In as oversaturated genre as filmbro video essays is, and with a film as done-to-death as No Country, you still manage to say something novel, helpful, and entertaining while also pitching your other work as worthwhile- all with the conciseness of a 9 minute video. Good job.
Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul in particular, are master classes in setups like these. Many of the episodes will start with what appears to be inconsequential details and by the end is revealed to be the key aspect of whatever shenanigans the characters were doing.
It’s cool you bring that up, breaking bad in particular does something that’s called “in media res” which means “in the middle of things.” Like you said, basically they give you an Easter egg of something that will be interesting later and then back up the story so you’re waiting for it to come up again. It’s almost like giving a piece of the punchline first then going back to set up the joke!
Hey, nice use of the term. It also reminds me of the first episode of the 1997 anime adaptation of Berserk. Without spoiling much, the first episode shows us Guts in what is Conviction arc and then the explanation to why the man we see in the first episode is the way he is for the rest of the show.
Noticing that Anton's hair is messed up and his skin is sweaty upon opening the door to the motel the first time really got me because you automatically assess that he had just murdered the old woman at the counter beforehand. We can believe this due to Anton's negative reaction to "small talk" and when the people in his way ask "too many questions". The old woman at the counter being talkative to Llewelyn as well as slightly stubborn doesn't really strike us at first, but as soon as we see Anton look up to her and her hand shaking on the counter, at that moment we know she's doomed. Idk, just something I thought was cool😁
Wonderful observation on No Country. And very effectively explained. Another thing is Anton's obssessiveness to keep his shoes clean is also a way of developing character without saying much. It shows his alienating nature, his tendancy of contradicting his own action (as shown in the final scene of the movie). He doesn't think twice about killing others but he is obsessessed with tidiness, orderliness. He is methodical to a point it is unsettling. Also, this deserves more views! Great video!
It's bonkers that amazing movies can have hundreds of videos essays made about them with a focus on different things in each essay. It makes you realize how much great movies focus on specific tiny details and the amount of work that goes into every second on film. Movies like No Country, Spiderverse, EEAaO, or Sicario clearly have every minute detail planned and it separates them from good movies into perfect movies.
i really love the juxtaposition between chigurhs aversion to getting his boots bloodied and the repeating imagery of bloody tracks left behind throughout the movie. the first ones we see are of the animal lwelyn shot hunting, eventually leading him to the shootout scene, the second were those of lwelyns himself in the confrontation between him and chigurh. his bloodied footprints gave away a trail for anton to locate him. a really cool foreboding image of his mortality and eventual fate, that as long as hes living, as long as he has a trail to leave anton will follow him and hunt him down, whereas with chigurh he leaves no trace behind. a complete ghost where in every scene he exits leaves not the slightest impression behind. hes smoke
Nice catch. I had not noticed. But now that you mention it, there's another one I can think of. When he strangles the cop at the beginning of the movie, you can see lots of marks on the floor from the cop's struggle. Shoes do leave a mark. It does feel like Anton knows this and purposely leaves them clean, not like an obsessive psychopath, but more like a professional killer, a predator who knows how not to get hunted, or the way you put it... A ghost.
@@Matthiaslipknot I think both. Actions that started with practical reasons, repeated so many times that the original meaning has been lost and only the habit remains. In many ways, I'd say this is like Anton himself: He's clearly human and does human things, but his *humanity* is gone, leaving behind only a shell.
Look at that subtle movie analysis, the tasteful editing of it. Oh my god, it even has insert shots. Honestly though it feels so good to see a video essay that feels like a video.
I think no writer/director mastered this technique better than Billy Wilder. The pocket-mirror in The Apartment is devastating, but his whole filmography is full of little moments like this.
This was refreshing, interesting, personal and an extremely fun ride. Such a breath of fresh air when RUclips video essays these days have become either lengthy rants about someone’s favourite franchise or an excuse to rewatch some cool scenes from your favourite movie with nice music and a calming voice in the background. Keep doing what ur doing, channel is gonna blow up soon!
Thanks! Yeah for me the whole point is trying to put this stuff into practice myself. I’ve learned about filmmaking in theory but actually going out and making stuff has really changed how I see movies entirely!
Man, this is great. Great points, but whats better is showing how YOU approach it, and having humility to analyse and see your own strength and weakness. Talking is great, doing is better. Wish you success my friend!
Earned a new subscriber halfway through the video. I love your style, your appreciation for the craft of filmmaking, and the fact that you use your own work to be critiqued as an example in an overarching narrative thread speaks volumes of your authenticity and your commitment to quality content creation. Can't wait to see what you've done and where you're headed.
Fantastic video, man! The best films are the ones that respect the viewer's intelligence. They show and don't tell but only tell when they have to and do it in a way that's still compelling and necessary. They give the audience 2+2 instead of just giving them the number 4. They meticulously show enough to the point that, if you're paying attention to the details they provide, eventually they reward you in ways that more simple films never could. In short, great analysis!
Wow. Incredible analysis and explanation, pointing out details even the most dedicated cinephiles wouldn’t notice. Videos of this quality deserve so much more attention
Terrific video. Such a succinct presentation on how powerful setups/payoffs can be. No Country For Old Men takes it one step further in my opinion with its use of the ellipsis as well. We get that sledgehammer of a payoff but we the viewer are left having to create the imagery of Chigurh's action against Carla Jean for ourself in order to even get to the payoff. No matter how many times I watch the movie, part of me will always be in denial of Carla Jean's fate, that somehow she made it. Anyways, I really enjoyed this particular take on its analysis. Looking forward to more of your work to come.
Thank you! I agree, I love a movie that trusts the audience to fill in the blanks, that doesn’t feel the need to spoon feed the story to us and leave some things up to imagination or even up for debate.
That's what a real subversion of expectations looks like to me. That phrase gets used a lot but almost never like this when it's most impactful. The film spends a long time setting up who the characters are, what they're like, how they act. Then it has the complete enormous balls not to show the climactic moment here at all, just to imply it and allowing the watcher, with all their various interpretations of everything that happened so far, to come to their own conclusion. It takes serious craft to see that the audience is desperately going to want to know the answer and to say "haha, nope, you're going to be thinking about then ten years from now in the shower and you'll still be hoping".
Finding this account before 1k dubs feels unreal. The editing the structure and pacing of the video. It’s all something I’d expect in the 500k and up area. Keep it up man I’m glad I found you channel can’t wait to see what else you put out in the future.
Unbelievable talent! I can't wait to see your movies. You understand the essence of film. It's storytelling. So much time, money and energy is wasted yelling fire in an empty theater.
honestly one of the best youtube videos i’ve watched for such a small channel. kept me engaged from beginning to end. subscribing feels like i’m betting on gold dust! can’t wait to see you at a 100k! well done.
@@brothir I mean it’s the Godfather… Saying it’s a better movie is in no way a slight against No Country which is already a modern classic in its own rights. I’ve never read Mario Puzo’s novel though so I can’t comment on how faithful an adaptation the films are.
Only after I’ve watched the video I realised it’s only your 4th video on the channel, but despite that this video had a cinemastix feel to it, and something very calming about it. I really appreciate your opinion on what makes a good movie, I love what you said about language. Can’t wait for more from you
I loved seeing the thought process behind your short film. The problem solving mindset of "how do I take this shot and make it something rather than the other way around?" was really intriguing.
As someone who started in literary studies and branched into film analysis later, I gotta point out that the example you used of the Katana scene is equally true in writing for non visual media. Writing scenes with characters doing something distinctively Them is always going to be better characterization than telling us what they're all about -- film makers do that with what's onscreen, writers do it with descriptive action writing. Different technical toolbox but the phenomenon not unique to film.
Lawrence of Arabia has a set up and punch line. It's long. Gassim, an Arab lost in the desert, Lawrence goes back to save him against the advice of the others who say it is written by God that Gassim is dead, and ends with Gassim getting shot by Lawrence to make sure a tribal war doesn't break out, and Anthony Quinn looking at Omar Sharif and saying 'Ah, it was written then!" There is about 40 minutes between the start and the finish of that set up.
I was just talking to a friend about how little set up and payoffs are discussed in screenwriting and filmmaking videos and books despite being so incredibly effective. You could argue that Back To The Future is a perfect movie largely because of it's use of this technique. Edgar Wright once mentioned that he and Simon Pegg studied BTTF intensely before writing Shaun of the Dead which explains so much.
This was a wonderful watch, an easily digestible lesson on storytelling which doesn't just have to apply to movies. Really well done and I hope to see more from you.
So bad it's good is really just good to me, my problem is if a movie is forgettable and don't grab me. If I am not grabbed by it I tend to shut off movies, which some may consider a bad practice but I value my time a lot. These are movies that others rave about. It's all subjective when you really boil it down, which again is something people have a trouble grasping with.
I was blown away when I first saw that scene from No Country. Just a small figure moving in a roughly symmetrical background. The implication was as clear as day.
WOW this video!!! I absolutely love love love the combination of education with implementation, you really nailed this and made it feel like an actual lesson finally.
You should have more subscribers. The way this video was done was so creative and entertaining, and I love how you make a short film with the topic you discuss in the video. Brilliant stuff.
Solid video! I don’t like to shit on movies, nor do I really jive with the idea that something can be so bad it’s good; however, I do keep a rotating list of 4 movies I refer to as “The Four Horsemovies of the Apocalypse”. These movies have every possible thing they need to succeed, and somehow fail miserably. Great cast, writers, directors, etc. These are my current 4: 1. Serenity (2019) 2. The Book of Henry (2017) 3. Domino (2019) 4. The Snowman (2017)
Love your use of Old Country. It’s one of the best examples. But more thanks for clarifying Chekhov’s gun. A lot of video essays using every set-up & payoff as Chekhov’s gun when it’s really not the case. Great work showing the difference.
Love your analysis style. If I may have my input on the subject of suspense: because so many bad movies were made, we forget about Michael Myers. The reason he’s the scariest sociopathic killer is they show him to us in the background. We know he’s there, the antagonist doesn’t. Somebody popping up in the background then disappearing is terrifying. They hid the monster from the character, not us, creating that opened ended tension other movies try to achieve and usually fail at. There’s also that scene where Michael pins a woman against the wall then tilts his heads to the side. It’s like he doesn’t fully understand death. Much like Chigurh and his boots, that scene subtly showed us Michael has quirks and there’s a human inside the sociopath. In this case, a homicidal child that spent his life in solitary confinement fascinated by death. The smallest scenes can leave a big impact. I enjoy your take on analysis. Subscribed Edit: if you’re going to take the path of a film writer, I recommend you read “On Writing” from Stephen King. He doesn’t analyze the plot. There’s a premise then he creates characters. The rest happens organically. Hayao Miyazaki is another good example. He doesn’t plan the plot. He draws pictures then lets it unfold
I always compare good stories and good writing to jokes. So it's really nice to hear someone acknowledge this. Recently saw Barfly again and I always told people how much I love Bukowski and I've always heard people absolutely hate Bukowski. But he writes poetry to me. And in Barfly it opens up with the sign of the bar, "Golden Horn, a friendly place"... the bartender sits with the newspaper and then we see there is a fight going on in the back. And the movie ends with Chinaski raising his glass "to all my friends, to all my friends, to all my friends"... Chinaski and the guy with the mustache have another fight. Then the bartender sits with the newspaper. A shot of the sign "Golden Horn, a friendly place". It's perfect. And I think people dislike Bukowski so much because they only see the booze, the sex and the violence in his stories and they miss these little comedy gold nuggets.
Love the way you broke this down. I would agree fully. You said it yourself, but I will reiterate this idea of intentionality. Mediocre movies have many “throw-away” shots - shots that just don’t mean anything. Every shot should have a purpose. Set-up and punchline reiterate and highlight this. Good movies take (what looked like) a mediocre movie’s throw away shot, and make it a soon to be purposeful and/or interesting idea.
It’s “payoffs” not “punchlines” punchlines are specific to stand up comedy. The term “Payoff” is more generally used in novels, films, plays etc. since not all payoffs are intended to be funny.
I'm so glad RUclips put this video on my feed. I'm a huge fan of this kind of content especially on one of my favourite films. I shall watch your career with great interest.
I very much love how all of your script writing cut out essentially all of the fat. Every bit of this video conveyed the necessary information -- which, itself, was (pointing towards) something very interesting.
Okay WOW if you didn’t already earn a subscriber with the first half explaining the No Country for Old Men setups and payoffs. You definitely deserve it for the insanely perfect movie examples you use. All the best iconic but not too obvious scenes from movies to explain your point, Aliens, Good Will Hunting, Get Out, Godfather, Mad Max Fury Road (and Suicide Squad lol thats infamously bad). you hit it out of the park man and thank god the algorithm blessed you
Chiguhr takes his boots off in order to muffle his footsteps. I thought this was obvious: silent death. The boot cleanliness 'thing' is reserved solely for a subtle answer to Carla Jean's unknown fate.
To be fair it took me until watch number three or four to put it together, but I think it works as an ambiguous moment if you didn’t pick up on the breadcrumbs. I just love that they gave us the answer but made us work for it!
Honestly though, it is a fairly subtle detail that is easy to overlook for the average viewer. Which only adds to the overall quality of the film. Excellent use of nuance to add depth to the character
amazing video. Didn't check sub or view count until 7 mins into the vid to notice you only have 2K subs!!?? This is some real quality and I hope that you get recognized by more people soon.
No country for old men has long been one of my favorites and Anton checking his boots after meeting with carla jean never fully clicked with me! I feel like a fool for missing it all these times! Will definitely be going home and really critically watching this movie again tonight. Instant sub after all of this and i look forward to you future work!
I teach philosophy, and I just now realized that I use this technique all the time.. Getting the point across is best done with their directing their attention, less so with words...
This was excellent! I feel like so often in media analysis there is not enough emphasis placed on the unique language of film. I agree that the often the reason films turn out mediocre is that they are not using filmic language to its fullest.
im so glad this came across my feed, this video and idea behind it is just superb. really looking forward to seeing what else your channel has in store🙂
to me the most important thing about set-ups and punchlines is not having to explain them. That is partly the reason why I hate Chekhov's gun- especially in crime solving/thriller movies. It often gives away too much and sometimes I notice the set-up and its punchline JUST because of how the movie is made- and not because I actually understand the connection. And a lot of movie make the mistake of doing both parts right- but then when the punchline is on screen they hammer it in too much- often even having someone in dialogue saying it out loud.. my favorite kind of punchline is when the set-up was hidden in plain sight all along, often hidden through tropes or seemingly just being filler material.
I think about the bloody black dog lew sees limping from the shootout at the start, and i think of chigurh at the end limping away from the entire conflagration at the end of the movie. lew's opening scene is a depiction of everthing to come in film. great book, great movie.
In as oversaturated genre as filmbro video essays is, and with a film as done-to-death as No Country, you still manage to say something novel, helpful, and entertaining while also pitching your other work as worthwhile- all with the conciseness of a 9 minute video. Good job.
Seriously. High quality video, glad I clicked.
I dislike No Country for Old Men (both the book and the movie) but agreed this is well done
Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul in particular, are master classes in setups like these. Many of the episodes will start with what appears to be inconsequential details and by the end is revealed to be the key aspect of whatever shenanigans the characters were doing.
It’s cool you bring that up, breaking bad in particular does something that’s called “in media res” which means “in the middle of things.” Like you said, basically they give you an Easter egg of something that will be interesting later and then back up the story so you’re waiting for it to come up again. It’s almost like giving a piece of the punchline first then going back to set up the joke!
Thinking about the stuffed bear in the pool while reading this.
The box cutter.
Hey, nice use of the term. It also reminds me of the first episode of the 1997 anime adaptation of Berserk. Without spoiling much, the first episode shows us Guts in what is Conviction arc and then the explanation to why the man we see in the first episode is the way he is for the rest of the show.
Whatever chicanery the characters were doing*
Noticing that Anton's hair is messed up and his skin is sweaty upon opening the door to the motel the first time really got me because you automatically assess that he had just murdered the old woman at the counter beforehand. We can believe this due to Anton's negative reaction to "small talk" and when the people in his way ask "too many questions". The old woman at the counter being talkative to Llewelyn as well as slightly stubborn doesn't really strike us at first, but as soon as we see Anton look up to her and her hand shaking on the counter, at that moment we know she's doomed. Idk, just something I thought was cool😁
I always thought Anton took his boots off at the motel so he could walk silently…
Yes!!! exactly, similar to when he cut the lights while outside Moss's hotel room, deceptive.
Me too
Wonderful observation on No Country. And very effectively explained. Another thing is Anton's obssessiveness to keep his shoes clean is also a way of developing character without saying much. It shows his alienating nature, his tendancy of contradicting his own action (as shown in the final scene of the movie). He doesn't think twice about killing others but he is obsessessed with tidiness, orderliness. He is methodical to a point it is unsettling.
Also, this deserves more views! Great video!
He didn't want to keep his shoes clean, he wanted to be silent and leave no bootmarks.
@@BenDover-kt8wmhe’s still tidy and orderly regardless of the reasons why. And why not both simultaneously?They’re not mutually exclusive.
Algorithm did well today 🫡 great video !
Ayy thank you!
Ew
@@FucklifedeadshitUr ew
We’re back again on that side of Film Tube let’s go💯💯💯
Yes indeed! Because they love throwing random stuff in my recommendation list😂
I like how you chose the most minute detail from No Country. The little things like that, the textural details, make the film savory in the long run.
It's bonkers that amazing movies can have hundreds of videos essays made about them with a focus on different things in each essay. It makes you realize how much great movies focus on specific tiny details and the amount of work that goes into every second on film. Movies like No Country, Spiderverse, EEAaO, or Sicario clearly have every minute detail planned and it separates them from good movies into perfect movies.
i really love the juxtaposition between chigurhs aversion to getting his boots bloodied and the repeating imagery of bloody tracks left behind throughout the movie. the first ones we see are of the animal lwelyn shot hunting, eventually leading him to the shootout scene, the second were those of lwelyns himself in the confrontation between him and chigurh. his bloodied footprints gave away a trail for anton to locate him. a really cool foreboding image of his mortality and eventual fate, that as long as hes living, as long as he has a trail to leave anton will follow him and hunt him down, whereas with chigurh he leaves no trace behind. a complete ghost where in every scene he exits leaves not the slightest impression behind. hes smoke
The trail literally needs with chigurh. He’s the final judgment
what about the milk?
Nice catch. I had not noticed. But now that you mention it, there's another one I can think of. When he strangles the cop at the beginning of the movie, you can see lots of marks on the floor from the cop's struggle. Shoes do leave a mark. It does feel like Anton knows this and purposely leaves them clean, not like an obsessive psychopath, but more like a professional killer, a predator who knows how not to get hunted, or the way you put it... A ghost.
@@Matthiaslipknot I think both. Actions that started with practical reasons, repeated so many times that the original meaning has been lost and only the habit remains. In many ways, I'd say this is like Anton himself: He's clearly human and does human things, but his *humanity* is gone, leaving behind only a shell.
The shot of the wrapper on the counter unveiling itself was genius.
"Show them with the camera" sums it up so well.
Look at that subtle movie analysis, the tasteful editing of it. Oh my god, it even has insert shots.
Honestly though it feels so good to see a video essay that feels like a video.
Now let's see Paul Allen's video essay
@@adityabhaledar831 Anton... Anton, you're sweating...
@@davidmsirois I'm sorry. I have to return some videotapes.
For more video essays that actually benefit from watching, *Jacob Geller.*
@@adityabhaledar831very nice
That last joke got me nodding my head proud. This is so well-structured and concise. Excellent job.
And it was set up by the other bar jokes. Makes sense
Keep it up man. You actually understand what this medium is as opposed to 90% of filmmakers out there.
I think no writer/director mastered this technique better than Billy Wilder. The pocket-mirror in The Apartment is devastating, but his whole filmography is full of little moments like this.
I agree, and upon reading thought of Hitchcock too.
"Dialogue is a language itself."
That was the punchline.
This was refreshing, interesting, personal and an extremely fun ride. Such a breath of fresh air when RUclips video essays these days have become either lengthy rants about someone’s favourite franchise or an excuse to rewatch some cool scenes from your favourite movie with nice music and a calming voice in the background. Keep doing what ur doing, channel is gonna blow up soon!
this is seriously one of the best video essays about film I have seen here on youtube!
I'm so glad I found this video! Love that you showed your short as an example, it really drives home the point you were making.
Thanks! Yeah for me the whole point is trying to put this stuff into practice myself. I’ve learned about filmmaking in theory but actually going out and making stuff has really changed how I see movies entirely!
Man, this is great. Great points, but whats better is showing how YOU approach it, and having humility to analyse and see your own strength and weakness. Talking is great, doing is better. Wish you success my friend!
Earned a new subscriber halfway through the video. I love your style, your appreciation for the craft of filmmaking, and the fact that you use your own work to be critiqued as an example in an overarching narrative thread speaks volumes of your authenticity and your commitment to quality content creation. Can't wait to see what you've done and where you're headed.
Wow thank you so much! Im definitely excited to keep making stuff!
The slow push from the outside into the bathroom window is a nice touch
Fantastic video, man! The best films are the ones that respect the viewer's intelligence. They show and don't tell but only tell when they have to and do it in a way that's still compelling and necessary. They give the audience 2+2 instead of just giving them the number 4. They meticulously show enough to the point that, if you're paying attention to the details they provide, eventually they reward you in ways that more simple films never could. In short, great analysis!
Wow. Incredible analysis and explanation, pointing out details even the most dedicated cinephiles wouldn’t notice. Videos of this quality deserve so much more attention
Terrific video. Such a succinct presentation on how powerful setups/payoffs can be. No Country For Old Men takes it one step further in my opinion with its use of the ellipsis as well. We get that sledgehammer of a payoff but we the viewer are left having to create the imagery of Chigurh's action against Carla Jean for ourself in order to even get to the payoff. No matter how many times I watch the movie, part of me will always be in denial of Carla Jean's fate, that somehow she made it. Anyways, I really enjoyed this particular take on its analysis. Looking forward to more of your work to come.
Thank you! I agree, I love a movie that trusts the audience to fill in the blanks, that doesn’t feel the need to spoon feed the story to us and leave some things up to imagination or even up for debate.
That's what a real subversion of expectations looks like to me. That phrase gets used a lot but almost never like this when it's most impactful. The film spends a long time setting up who the characters are, what they're like, how they act. Then it has the complete enormous balls not to show the climactic moment here at all, just to imply it and allowing the watcher, with all their various interpretations of everything that happened so far, to come to their own conclusion. It takes serious craft to see that the audience is desperately going to want to know the answer and to say "haha, nope, you're going to be thinking about then ten years from now in the shower and you'll still be hoping".
@@fang_xianfulike the ending of The Sopranos
Finding this account before 1k dubs feels unreal. The editing the structure and pacing of the video. It’s all something I’d expect in the 500k and up area. Keep it up man I’m glad I found you channel can’t wait to see what else you put out in the future.
Nothing beats learning from an experiment 👍
I just love how you show that payoff could trigger stronger emotions when setup 7:31 is done properly 👍
Thank you! I agree, learning by doing is the best way to go
Every few days I come back to this video and it’s even better than I remember. I demand more content from this channel… respectfully
Absolutely fantastic video. You deserve to be one of the biggest video essay creators on this platform.
Authentic, sincere, intelligent, funny, polished, with something to say. The sky's the limit. Keep going, good luck!
I appreciate that!
Unbelievable talent! I can't wait to see your movies. You understand the essence of film. It's storytelling. So much time, money and energy is wasted yelling fire in an empty theater.
honestly one of the best youtube videos i’ve watched for such a small channel. kept me engaged from beginning to end. subscribing feels like i’m betting on gold dust! can’t wait to see you at a 100k! well done.
No Country is probably my favorite movie. As perfect an adaptation as possible.
I counter with The Godfather, which is a better movie at any rate.
@@brothir I mean it’s the Godfather… Saying it’s a better movie is in no way a slight against No Country which is already a modern classic in its own rights. I’ve never read Mario Puzo’s novel though so I can’t comment on how faithful an adaptation the films are.
@@DoctorSessWell i tjink Puzo wrote the script,
@@finnandcork yes you’re right, he co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola
Only after I’ve watched the video I realised it’s only your 4th video on the channel, but despite that this video had a cinemastix feel to it, and something very calming about it. I really appreciate your opinion on what makes a good movie, I love what you said about language. Can’t wait for more from you
I loved seeing the thought process behind your short film. The problem solving mindset of "how do I take this shot and make it something rather than the other way around?" was really intriguing.
On the topic of the Coen brothers, this element is so present on the Fargo series too. They really nail the Coen bros style of storytelling.
You can thank the genius Noah Harley for the tv show Fargo. He does some great work
absolutlely excellent video. one of the rare youtube videos that really teaches you something about filmmaking
No Country for Old Men is the best Terminator movie ever made.
As someone who started in literary studies and branched into film analysis later, I gotta point out that the example you used of the Katana scene is equally true in writing for non visual media. Writing scenes with characters doing something distinctively Them is always going to be better characterization than telling us what they're all about -- film makers do that with what's onscreen, writers do it with descriptive action writing. Different technical toolbox but the phenomenon not unique to film.
My favourite of these punchlines is asides from no country, jo jo rabbits with the constant images of the mother’s shoes. Great video
I swear I've seen this movie tons of times and there's always something new I figure out about this movie.
Never noticed the pay off of Anton's boots towards the end. You made me see the movie in a new light.
Lawrence of Arabia has a set up and punch line. It's long. Gassim, an Arab lost in the desert, Lawrence goes back to save him against the advice of the others who say it is written by God that Gassim is dead, and ends with Gassim getting shot by Lawrence to make sure a tribal war doesn't break out, and Anthony Quinn looking at Omar Sharif and saying 'Ah, it was written then!" There is about 40 minutes between the start and the finish of that set up.
Awesome video, thank you for including captions!
This video was phenomenal. Can't wait until the next upload
Thank you! More coming soon 🫡
I was just talking to a friend about how little set up and payoffs are discussed in screenwriting and filmmaking videos and books despite being so incredibly effective. You could argue that Back To The Future is a perfect movie largely because of it's use of this technique. Edgar Wright once mentioned that he and Simon Pegg studied BTTF intensely before writing Shaun of the Dead which explains so much.
Yep BTTF is a master-class is set up/pay off. There are few scenes in it that have neither.
loved the unique approach to breaking down a film that has been over-analyzed to death, super good stuff.
This was a wonderful watch, an easily digestible lesson on storytelling which doesn't just have to apply to movies. Really well done and I hope to see more from you.
Cant believe you only have 3k followers, your editing is fantastic
So bad it's good is really just good to me, my problem is if a movie is forgettable and don't grab me. If I am not grabbed by it I tend to shut off movies, which some may consider a bad practice but I value my time a lot. These are movies that others rave about. It's all subjective when you really boil it down, which again is something people have a trouble grasping with.
It's really clever little cinematic story, even when we saw nothing but the beats. Really good video.
I was blown away when I first saw that scene from No Country. Just a small figure moving in a roughly symmetrical background. The implication was as clear as day.
WOW this video!!! I absolutely love love love the combination of education with implementation, you really nailed this and made it feel like an actual lesson finally.
You should have more subscribers. The way this video was done was so creative and entertaining, and I love how you make a short film with the topic you discuss in the video. Brilliant stuff.
Nicely done. Didn’t realize how much I missed film school until this.
Solid video!
I don’t like to shit on movies, nor do I really jive with the idea that something can be so bad it’s good; however, I do keep a rotating list of 4 movies I refer to as “The Four Horsemovies of the Apocalypse”. These movies have every possible thing they need to succeed, and somehow fail miserably. Great cast, writers, directors, etc. These are my current 4:
1. Serenity (2019)
2. The Book of Henry (2017)
3. Domino (2019)
4. The Snowman (2017)
Love your use of Old Country. It’s one of the best examples.
But more thanks for clarifying Chekhov’s gun. A lot of video essays using every set-up & payoff as Chekhov’s gun when it’s really not the case.
Great work showing the difference.
This are the type of videos that will have millions of views in 5 years time. Patience my friend and thank you for sharing and making this video.
Love your analysis style. If I may have my input on the subject of suspense: because so many bad movies were made, we forget about Michael Myers. The reason he’s the scariest sociopathic killer is they show him to us in the background. We know he’s there, the antagonist doesn’t. Somebody popping up in the background then disappearing is terrifying. They hid the monster from the character, not us, creating that opened ended tension other movies try to achieve and usually fail at.
There’s also that scene where Michael pins a woman against the wall then tilts his heads to the side. It’s like he doesn’t fully understand death. Much like Chigurh and his boots, that scene subtly showed us Michael has quirks and there’s a human inside the sociopath. In this case, a homicidal child that spent his life in solitary confinement fascinated by death. The smallest scenes can leave a big impact.
I enjoy your take on analysis. Subscribed
Edit: if you’re going to take the path of a film writer, I recommend you read “On Writing” from Stephen King. He doesn’t analyze the plot. There’s a premise then he creates characters. The rest happens organically. Hayao Miyazaki is another good example. He doesn’t plan the plot. He draws pictures then lets it unfold
This was really good dude, I’m seriously impressed.
Im a prof actor in Russia, trained in California,
long ago,
this should have been my classes. Well done.
like your
mind
Really enjoyed the analysis on set ups.
You picked excellent examples.
👍👍
Watched no country for the first time recently and didn’t notice that about his boots… epic detail, and great video!
This was a great vid, and congrats on making your first short! Keep going!!
I love when RUclips suggests a great new channel.
All hail the algorithm.
Excellent video! You've highlighted how the subtle can be so powerful! Ironically this video is also like that, SUBSCRIBED!
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Thank you!
Great video man, I learned a lot from it; keep up the great work!
Thanks! I’ll do my best🫡
I always compare good stories and good writing to jokes. So it's really nice to hear someone acknowledge this.
Recently saw Barfly again and I always told people how much I love Bukowski and I've always heard people absolutely hate Bukowski.
But he writes poetry to me. And in Barfly it opens up with the sign of the bar, "Golden Horn, a friendly place"... the bartender sits with the newspaper and then we see there is a fight going on in the back.
And the movie ends with Chinaski raising his glass "to all my friends, to all my friends, to all my friends"... Chinaski and the guy with the mustache have another fight. Then the bartender sits with the newspaper. A shot of the sign "Golden Horn, a friendly place". It's perfect. And I think people dislike Bukowski so much because they only see the booze, the sex and the violence in his stories and they miss these little comedy gold nuggets.
Love the way you broke this down. I would agree fully. You said it yourself, but I will reiterate this idea of intentionality. Mediocre movies have many “throw-away” shots - shots that just don’t mean anything. Every shot should have a purpose. Set-up and punchline reiterate and highlight this. Good movies take (what looked like) a mediocre movie’s throw away shot, and make it a soon to be purposeful and/or interesting idea.
It’s “payoffs” not “punchlines” punchlines are specific to stand up comedy. The term “Payoff” is more generally used in novels, films, plays etc. since not all payoffs are intended to be funny.
Looking forward to watching this channel grow! Keep ‘em coming
I'm so glad RUclips put this video on my feed. I'm a huge fan of this kind of content especially on one of my favourite films. I shall watch your career with great interest.
I very much love how all of your script writing cut out essentially all of the fat. Every bit of this video conveyed the necessary information -- which, itself, was (pointing towards) something very interesting.
The standup interludes genuinely made me laugh so fucking hard, ESPECIALLY the asphalt one.
I did not catch the boots thing when I watched No Country.
“You’re my favorite customer” 😂
Okay WOW if you didn’t already earn a subscriber with the first half explaining the No Country for Old Men setups and payoffs. You definitely deserve it for the insanely perfect movie examples you use. All the best iconic but not too obvious scenes from movies to explain your point, Aliens, Good Will Hunting, Get Out, Godfather, Mad Max Fury Road (and Suicide Squad lol thats infamously bad).
you hit it out of the park man and thank god the algorithm blessed you
Chiguhr takes his boots off in order to muffle his footsteps. I thought this was obvious: silent death.
The boot cleanliness 'thing' is reserved solely for a subtle answer to Carla Jean's unknown fate.
I also thought he left and came back in the room in case someone was hiding
Holy moly that's such a great detail to pick up - Anton checking his boots at the front door. Ashamed to admit that I never picked that up!
To be fair it took me until watch number three or four to put it together, but I think it works as an ambiguous moment if you didn’t pick up on the breadcrumbs. I just love that they gave us the answer but made us work for it!
Sometimes in reaction videos, I see people respond to that scene asking if he killed Carla Jean and I’m just like WERE YOU NOT PAYING ATTENTION
Honestly though, it is a fairly subtle detail that is easy to overlook for the average viewer. Which only adds to the overall quality of the film. Excellent use of nuance to add depth to the character
Some people simply don't got it, but other people just were in denial because the construction of the scene itself.
subscribed my man. this was incredible. can't wait for more
amazing video. Didn't check sub or view count until 7 mins into the vid to notice you only have 2K subs!!?? This is some real quality and I hope that you get recognized by more people soon.
No country for old men has long been one of my favorites and Anton checking his boots after meeting with carla jean never fully clicked with me! I feel like a fool for missing it all these times! Will definitely be going home and really critically watching this movie again tonight. Instant sub after all of this and i look forward to you future work!
Immediately subscribed to your channel. Absolutely underrated!! Excellent job my friend
Outstanding punchline at the end I appreciate that more than I can even let you know
Nice exposition. You have a good narration voice. For your short film - a color scheme and more sound design focus would emphasize your plot points.
Excellent video, Grant. Creative, educational and executed to a high level.
The best setups are the simplest
I remember the entire audience collectively hiss in their breath when the nail was pulled up in A Quiet Place
this shit was beautiful, i'm shocked you're only at 3.6k. that algorithm bout to HIT
The ending there actually got a chuckle outta me
Thank you for this video, when I am watching films and TV series I will try to look more at the finer details.
I teach philosophy, and I just now realized that I use this technique all the time.. Getting the point across is best done with their directing their attention, less so with words...
This was excellent! I feel like so often in media analysis there is not enough emphasis placed on the unique language of film. I agree that the often the reason films turn out mediocre is that they are not using filmic language to its fullest.
im so glad this came across my feed, this video and idea behind it is just superb. really looking forward to seeing what else your channel has in store🙂
Thank you for articulating something I haven't been able to put into words.
This is such a well made video! You are on your way! Just keep going
Well done. I also never got that Antione Chigur was death, and I read the book. Now I feel dumb
to me the most important thing about set-ups and punchlines is not having to explain them. That is partly the reason why I hate Chekhov's gun- especially in crime solving/thriller movies. It often gives away too much and sometimes I notice the set-up and its punchline JUST because of how the movie is made- and not because I actually understand the connection. And a lot of movie make the mistake of doing both parts right- but then when the punchline is on screen they hammer it in too much- often even having someone in dialogue saying it out loud.. my favorite kind of punchline is when the set-up was hidden in plain sight all along, often hidden through tropes or seemingly just being filler material.
I think about the bloody black dog lew sees limping from the shootout at the start, and i think of chigurh at the end limping away from the entire conflagration at the end of the movie. lew's opening scene is a depiction of everthing to come in film. great book, great movie.
Your short is good, you understood the assignment.