{"id":237,"date":"2025-11-04T00:16:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T00:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/?p=237"},"modified":"2025-11-04T00:16:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T00:16:19","slug":"how-to-read-a-movie-what-ive-learned-from-ebert-kubrick-and-tarantino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/?p=237","title":{"rendered":"How to Read a Movie: What I\u2019ve Learned from Ebert, Kubrick, and Tarantino"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019ve always loved movies. I can get lost in just about any genre such as indie, suspense, war, you name it. But it wasn\u2019t until I started learning how to\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0watch a movie that I realized how much more there is to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing What\u2019s Really on Screen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Roger Ebert\u2019s blog \u201cHow to Read a Movie,\u201d<\/em> he explains that there\u2019s more to film watching than just following the story. He talks about pausing a movie, studying a single frame, and really thinking about what you\u2019re seeing. That idea stuck with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, I would notice bloopers or small mistakes, things that didn\u2019t quite fit the time period or setting. But Ebert challenged me to look deeper. He said that if you study films closely, you\u2019ll start to notice patterns, choices, and visual cues that reveal a lot about the story and characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the concepts Ebert mentions is the\u00a0Rule of Thirds<\/strong>, a guideline used in photography, design, and cinematography that divides an image into nine equal parts. It helps balance the composition and naturally guides the viewer\u2019s eye. I already knew about it from art class, but Ebert made me think about how it\u2019s used in film, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also emphasized\u00a0positioning<\/strong><\/em>, how the placement of characters and objects in a frame can speak volumes. That clicked for me, because it\u2019s the same in art. The more I apply Ebert\u2019s advice, the more I find myself pausing movies just to study how color, lighting, and shadows are used. Like Ebert said, \u201cEverything worth noticing on the screen will eventually be seen by somebody.\u201d Every time I rewatch a film, I see something new, and that\u2019s part of the magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kubrick’s<\/strong> The Power of One-Point Perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was in 11th grade, I took a cinematography class that changed how I see movies forever. That\u2019s where I discovered the brilliance of Stanley Kubrick<\/strong>, one of my all-time favorite directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kubrick had a signature technique called\u00a0one-point perspective<\/strong>, a visual style that draws your eye straight to the center of the frame. You can see it in\u00a0The Shining<\/em>,\u00a02001: A Space Odyssey<\/em>, and\u00a0Full Metal Jacket<\/em>. Those long hallways, perfectly symmetrical shots, and centered action make you feel like you\u2019re being pulled into the world he\u2019s created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As someone who sketches and paints, I instantly connected with that. In art, perspective drawing is all about balance and guiding the viewer\u2019s focus, something Kubrick mastered on film. One of my perspective drawings even won first place at the Dade County Youth Fair, which pushed me to attend a summer art program. Kubrick\u2019s work made me realize that perspective, whether in art or film, can completely change how we see the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The \u201cFrom Below\u201d Shot: Tarantino\u2019s Trunk View<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another director I deeply admire is Quentin Tarantino<\/strong>, who\u2019s known for his creativity behind the camera. One of his most iconic techniques is the \u201cfrom below\u201d<\/em> or \u201ctrunk shot.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s that famous angle where the camera looks up from inside a car trunk, like in\u00a0Pulp Fiction<\/em>,\u00a0Kill Bill<\/em>, or\u00a0Reservoir Dogs<\/em>. What I love about this shot is how Tarantino uses it to tell a story without words. Depending on the scene, it can make a character look powerful or vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\u00a0Kill Bill<\/em>, for example, the main character stands over someone in a trunk. We never see the person inside, but her position and tone make it clear she\u2019s in control. Later, when the same character\u2019s head is shoved into a toilet, the camera flips that angle, suddenly she\u2019s the one who\u2019s powerless. That contrast is brilliant visual storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by Tarantino, I even painted a black-and-white \u201ctrunk shot\u201d scene for one of my art classes. There\u2019s something about that angle, it forces you to see the world differently, just like Kubrick\u2019s one-point perspective does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seeing Films (and Art) Differently<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roger Ebert, Stanley Kubrick, and Quentin Tarantino have each taught me something about how to see<\/em>. Ebert showed me how to slow down and analyze every frame. Kubrick taught me how perspective creates power and balance. Tarantino reminded me that camera angles can carry emotion and meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, when I watch a film, I don\u2019t just look for the story, I look for the choices. The lighting, the framing, the color, the perspective. And, just like in art, I find that every frame tells its own story. I really enjoyed viewing the movie clips and doing this assignment. It really reminded me on how much I love cinematography. The most difficult part of it all was not watching more of the movies than I needed to for the assignment. I have now learned a great deal about cinema techniques in the movies I watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you start looking at movies this way, you\u2019ll never watch them the same again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve always loved movies. I can get lost in just about any genre such as indie, suspense, war, you name it. But it wasn\u2019t until I started learning how to\u00a0really\u00a0watch a movie that I realized how much more there is to see. Seeing What\u2019s Really on Screen In Roger Ebert\u2019s blog \u201cHow to Read a Movie,\u201d he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,12,11],"tags":[27,43,42],"class_list":["post-237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflections-assignments","category-summary-posts","category-video-assignments","tag-reflective-assignments","tag-video-assignments","tag-week-10"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=237"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238,"href":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions\/238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tacolewis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}