The Establishing Shot

This week, I talk with The West Sisters (Chasah and Charliese) about screenwriting. They have done a good bit of screenwriting, entering into screenwriting contests, and have even been able to write and direct some short films that are currently being submitted to festivals! We talk about their inspirations, their process from start to finish, what it is like to work on a script as a team, and wha...

Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic characters of all time, and it is all due to a combination of the charm of Harrison Ford and the masterful character building of Steven Spielberg as director and George Lucas as storyteller/producer. Not only would Raiders of the Lost Ark become a beloved gem for an entire generation, it would also launch Spielberg’s already successful career into the strato...

Sometimes even the best directors have a big ol’, old fashioned FLOP. This week, we decided to follow up our discussion of Spielberg’s critical and audience flop with a movie draft of some of our most renowned directors’ flops! The goal is not to draft the worst collection of movies, but movies we think hold up despite flopping at the time of their release. We tried to stick with movies that had 6...

In 1941, the 1979 WWII comedy, we have a prime example of a powerhouse director putting out a complete flop. Steven Spielberg along with writers in Robert Zemecki & Bob Gale and producer John Milius were trying to ride the train of troublemaking comedies that came before them. While the film did fine commercially worldwide, it was not well received by audiences and critics alike. Our discussio...

We discuss some of our approaches to film viewing. We tackle questions concerning motivations for watching films, how to choose what to watch, how we process films, and how we determine if a film is good or not. We also share some recommended resources to help with your film viewing experience. This is by no means the definitive film viewing treatise but just two normal people who love movies shar...

Spielberg followed up his breakout summer blockbuster Jaws with a sci-fi adventure thriller in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Its success is due to the incredible visual and narrative storytelling alongside the innovative special effects that wowed crowded theaters. We talk all of this and more in our discussion of this strangely optimistic film about UFOs, aliens, and strange people who are...

To accompany our discussion of Jaws last week, we did a Creature Feature Movie Draft! Creature Features are generally any film where a creature of some sort (beast, vampire, alien, zombie, etc.) is the main antagonist. We drafted 5 movies each and ended up with some great lists and fun discussions. Tune in to hear how the draft turned out, and look for the poll to vote for your favorite draft on o...

Jaws marks both the breakout of Steven Spielberg’s illustrious career and the beginning of the summer blockbuster. From crazy production stories to camera work to efficient character building and more, this discussion with guest Daniel Blackaby really encompasses a ton about what makes Spielberg such a great director. We also discuss if the dawn of the summer blockbuster has ultimately been good o...

Storytelling is a vital element of filmmaking. It is done in through the written narrative, the visuals, the sound, the performances, the camera work, and so much more. This week, I discuss storytelling, especially as it relates to children, with elementary school media specialist Shannon Burge. Before that, I review a movie chosen by some supporters of the show: About Time. Spoiler alert: I reall...

Spielberg’s first theatrically released feature film, The Sugarland Express, showed many signs of what was to come for the young director. In this episode I discuss the many Spielberg-ian themes, character traits, camera techniques, and knack for scale and adventure that was already evident in this early movie in his filmography.  https://www.establishingshotpod.com/   Feedback: Email us at establ...

It’s Oscars weekend! On this episode I share my favorite films of 2023, and we hear from some listeners/past guests on their favorites as well. Then, I go through the 2024 Oscars nominations and share what my choices would have been for each category.  https://www.establishingshotpod.com/   Feedback: Email us at establishingshotpod@gmail.com Leave a voicemail from the button on the right side of t...

Steven Spielberg’s Duel was never supposed to be as successful as it was. As a movie of the week TV feature in 1971, the 24 year old director gained the attention of critics and studios alike with a road thriller that begged to be on the big screen. We discuss this TV movie that launched his career along with briefly talking about his other two TV movies, Something Evil, a low budget, rural horror...

Steven Spielberg’s Duel inspired me to do a Car Chase Movie Draft with my guest, Dave Lester. Listen as we take turns drafting what we think are some of the best movie car chases out there. I also share some honorable mentions and do a review of My Neighbor Totoro with my five year old son. https://www.establishingshotpod.com/   Feedback: Email us at establishingshotpod@gmail.com Leave a voicemail...

Steven Spielberg is one of the most accomplished directors in film history. In this episode, we do an overview of his career focusing on the first two decades of his work as a director. Everything from his childhood, his start as a director, his filmmaking techniques, and the recurring themes in his films are discussed. This episode will give us an establishing shot of Spielberg’s career so that w...

To accompany our discussion of Wes Anderson’s short films including The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, we did a draft of our favorite short films. There are so many great short films from Maya Deren’s work to Pixar’s shorts. This was a fun draft and led to some great discussion. We hope this episode will work as a recommendations list for those of you who have never ventured into the world of sho...

Wes Anderson’s love for Roald Dahl’s storytelling pours out of the screen in his four short film adaptations of Dahl short stories that dropped on Netflix in 2023. This week, we discuss the unique pop-up book execution of Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan, The Rat Catcher, and Poison. With nonstop narration, a troupe of phenomenal actors, and stage play moving sets, these sho...

Thanks for checking out our show! Check out the links below to learn more about the show, leave feedback, and support the show. Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button! https://www.establishingshotpod.com/   Feedback: Email us at establishingshotpod@gmail.com Leave a voicemail from the button on the right side of the screen on our website https://www.establishingshotpod.com/   Support the Show:...

MERRY CHRISTMAS! It’s the most wonderful time of the year for movies, and what better way to celebrate than with a movie draft. In this Christmas Movie Draft Special, we draft Christmas movies into seven different categories and get to talk about our holiday favorites. Join us for a festive fun time! https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ Feedback: Email us at establishingshotpod@gmail.com Leave a v...

Christopher Nolan’s career is a fairly unique! He has made some huge movies (in scale, budget, and box office revenue) that smuggle in his personal obsessions and interests in intriguing ways. Nolan has truly come to define big budget Hollywood for his generation of filmmakers. Digging into his films over the course of this series, it's easy to see why that is. Join me is this epilogue to our...

Tenet is, in many ways, the culmination of Nolan’s career up this point. It is a huge budget genre movie with a sci-fi twist, and really feels like something only he could pull off. With action sequences unlike anything else you’ve ever seen on screen, it is certainly worthy of a deep dive. In movie news, we talk about some recent releases and upcoming fall releases we are excited about including...

Dunkirk is the culmination of so many techniques and filmmaking obsessions that Christopher Nolan had developed up to this point in his career. We discuss its unrelenting pace, the incredible work done to bring this film into being, and why this movie is so meaningful for both Nolan and the audience. In the stead of movie news and a movie draft, we simply share some recommendations of a couple of...

Interstellar manages to be Christopher Nolan’s most expansive film yet while simultaneously being his most sentimental. We discuss the incredible work done making this film as well as why this film feels like Nolan’s most emotional in his filmography. In our movie news section, we very briefly anticipate Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla. Finally, we do a movies in space draft and share our recommendation...

The Dark Knight Rises was an ambitious end to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Its epic scale feels like the natural target of the trajectory that this trilogy and Nolan’s career overall had been taking. Our discussion spans from the incredible production work to the core themes at play, and we try to figure out if this is a satisfying wrap up of the trilogy. In our movie news section, guest Za...

A BIG episode for a BIG movie! Christopher Nolan’s Inception feels like a lifetime achievement in many ways. Its inception as an idea goes back to his childhood, and here we see the culmination of his visual, conceptual, and emotional obsessions culminate in a film that dominated cultural conversation. Our discussion spans from the incredible VFX work to the emotional core that makes this one of N...

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is arguably his most notable film to date, changing not just superhero movies but the film industry in general. His grounded approach to the comic book world, Ledger’s iconic performance, and escalated scale in both the action and the story add up to a phenomenal film that is his most well known to this day. In our movie news section, we briefly mention Taylor S...