About
Elliot — on why this project exists, and how it works.
I'm Elliot. I'm spending the year before university getting properly ready to study Film — watching with real attention rather than just watching, and writing down what I notice while it's still fresh.
What draws me in isn't plot so much as how a scene is actually put together: where the light is coming from and what it's doing, how colour is used to steer a mood, how a shot is framed and why, how an edit decides what we see and when. This log is where I try to name those choices properly, film by film.
The method
- One film a week. Watched properly, ideally without distraction, on the weekend a write-up follows.
- A working list of 50 films (see the list) chosen to cover the major genres, movements, and techniques — from silent-era expressionism through to contemporary colour grading.
- A short critical write-up after each one — what stood out technically, plus an honest reaction.
- Reading alongside the viewing, a chapter at a time, matched loosely to what that week's film demonstrates.
- Practical work too — writing and directing short pieces of my own during the year, not just watching other people's.
Reading alongside
- Film Art: An Introduction — Bordwell & Thompson
- In the Blink of an Eye — Walter Murch
- Painting with Light — John Alton
- On Directing Film — David Mamet
- Story — Robert McKee
- Sight, Sound, Motion — Herbert Zettl