different meanings people would come up with.

[@AaronGRandall]

Great episode!!! Thank you very much for sharing!!

[@popohfilms]

Wow! Thank you guys. Greatly helpful. 👏👏👏

[@OneGuitarist]

Excellent video for so many reasons. Love it!

[@jonathanacuna]

Thank you for opening my mind to the new possibilities and techniques in film!

[@erripukakonda3562]

Just 10 mins has lots of information great class

[@StarVinartistStudios420]

Wow. I’m writing my first short film now to shoot next month, and this video has made me rethink my subtext use. Thanks FR!

[@KSchawacker]

I saw The Dark Knight in a Cinemark theater in the basment of a Marrriot hotel the weekend it came out LITERALLY adjacent to the tunnel from the scene from Bladerunner and the joker's "joyride" and THIS was the moment I decided I wanted to do this for a living. I wanted to take a place that somone maybe know intimately and transform it into another world for the sake of the story I wanted to tell. I exited that theater as a high school sophmore and was transfixed at that tunnel. starring down the empty chasm (It was the midnight screening and their was unussually less traffic than normal) wondering, "how could I use this to tell a story?","Delve into the depths of a character's motivations?","trasform an individuals outlook on the world from one end to the other in mear moments?". Thank you Film Riot for everything you do and steady on. YOU are one of the few reasons I have carried on with my passion through 2 girlfriends, 4 homes, and 1 college majors. Thank you Film Riot.

[@Mitchletcher]

this was a really great video, thankyou filmriot !!

[@daisynaidu896]

Amaizing information. Thoroughly enjoyed it. 👍🏻

[@ShivKachiwala]

Great Knowledge Given! Thanks Film Riot for giving us this!

[@munkykng416]

I like this a lot, Alex has a great speaking voice.

[@kspec2001]

thanks for sharing this. so much good info in a very short video.

[@afrcustomtackle]

Been in a slump over the last few months and Alex's discussion of letting go and just making something for yourself made me feel just a bit better, took some of the fear out of all of this.

[@filmriot]

+Aidan Ryan Agreed!

[@afrcustomtackle]

I just screamed a little... Thanks guys, you just made my day

[@electabuzz3590]

Thank You, Film Riot. This Is Amazing! Thanks Alex Buono.

[@ChibiJoey87]

I have been an editor for my own projects for a while. I now work as a editor and this really makes me wanna go to film school to learn much more.

[@creativevit5961]

thank you a lot. great content! 100% agree

[@Life-Row-Toll]

For me, this presentation comes off very sarcastically. None the less, the presenter provided great insight and knowledge to us normie _filmist._ Love to see more of this!

[@filmriot]

+Life-Row-Toll Sarcastic?

[@Life-Row-Toll]

Film Riot Hmm, I may have use the incorrect word lol. But, maybe, a better way is to say he was enthusiastic and humorous when he delivered his key points, which I enjoyed 😄

[@JonathanSeni]

Learning film making and somehow landed here! Thank you Film Riot! I'm pumped!

[@Shiznaft1]

Thanks for sharing that with us. Really useful.

[@IcedCoffeeJam]

Ohhmygooodnesss!! This is soooo informative. Am so happy that this vid shows up in my recommendation. Thanks again filmriot! 💕

[@dicasys]

Awesome!! Thanks for posting this

[@jamescole2550]

Woah man das dope. Opened my eyes up to a bunch of ideas. Thanks!

[@artbyjes]

as an oil painter who is now finding a passion for filmmaking somewhat late in life, the speaker says something that made me sit up in my chair. and wish more people understood it. "the artist's intention does not matter." this is something I try to explain as well. Every painting is just the first sentence in a dialogue for me. And it is my only participation. From there, it is all viewers. No two people walk away from a conversation with the same impressions, and the same is true in art. No two people will experience a piece in the same way. Ever. So to try to put out a vision that everyone responds to the same way is pointless. It is the engagement that is important, that the conversation is occurring. So, I hide my clues, I make my statements, and almost all of them go unnoticed, or at least unremarked upon. And that is fine. All the best conversations in life are the ones that happened organically. Naturally evolved. Great video, very informative and interesting, thank you.

[@Kainlarsen]

Saving this for reference for my essays. I hope I can do well.

[@TheRealSpark]

This is gold!!!

[@AndyTheCameraGuy]

seriously my favorite youtube video right now as I speak, I mean text, or is this subtext, idk???

[@antoniosmith-plata6438]

Can you talk about one-shots? Specifically entire shorts/sketches shot in one take?

[@captainclipy6236]

Antonio Smith-Plata I'd actually like that.

[@ScottSullivanTV]

Watch the Ghost House BTS.

[@antoniosmith-plata6438]

Scott Sullivan yea I saw that but a whole episode on this would be interesting I think

[@haxios3588]

Go watch every frame a painting

[@RichGins]

damn, all these knowledge and for free. you're da real mvp man

[@KruegerProductionsLLC]

This video helped me so much! My films will start looking how I want with the right advice 🙏

[@filmriot]

+NRK Films right on man. Glad you dug it

[@william7713]

This is really great advice ! Thanks

[@Wilson-zk7qe]

We have the 48Hour challenge coming up here in New Zealand, so I'm binge watching your videos Film Riot!!!

[@Bonabellfilms]

I think this is the kind of content Film Riot should put out there. Too many about lenses and shots and these over talked about stuff...but film semiology and stuff like telling a story through cinematography is needed. Thumbs up

[@runasto]

Very true. Let the work speak for itself.

[@pyrotactics5836]

Love you film riot. Loved the whole video

[@MagicLi]

Thank you for This video i needed it😊

[@obalfaqih]

Arghh.. the best as always. Thanks for sharing it with us :D

[@PramitChatterjee1993]

That's such an important piece of advice. Hope Bollywood film-makers listen to this.

[@oscartovar9990]

lol

[@Albanez39]

Most of Bollywood is centered around economic profit, just like Hollywood is. You need to dig pretty hard to find good directors and screenwriters in both worlds. Film making is slowly dying, just like it happened with sports, then music. We should work hard and speak out to conserve the great skills and talents, but most directors are ignoring them in favor of profit. Producers rule the scene, and they usually have the final word in post production, frequently re cutting a film without the director's support to make it more appeasing to the masses, to the ignorant bigots who only watch action flicks and dumb comedies. I feel sad :(

[@FrenchToast663]

Why is your name Pyramid?

[@PramitChatterjee1993]

@@FrenchToast663 kyuki mere abba Fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu they, zyada bakchodi kiya toh shraap deke Mummy bana dunga.

[@anantambisht4895]

Plsssssss

[@ilcanaledifrancesco]

Wow this is kind of video that us that create any kind of video must have to see!!!

Oh man, I thought that class was gonna be a web series for this channel, that would have been great!

[@captainnott]

Phenomenal lecture

[@akiraikura]

Wah... loads of important points... Thanks Guys

[@NOBLE34JIMS]

LOVED this video!

[@MartinLJJ2]

This is awesome!

[@SacredMusicTribe]

Omg this is so amazing so glad I’m subbed

[@cinemavimarsh9350]

Very good information! Thank you!

[@JahazielCastillo]

Soooo good. Thank you once again film riot.

[@theguyoverthere3257]

Wow is all I can say, just amazing class!

[@VOYAGEUR-YT]

That was awesome. That guy made it really interesting

[@meg-k-waldren]

Loved this. I'm a screenwriter with an abstract artist/ creative drawing history, and I love semiology.

[@btracing]

Very inspiring video. Thx!

[@maberti]

Super good! Thank you !

[@juancamilo4684]

amazing teacher

[@tianamatson]

Oh man I really needed that.

[@skiblink]

Great lesson!

[@iioorrddaann]

Great! Soo, soo helpful ! Thank you, Rian fro showing this content :)

[@RoamerRealm]

This was such a great video! I am not a film maker, but as a youtuber I am trying to improve my skill with the camera and shooting a scene (for my videos) and I feel all of what you said is as relevant for a (beginner) youtuber like me as it would be for some of the professional movies makers. Really appreciate your video! Thanks!

[@AlejandroMontoyaMarin]

Love this channel!

[@BlogTernet]

Outstanding presentation. Loved it! Didnt know about Starbucks in FC

[@theuniversecalled6694]

I'm literally over here clamping and yelling like yes I know this !!! but finally some else has verbally said it too! it's crazy like I just connected with someone who actually knows what they are talking about. honesty if I only saw the commercial and not 10 in clip I would have just rolled my eyes about these classes. I have ran into so many walls trying to find legit online classes! this is great thank you for sharing

[@arindamdutta9371]

Amazing talk 👍

[@alanjollysebastian3433]

wow.... this was helpful👍👍

[@ianmckay305]

Thought Alex looked familiar. I saw a talk he did during True False, an amazing person to listen to.

[@realdavidpayne]

Great video again!

[@filmmakerslife5381]

This was so informative i think i am gonna sign up.. Also if possible can you show us how to perfectly do the long one take shots that would amazing thanks FILMRIOT

[@tlamiczka]

"The orange color is used to foreshadow death," says the presenter in front of orange curtain. Ryan presented him in orange T-shirt... Coincidence? :-)

[@charliemartin7266]

This was so inspirational

[@CAJUN_CS]

Great video!

[@gamechanger7545]

Thanks for the vid, and I would love to know if you have more material on visual subtext more suitable to Screenwriters. I recently did a very detailed analysis of Spotlight (which I would love to share) and was fascinated by the 2nd film inside the actual film, which is about Robby (Michael Keaton). I thought McCarthy's and Singer's approach, transformed the problem into pure art in the simplest of manners, which unsurprisingly made their attempt for secret narrative realistic and successful, without trying at any point, if I recall correctly, to fool or confuse the viewers.

[@neo7th]

Awesome workshop

[@sh.revamp2644]

MUCH TO BE LEARNT

[@BrooklynHudson]

That was great!

[@GeertMarissen]

Thank you!

[@DonovanFrancisDaniel]

Thank you sir

[@captainclipy6236]

Aw yee, my day just got better.