ACTING. Method: Drawing from personal experience to deliver a searing authentic performance ; The films: On the Waterfront ; The King of Comedy ; Lincoln
Improvisation: Using the screenplay as a springboard to invent fresh, spontaneous reactions to a situation ; The films: This is Spinal Tap ; Knocked Up ; Girls Trip
Rehearsal: Working on a story at the script stage, developing characters by reacting off the rest of the ensemble ; The films: Secrets & Lies ; Henry V ; Everybody Wants Some!!
Monologue: Revealing a character's state of mind through his own words ; The films: JFK ; Glengarry Glen Ross ; National Lampoon's Animal House
Motivation: Understanding what drives your character, even if those reasons are elusive to everyone else ; The films: Good Time ; Lost in Translation ; Precious
Non-professionals: Casting everyday people to bring realism to film ; The films: Elephant ; Fish Tank ; Close-Up
DIRECTING. Framing; Determining the geography of a scene by where you place the actors ; The films: Do the Right Thing ; A Dangerous Method ; Let the Sunshine In
Depth of field: Strategizing how much of the frame you want in focus ; The films: Moonlight ; The Maltese Falcon ; Apocalypse Now
Tracking shot: Following along with your characters as they navigate through a space, which creates a sense of energy and movement in your film ; The films: Atonement ; Children of Men ; The Turin Horse
Close-up: Focusing on the intimacy and emotion of the human face ; The films: Persona ; The Passion of Joan of Arc ; If Beale Street Could Talk
Long shot: Moving the camera back in order to get a better look ; The films: City Lights ; Playtime ; Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Aspect ratio: Deciding how wide the frame should be to maximize the drama ; The films: Meek's Cutoff ; American Honey ; Chinatown
Forced perspective: Utilizing the optical illusion to play with size and scope ; The films: Elf ; Songs from the Second Floor ; King Kong
Canted angle: Tilting the camera, heightening the tension ; The films: The Third Man ; Sweeney Todd ; The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ; Fallen Angels
Crane shot: Placing the camera high above the action for a touch of grandeur and drama ; The films: Gone with the Wind ; Gold Diggers of 1935 ; Intolerance
Rule of thirds: Splitting the frame into nine segments to highlight what's most visually interesting and important ; The films: Certified Copy ; It's Complicated ; Shame
Breaking the fourth wall: Erasing the barrier between audience and actor, bringing us into the action ; The films: Ferris Bueller's Day Off ; Amélie ; Deadpool
Negative space: Understanding that, sometimes, diminishing the characters in the frame can make for powerful commentary ; The films: L'Avventura ; Roma ; Punch-Drunk Love
LIGHTING AND CAMERA. Deep focus: Filling the frame with images we need to see ; The films: Citizen Kane ; The Innocents ; The Rules of the Game
Chiaroscuro: Articulating mood and suspense through shadows and light ; The films: The Godfather ; Touch of Evil ; The Night of the Hunter
Key light and fill light: Illuminating your actors so that their reactions are clearly visible, while also offering shading and definition ; The films: Mudbound ; Daughters of the Dust ; We Need to Talk About Kevin
Low light: Shooting in darkened locations without losing the drama ; The films: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ; Solo: A Star Wars Story ; Zero Dark Thirty
Golden hour: Capturing the ethereal glow of a setting (or rising) sun to create a little movie magic ; The films: To the Wonder ; Before Sunset ; War Horse
Slow motion: Decelerating the action, intensifying the emotions ; The films: Reservoir Dogs ; Bonnie and Clyde ; The Matrix
Panning: Moving the camera from a fixed point in order to take in all the action ; The films: The Last Picture Show ; The Lobster ; Paranormal Activity 3
Steadicam: Utilizing a crucial piece of camera technology to simulate the feeling of agile, controlled motion ; The films: The Shining ; The Tree of Life ; Birdman
Handheld: Taking the camera off the sticks and embracing the unsteadiness of real life ; The films: Husbands and Wives ; Two Days, One Night ; The Blair Witch Project
POV shot: Letting the audience see the world through a character's eyes ; The films: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly ; Cloverfield ; Hardcore Henry
Split diopter: Fashioning a clever visual trick to create tension ; The films: All the President's Men ; The Untouchables ; The Hateful Eight
Split screen: Reorienting the viewer to consider multiple scenes or images simultaneously ; The films: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ; Down with Love ; Timecode
Zoom: Drawing the viewer closer to the action - or moving away for a provocative purpose ; The films: McCabe & Mrs. Miller ; Star Wars: The Force Awakens ; Quiz Show
EDITING. Dissolve, wipe and fade: Finding myriad creative ways to move from one scene to another ; The films: BlacKkKlansman ; Star Wars ; Field of Dreams
Smash cut: Juxtaposing one image with another, shocking the viewer in the process ; The films: Lawrence of Arabia ; 2001: A Space Odyssey ; North by Northwest
Crosscutting: Moving between action in different locations, juggling suspense on several fronts ; The films: Return of the Jedi ; Cloud Atlas ; Dunkirk
Jump cut: Disorienting the viewer by chopping up scenes and ignoring the rules of continuity ; The films: Breathless ; The Royal Tenenbaums ; Melancholia
Non-diegetic sound: Allowing the audience to hear things that the characters cannot - or, why a musical score matters ; The films: Psycho ; Casino Royale ; Wonder Woman
WRITING. Dialogue: Perfecting the art of how your characters communicate with the world around them ; The films: When Harry Met Sally... ; The Spanish Prisoner ; The Bridge on the River Kwai
Voiceover: Articulating the inner thoughts of characters - whether they're talking to themselves or us ; The films: Barry Lyndon ; Goodfellas ; The Informant!
Foreshadowing: Hinting early on at what's to come in a story ; The films: Vertigo ; Million Dollar Baby ; The Prestige
Plastic images: Infusing inanimate objects with emotional or symbolic meaning - because, sometimes, a cigar is most certainly not just a cigar ; The films: Bicycle Thieves ; Inception ; The Piano
Antagonists and obstacles: Determining the external and internal forces that are trying to hold your protagonist back ; The films: The Empire Strikes Back ; Rocky ; Requiem for a Dream
Theme: Expressing the ideas occurring inside the plot ; The films: The Avengers ; The Social Network ; Free Solo.
