What's in the Frame

            In order to make a film, many different creative minds must come together. One of the most underrated and important jobs done on any film set comes from the mind of the cinematographer—head of the camera and lighting crews that is responsible for the overall visual aesthetic. One job of the cinematographer is to decide a film or television show’s color grading, or color palette, which is enhanced in post-production. The colors that are chosen at this moment are not only important to the overall visual aesthetic, but also to the emotions they might add to enrich the narrative. Based on color theory, color psychology, and film theory, the specific color that is used in a film conveys a particular emotion that serves the story; furthermore, to fully explore the usage of colors, one must look at a select number of films with distinct color palettes to understand what they add to the emotional and thematic atmosphere.     ...

            The Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars, are some of the highest honors for technical and artistic merit in the film industry. They are an opportunity for international recognition of distinction in cinematic achievements. Despite its 90 years of existence, however, their merits have often come into question. One begins to wonder just how seriously we should continue to take the Oscars.             Recently, actress Carey Mulligan said, “Maybe you shouldn’t be allowed to vote unless you can prove you’ve seen every single one. There should be a test.” She makes this argument because she, like most viewers, believes all of these movies deserve an equal chance to prove why they were nominated in the first place and why they deserve to win. They all have their own merits that make them unique and commendable. One can't fairly decide which film is the most deserving if they chose to...

            With the rise and dominance of mega-franchises like Marvel and Star Wars, an increase in anti-spoiler paranoia has also taken place. In 2020, even knowing something as simple as a character’s name could be considered a spoiler that one is barred from sharing. In Houston, Texas, according to David K. Li, a Domino’s employee went so far as to punch their coworker in the chest after openly discussing the ending of Avengers: Endgame . This paranoia is, however, unwarranted, unnecessary, and over-the-top.             It is widely accepted that if one is to intentionally spoil something for someone they will be labelled impolite. This belief doesn’t stem from nowhere; the literal definition of spoil is to “diminish or destroy the value or quality of.” Although this may be what is commonly believed, it was actually found by psychology professor Nicholas Christenfeld, that if you spoil a story, ...