Setting & Location

Often overlooked as the backdrop or décor of a scene, a film’s setting contributes so much more. Learn how filmmakers use setting and location to lay the groundwork for their stories to unfold.

Story Structure

Character

How to Write Openings & Endings

Plot Devices

Dialogue

The Art of Adaptations

Setting & Location

Theme

Symbolism & Motifs

Case Studies: Learn by Example

Screenwriter Talks

Nuts & Bolts of Screenwriting

Setting As Character

How Once Upon A Time In America Was Shaped By Its Setting

By Jack's Movie Reviews

The Coen Brothers: Setting as Character

By Bryce Keaton

Tangerine: Why it Matters | Video Essay

By Karsten Runquist

City of God - The Open World Movie

By Channel Criswell

Bambi (1942): How Disney Plays with Nature

City of God Analysis - Characters, Worldbuilding & Themes

By Jack's Movie Reviews

Ghost In The Shell: Identity in Space

Why Tekkonkinkreet is an Amazing Movie

By Super Eyepatch Wolf

Framing the Picture: David Lynch’s Hollywood, Pt. 1 - Mulholland Drive

By FramingthePicture

1927: How Metropolis Changed the Way We See the Future

By One Hundred Years of Cinema

The Best Version of Gotham City

By Entertain The Elk

How Directors Use Locations

Heat vs. Collateral | Michael Mann and the City of L.A.

By A Matter of Film

How Antonioni Uses Locations

By The Discarded Image

Columbus – The Architecture of Authenticity

Hitch20 - Locations That Become Part of the Story

By Borgus Network

How Oshii Uses Location

By AnimeEveryday

Jeff Nichols' Image of The American South

By Thomas Flight

Kelly Reichardt: Going Nowhere

By Jessica McGoff

Life’s Work: The Films of Roman Polanski - SPACES

By Steven Santos

Location Scout Bradbury Building

Locations In Film: Enhancing Story, Character, and Journey

New York City on Film: Nightmare vs. Fantasy

Setting in Genre Films

It Came from the Suburbs! | Renegade Cut

By Renegade Cut

The Evolution of Batman's Gotham City

The Hidden Beauty Behind Star Wars Planets

Film Essay- The Role of Landscape, Nature and Environment in War Films

By Adam DJ Laity

John Wick: The Great Modern New York Movies

By Patrick (H) Willems

Romance in the Record Store

San Francisco: The Perfect Setting For Film Noir

The Concept of Community in Horror Movies

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - The Art of Implication and Exploiting Empathy

By Fool Fantastic

Why is Hong Kong the Perfect Setting for Cyberpunk?

By jaq of thoughts.

The Single Location

Anatomy of Horror - Claustrophobia

By Cinema Scares

How “Carnage” can help ?

By Yoann CASALS

John Carpenter: How to Master Single Location Filmmaking