Visual Storytelling in Filmmaking

This week we’re looking at the ways we can tell a story visually, rather than always relying on dialogue to explain things.
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Host and Creator - Simon Cade

[@galianbff]

I'm not even a filmmaker but I want to learn to tell stories through my drawings and this video was extremely helpful!

[@kurtlindner]

Being a Huge Wes Anderson fan, I love that you brought up production design, wardrobe, and location.

[@Name-ex1yh]

I really appreciate your efforts in your videos. You just talk straight through the whole video and that just shows your concentration in your work ... Thank you 😊❤️

[@abeeeshen3852]

Man, superbly done once again. Your information is gold. The one about production design seems so underlooked. Im not too sure if someone covered this but I think actor’s performance is another thing to think about as well. They are the drivers of the plot (the vision). Great information, always!

[@florenzanofilms6088]

Kid, i've been going through a lot of videos, and yours are so more interesting tow atch compared to the others. You have just a natural way to keep people interested in your stuff! Way to go buddy! I just subscreibed to your channel, and i'm learning quite a bit! Thanks for the aweosme lessons! Cheers mate!

[@DSLRguide]

thanks Daniel, that really means alot!

[@AI4QT]

Simon. You're a great teacher. Your subtle inflections and pauses are on mark. Best your way.

[@fillthatframe1238]

Best DSLRGuide video yet!! Bro you are seriously going in the right direction. I have been subscribed to your channel since the very start and used to think that, your's is the same old boring Gadget review. But now you have grown and this channel is actually worth while watching. Waiting for your next vid. Keep it up 👍

[@DSLRguide]

thanks Ronit, glad you're enjoying the new videos!

[@TealeBritstra]

I found that reading the book for "2001" also cleared up a few things for me. I'd recommend it, especially with regards to the scene at the end of the movie that many people find a bit confusing.

[@ech78928]

Teale Britstra What is it called?

[@TealeBritstra]

Ethan Chap. 2001: A Space Odyssey

[@ech78928]

Teale Britstra Oh. Ok, I thought it was a book on the making behind 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[@koreto1769]

Love that you used Double Indemnity as an example, bravo

[@raymonddillon3016]

A very good teacher!

[@DSLRguide]

thanks Raymond!

[@youthanek]

im starting to go into storytelling. thank you so much!

[@verticaltechnology2513]

G R E A T synthesis of visual story telling. You really practice what you preach. Thanks for this video. Greetings from Romania.

[@Aravindmenon1997]

Thank you so much for the tips... You really have a bright future

[@borgusfilm]

Great job as always, Simon!

[@jacobkellen4736]

Just wanted to let you know I've watched your videos for years, but was just recently assigned to view this video for a university design course!!

[@Mertdatbenik14]

Am i the only one who is really happy if it's saturday?

[@ramkilakshman]

NO,EVEN ME

[@sen795]

Thank you very much for your advice, Simon. Someday, I wonna be like you!!!

[@EIKOFILMS]

I love your art style. I think it's so cool that you're a great film teacher and you're what, 15-18ish?

[@DSLRguide]

+ETMO thanks, that means a lot! I'm 18 now, but was probably 17 when I made this video

[@EIKOFILMS]

+DSLRguide

[@Kasmuller]

@@DSLRguide What?! I swear when you are like 25 you will be directing a hollywood movie!

[@RyanMacOfficial]

Yup, I like it. :) Great lesson Simon! Your drawings are pretty awesome too!

[@chingkheimang4766]

Glad you are back

[@PinewoodPaladin]

Jumping Turtles On a Trampoline!!! These videos are bloody brilliant! There I say so credibly loveable! This one in particular has taught me so much more than I could of ever guessed on my own for 10 Thousand Nights! THANKS A BILLI

[@OneLifeKevinn]

I have learned so much from your videos. Thank you so much!

[@robbyboyo]

Very comprehensive and extremely informative. Bravo.

[@deadinside-iq2ry]

This video was very helpful for my current project! thank you!

[@adamroberts5488]

Yay another great video from my favorite youtuber

[@teddybearproductions3025]

Your outro is awesome!!!

[@christopherschauz8807]

Grat video Simon! Thanks for making so much videos about storytelling nowadays. I like them a lot! Could you make more videos about visual storytelling? Like camera movement and how it effects the audience? Greetings from Sweden

[@DSLRguide]

thanks Christopher! Got plenty more videos on the way, storytelling with lighting, lenses, camera movement etc! Really glad you're enjoying the new direction the channel is going in!

[@jbur90s]

Thank you for your storytelling videos you are helping out a lot

[@SethKHughes]

Great info and very well presented. Thanks for sharing.

[@MagnumVideos]

I love that film, Double Indemnity. Body Heat is a pretty close remake with a similar plot.

[@irmaindriani]

sending you love for this awesome video

[@kurtiswatson]

I didn't really get a lot of useful information out of this video(that I didn't already know anyway), but as always your videos are super inspirational and I think that's why you have so much success and why I love your videos!! Keep it up man!!

[@damepieper2163]

Great breakdown, very informative

[@Jacktherippervs]

I like so much your videos :)

[@philsfilms]

I love your channel. I have honestly learned so much! I almost feel guilty that I'm not even paying for this...

[@DSLRguide]

haha I'm glad it's been helpful! if you would like to support me financially, you can get a t-shirt or poster :) store.dftba.com/collections/simon-cade

[@vidithoro7175]

I love this video. You direct tell me about more directors like Billy Wilder who delivers emotions visually in actions.

[@OfficialTomJ]

Fantastic!!! All these new ideas to consider.

[@DSLRguide]

awesome, so happy to hear that!

[@vinitparulekar4374]

Love you Simon... Thanx a Tonnnnn for this knowledge you share with us...!!!

[@DSLRguide]

Vinit Parulekar you're welcome!

[@Dealio09]

great video and execution!

[@GetToDaChoppa-k5r]

Cool info. I watched the Double Indemnity scene. It is quite suspenseful, but I would warn people not to just hide people behind doors. It will get old quick. Put them in other creative places to hide as well.

[@DinosaursStory]

Good storytelling reference for filmmaker

[@tcdoesstuff]

Can you make a video on one man films, please?

[@johndiehl6612]

Great videos! can I use them as a teaching instruction? I need them available offline though if possible. thanks. John.

[@MrTimjholland]

Hi I really like the video. I have a question. What application do you use for the simple animation involved: the drawing of characters and having them move (as in 8:52 Phllyis, Walter and Walter's boss) ...?

[@JakeRusco]

Thanks for the lesson!

[@coolbeans4438]

i've watched 2 of your videos and i like how it progressively gets darker outside towards the end of the video.

[@michellegiana3864]

No its not...your computer wa probably running out of battery lmao

[@LekkerLeviLoosVideos]

Very, very nice!

[@pataspatas88]

Nice Simon!

[@mahamasoud8107]

thankful lovely video blessings

[@EnglishWindows]

Great video as usual, guy! Please help me on the best and fast HD video uploading settings you opt for. I do record in the highest resolution available in my canon d600, yet a ten minutes HD video equals 3 to 4G, I find it impossible to upload. I use handbrake to compress the videos yet they are still to large. I use other software to specify the size I want, yet a lower size brings about a blurry and foggy video. I am disappointed, what should I do? Share with me your solution, please. (I use sony vegas pro 13 for edition)

[@StPioFilms]

actually good content

[@tmfilmproductionshd7470]

Perfect. Thanks.

[@Sudha0112]

All the videos on this channel are so so full of insights that you don't usually get in any other channels. Although, I'm clueless why the blog posts are no where to be found. Each time I click on the link in the description, I end up on a page saying "Oops! Page not found." Has the creator of the channel scrapped off the blogposts or have them moved somewhere else?

[@franciscopcoutinho]

Also, it would be really nice if you could make a video on storyboarding. I find it a very useful way to help materialize your "vision" and show it to others. However, I am really bad at drawing, and I feel that it ends up constraining me! Any tips? Thanks, Simon!

[@DSLRguide]

I think I'll work storyboarding into some videos about pre-production in general, thanks for the suggestion! My advice is to forget about the quality of the drawings, and just 100% focus on getting your ideas down about the framing choices, and shot types (close up wide shot etc). Grab some screenshots of generic shots from movies and practice drawing them in a simple way.

[@sen795]

Thank you for your great post Simon, I really enjoy it. What would be the best way to study and improve visual storytelling skills in video making? Besides your KZbin Chanel and Blog post, where should I go to find more materials?

[@DSLRguide]

glad you liked it Steve! I think the best way to learn this stuff is to watch films and look out for symbolism, times when they convey the plot and emotion without dialog. The more you analyse films, the better you will understand these ideas, and you'll find inspiration for your own projects. I haven't really seen many videos about this topic at all, but Every Frame a Painting and D4Darious do mention visual storytelling in their videos sometimes.

[@AshtonDeanGleckmanFilmandMusic]

Super helpful

[@blainemarcano]

These drawings are bomb!

[@reyasaeed9036]

great job

[@angelo403]

yes I agree

[@PostColorGear]

I think that's one of the biggest sins of film-making / script writing is having the actors spell out the scene. "So you're going to walk down the street and go after that man that stole your mail?" If you have to have dialogue to explain it, then your script needs to be refined. It always seems corny to me when that happens because no one talks like that in real life.

[@DSLRguide]

exactly. if we avoid expositional dialog, then we can use the dialog for more interesting things than just the plot!

[@aartisharma682]

Ok

[@GetToDaChoppa-k5r]

DSLRguide I agree, but sometimes exposition is needed. Remember when Kyle Reese in Terminator had to explain all that Future war stuff to Sarah. Well Cameron did all that expository stuff while they where being tailed by the killer cyborg. They were all sweaty and out of breath while jumping in and out of cars. That's what I call well done exposition. Exposition with action and suspense.

[@mnrvaprjct]

Do you think that story boarding in photoshop and or illustrator might be a considerable idea as well, because it might give a better visual reference for the director to portray to the person who is filming the scene. Great video to helps alot.

[@DSLRguide]

of course! these visual ideas aren't found on set, they happen in preproduction. Storyboarding is the best way to 'record' all visual ideas, so that when it comes to filming all you have to do is execute the plan!

[@Bavubuka]

You’re awesome

[@NaresFilms]

Great video!

[@DSLRguide]

+Nares Films thanks!

[@sensandipmail]

Thank you.

[@princeanthony1010]

Can you tell me or make a video on which video editing software you use? The reason why you use this product and the comparative options.

[@DSLRguide]

don't think i'll be doing a video on it, because it's not that important of a decision. I use final cut pro x, because I don't want to pay so much for adobe creative cloud.

[@Jesse-mh6hv]

You just got a subscriber :) 👍

[@3RDEYELOVE]

Cool thanks a lot

[@maximilianhoff9162]

This is great no one is talking about this topic here on yt. I have a question can you make a live stream in the future ?

[@DSLRguide]

Thanks Maximilian Hoff! Hmm, maybe one day, but I definitely prefer to watch regular videos compared to live streams. Maybe we'll do it for a subscriber milestone!

[@ryanschmitt9500]

Hey Simon, What app do use on your phone for your photography. Thanks.

[@DSLRguide]

Ryan Schmitt just the standard camera app that comes with the phone :)

[@jonagoldd]

The top at 7:12 is the top from Inception isn't it? :)

[@MrImag98]

Hey Simon! Have you seen "Wild Tales"? Awesome movie.

[@DSLRguide]

hey! I haven't seen that :)

[@InfiniteWonderz2]

was it a bit cold in the room when filming this? can see a cloud of steam when you breath

[@todaywiththeCJB]

Great video! Did you do those drawrings

[@DSLRguide]

I sure did :)

[@todaywiththeCJB]

DSLRguide Nice drawings, how did you colour them?

[@vladimirpeeters]

Congrats ! In the Double Indemnity the door opens in the opposite way to hide Phyllis

[@DSLRguide]

Vladimir Peeters I'd never thought of that! sometimes you have to cheat it for the story :)

[@HarpreetSingh-iz8em]

What is color grading

[@benedictmaddara9248]

Simon can you tell us a hack on how we can think of a shot easily?

[@Deadpool-xw3fc]

Benedict Maddara Just picture it if it was made by Spielberg

[@SeanofAllTrades]

I really appreciate and like your drawings, but since you're doing educational videos I think you could actually use clips of the films when explaining them without any kind of legal repercussions. It should fall under "fair use". At least in the US, that's how it works. I'd love to see you doing some stuff like "Every Frame A Painting" and including film clips in your videos to better explain your theory. Might help us all to better understand.

[@DSLRguide]

+SeanithanEgan unfortunately KZbin has basically no respect for 'fair use' - if they scan it and recognise it, they'll just give all the ad revenue to the owners of the copyrighted content. The biggest reason I haven't done any video essays like Tony's is that I think too many people are doing them at the moment. Freddiew did one, then Corridor Digital etc. Tony Zhou is so good at them, I'd rather just do my own thing so I don't have to compare myself to his work haha. EFAP might just be my favourite youtube channel at the moment haha

[@SeanofAllTrades]

Yeah, I didn't mean to suggest that you do what he does, but that when you're describing a scene you use the actual scene in question instead of recreating it on your own or with drawings (which seems so time-consuming for you). I understand though - wouldn't want you to lose out on income just because you used a small clip of something to illustrate a point. Great stuff, keep up the good work and I'll keep watching.

[@scottpatonlevin2686]

The coolest thing about your videos is that I can tell that you are learning by teaching us.... U rock.

[@ramkilakshman]

Simon why don't you use blender for video editing??

[@DSLRguide]

I find final cut pro to have a more intuitive interface :)

[@denisefigueroa7761]

What is that small squeaking sound in the background?

[@bilalbadran]

his nose

[@TheGunner2444]

How long on average did all of those sketches take you to do?!

[@DSLRguide]

haha, probably an hour on average, the ones in colour took the longest :)

[@filmmaker4355]

you are the best (>_

[@jncpapi]

that's what i'm talking about

[@DSLRguide]

I told you it was better!

[@jncpapi]

Yep, you got it bro

[@grothezk]

Too bad the blog is gone now.

[@chingkheimang4766]

He is back bro

[@efenty6235]

Why do people not do this intuitively?

[@ickep4]

эти руки

[@kirankryos]

plz add some background music, its sooo boring to listen for a large

[@xXEpicMehXx]

If you're interested, this will be interesting.

[@untcius]

Do people, who don't have any knowledge of cinema, understand the symbolism? Or maybe it's subconscious?

[@DSLRguide]

Antanas Sadauskas A few people might notice it, but hopefully they'd be lost in the story! Lots of little hints through symbolism, music, camerawork etc do make a big difference even if separately they seem insignificant. Subconscious is better sometimes!

[@aadeshanand9014]

why you sound low in this one my dear boy, are you under the weather or something?

[@aysiasottile-roxas9051]

Pov ; your English teacher made you watch this

[@jonathan-zg1ed]

牛逼

[@mustafachoukri]

i hope i can skype you sometime