John P. Hess

John Hess traces the evolution of the screen shape from the silent film days through the widescreen explosion of the 50s, to the aspect ratio of modern digital cameras. This lesson is part of the FilmmakerIQ course: "Everything You Need To Know about Aspect Ratio".

Jump into the world of Film Noir and look at how the technology and economic factors gave birth to a genre that still deeply influences the way filmmakers work today. Take a look at 4 Film Noirs spanning the beginning and end of the classic film noir era: "The Stranger on the Third Floor", "Double Indemnity", "The Big Combo" and "Touch of Evil".

This short documentary explores eight theories on why humans are so fascinated with fright.

Go inside the history of the travelling mattes (now called chromakey) and learn the history of visual trickery used by filmmakers from the earliest filmmakers through to the modern day.

Color is a subtle tool that can transport us from our ordinary lives to extraordinary worlds of cinema. Peel back the layers of history and look at how color was first understood and implemented in the world of film.

Dissect the history of horror, from it's roots deep in Gothic literature, through B-movie status and director's proving grounds to ultimate respectability as an important filmmaking genre.

See how the changes in technology have changed our own social attitudes towards how to watch movies.

Some people consider them the best part of the movie going experience - the Movie Trailer. Take a look at the evolution of the "coming attractions" from simple silent film splices, through the template style of the Golden Age of Hollywood, through Auteurs and finally into the Blockbuster era.