Rafael Abreu received his B.A. in English from Florida International University, along with certificates in Film Studies and Asian Studies. He’s written reviews, scripts, and analytical essays focusing on all aspects of cinema. He can’t stop talking about aspect ratios.
Poetry BasicsOpen menu Insert Image What is a Stanza in a Poem Insert Image What is an Acrostic Poem Insert Image What is Dissonance Insert Image What is a Sonnet Insert Image What is a Haiku Insert Image What is Prose Insert Image What is an Ode Types of Poems There are all sorts of… Continue reading What is an Ode — Definition, Examples, and Structure Explained
Index & TimelineOpen menu Art Styles Explained Art History Timeline Renaissance (1400-1600)Open menu Gothic Art Baroque (1600-1750)Open menu Rococo Baroque Classical (1750-1827)Open menu Classicism Neoclassicism Ukiyo-e Romantic (1827-1900)Open menu Art Nouveau Kinetic Art Post Impressionism Primitivism Modern (1900-1970)Open menu Abstract Expressionism Avant Garde Bauhaus Conceptual Art Constructivism Art Cubism Dadaism De Stijl Expressionism Futurism Harlem… Continue reading What is Futurism — Art Movement Definition, Examples & Artists
Index & TimelineOpen menu Art Styles Explained Art History Timeline Renaissance (1400-1600)Open menu Gothic Art Baroque (1600-1750)Open menu Rococo Baroque Classical (1750-1827)Open menu Classicism Neoclassicism Ukiyo-e Romantic (1827-1900)Open menu Art Nouveau Kinetic Art Post Impressionism Primitivism Modern (1900-1970)Open menu Abstract Expressionism Avant Garde Bauhaus Conceptual Art Constructivism Art Cubism Dadaism De Stijl Expressionism Futurism Harlem… Continue reading What is Performance Art — Definition, Examples & History
Most movies tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Many of those narrative features tell the story of a single individual that can span a certain amount of time, ranging from a few days to a few decades. Some of those focused narrative movies are also memoirs, which can include original and adapted… Continue reading What is a Memoir — Definition, Examples in Literature & Film
Index & TimelineOpen menu Art Styles Explained Art History Timeline Renaissance (1400-1600)Open menu Gothic Art Baroque (1600-1750)Open menu Rococo Baroque Classical (1750-1827)Open menu Classicism Neoclassicism Ukiyo-e Romantic (1827-1900)Open menu Art Nouveau Kinetic Art Post Impressionism Primitivism Modern (1900-1970)Open menu Abstract Expressionism Avant Garde Bauhaus Conceptual Art Constructivism Art Cubism Dadaism De Stijl Expressionism Futurism Harlem… Continue reading What is Pop Art — Definition, History, Characteristics & Artists
Index & TimelineOpen menu Art Styles Explained Art History Timeline Renaissance (1400-1600)Open menu Gothic Art Baroque (1600-1750)Open menu Rococo Baroque Classical (1750-1827)Open menu Classicism Neoclassicism Ukiyo-e Romantic (1827-1900)Open menu Art Nouveau Kinetic Art Post Impressionism Primitivism Modern (1900-1970)Open menu Abstract Expressionism Avant Garde Bauhaus Conceptual Art Constructivism Art Cubism Dadaism De Stijl Expressionism Futurism Harlem… Continue reading What is Baroque Art — Definition, Examples and Characteristics
Art is inherently referential; everyone is influenced by something that came before. Great (and not-so-great) artists all get inspiration from somewhere and will sometimes show it in their works. If an artist makes a reference to something in their own work, that is often seen as an homage. But what is homage? Is it anything… Continue reading What is Homage — Definition & Examples in Art and Film
Many stock characters have been established in fiction for centuries, from the heroes to the villains to the side characters. Among those that have managed to continue having a presence is the “damsel in distress.” The name gives you the basic gist of a woman in peril. But there’s a lot more to this stock… Continue reading What is a Damsel in Distress — Definition and Examples in Film
Before The Walt Disney Company owned a bunch of companies, and before other film studios and companies were being bought by other big companies, there was the classic Hollywood studio system. What is the studio system? While it would be easy to simplify it as the time when movie studios owned the theaters that would… Continue reading What is the Studio System — Hollywood’s Studio Era Explained
BasicsOpen menu Insert Image Antagonist Insert Image Hero Insert Image Anti Hero Insert Image Tragic Hero Insert Image Superhero Insert Image Anti-Villain Insert Image Villain Character TropesOpen menu Insert Image Common Character Types Insert Image Character Archetypes Insert Image Types of Villains Insert Image Femme Fatale Insert Image Mad Scientist Insert Image Mary Sue A… Continue reading What is a Femme Fatale — Definition, Characteristics, Examples
BasicsOpen menu Insert Image Antagonist Insert Image Hero Insert Image Anti Hero Insert Image Tragic Hero Insert Image Superhero Insert Image Anti-Villain Insert Image Villain Character TropesOpen menu Insert Image Common Character Types Insert Image Character Archetypes Insert Image Types of Villains Insert Image Femme Fatale Insert Image Mad Scientist Insert Image Mary Sue He’s… Continue reading What is a Mad Scientist — Definition, Characteristics & Examples
What is something each and every story ever told has in common? If you guessed “a setting,” you’d be correct! When your narrative involves characters and motivation, a setting is almost always a given. Sometimes a setting is massive and expansive, while other times it’s small and intimate. So what is a setting, what does… Continue reading Setting Examples — How to Use Time and Place in Film & Lit.
Index & TimelineOpen menu Art Styles Explained Art History Timeline Renaissance (1400-1600)Open menu Gothic Art Baroque (1600-1750)Open menu Rococo Baroque Classical (1750-1827)Open menu Classicism Neoclassicism Ukiyo-e Romantic (1827-1900)Open menu Art Nouveau Kinetic Art Post Impressionism Primitivism Modern (1900-1970)Open menu Abstract Expressionism Avant Garde Bauhaus Conceptual Art Constructivism Art Cubism Dadaism De Stijl Expressionism Futurism Harlem… Continue reading What is Expressionism Art — Definition, Examples & Artists
Storyboard EssentialsOpen menu Insert Image What is a Storyboard Insert Image Best Storyboard Software Insert Image What is a Storyboard Artist Insert Image Websites to Find a Storyboard Artist Insert Image What is a Digital Storyboard Insert Image Introducing Storyboard Builder Insert Image Ultimate Guide to Storyboard Rules Insert Image What is an Animatic Insert… Continue reading Animation Storyboard — Tips, Techniques & Templates
Have you ever watched a movie where someone says they will absolutely not do a thing, but the very next shot is them doing the thing? How about a scene where someone is about to get murdered, but the very next shot is someone making dinner? If you answered yes, you may have encountered a… Continue reading What is a Smash Cut — An Editor’s Guide with Examples & Tips
Writing a script isn’t easy, and getting one approved for filming can be just as tough. However, if your script does get greenlit, that means it’ll be in the hands of producers and filmmakers so that the words on the page can come to life. But this same process can involve rewrites, tweaks, changes, omissions… Continue reading What are Script Revision Colors — A Guide for Filmmakers
Tall buildings, smoke filled rooms, femme fatales, people on the margins of society, late nights, bright signs….and cybernetic implants? No, it’s not film noir, it’s Cyberpunk. It’s a sub-genre that has slowly but surely integrated itself into popular media from the 1970s all the way to the 2020s. Taking inspiration from hard boiled fiction and… Continue reading What is Cyberpunk — Genre Definition, Origins & Examples
When you browse for movie scripts online, you can get all kinds of results. And in these instances, what you look up online may not be exactly what you’re looking for. In some cases, what a screenwriter ends up finding is a script and not a traditional screenplay. This is how we get into the… Continue reading Screenplay vs Script — Differences Explained with Examples
Most movies can be characterized as being one genre or the other. If the plot involves a love triangle, that’s most likely romance. If the plot is about a space marine, it’s most likely science-fiction. If the plot involves a group of kids running away from a monster, that’s probably horror. The things that make… Continue reading Genre Conventions — The Building Blocks of Genre Storytelling
You’ve seen them: the crazy scientist, the damsel in distress, a noble and chaste hero, the villain who keeps his identity secret, the old guy who trains the hero. These are who you call stock characters, and they have been in fiction for an extremely long time. In fact, they keep showing up in fiction,… Continue reading What is a Stock Character — Definition, Examples & Tropes
