when the person does the thing

Thank you all for an amazing two years! This is a collection of 17 essays from my first year, for those who either weren’t around for them, or who might want to revisit them in a higher quality format. Virtually every single piece of footage across every video has been replaced with superior source footage, bound now mainly just by YT’s unfortunate compression (though you should be able to trigger a higher bit rate by viewing the video in “4K” via the gear icon. CinemaStix is a 100% independent film essay channel run entirely by me. If you have the means, consider supporting me directly through Patreon: www.patreon.com/CinemaStix Thank you again, and cheers to another year.

Only two years in?! These feel so essential to video culture, even though they're about cinema. Congratulations and thank you!

These essays are quick to prove the fact that we have so much to learn about cinema and cinematic technicalities that go forth behind the scenes.

Recently I purged my youtube account of hundreds of channels I had subscribed to. I had been addicted to youtube for years and I decided enough was finally enough. I only kept the 20 or so channels I knew I couldn't live without watching, and this is one of them. Thank you for what you do, I hope this is just the start of your long and celebrated youtube presence.

2 hours and 15 minutes of quality content. What a treat

Hayden was doing a Vader impression, he purposefully made certain lines awkward and lacking in emotion, he was trying to keep in line with the hole “never really learned how to feel properly” thing, Anakin only shows pure real unfiltered emotion rarely, such as learning the love of his life is pregnant, or when he screams I hate you at Obi won. I know this is going to sound cheesy but Hayden’s performance is what was asked of him.

It shocked me to see this channel is only two years old. I felt like I’ve been watching this videos for many years, but I guess that’s more about the impact they can have on me. So I guess all I can say now is thank you! Keep going with these, and I wish you all the best of luck, and hopefully many more years of these!

I liked your focus on the space between beats in the second clip. It reminds me of the principle of negative space in traditional art. What you leave blank or empty on the canvas is just as important as the colors and shapes you apply and contributes to the overall meaning of the piece.

You made 2 hours feel like the normal run time of your videos. It’s amazing. Your look into cinema makes me appreciate it even more and makes me put more of an effort into looking into the art of film making

Happy 2 years man. I'll always appreciate your love of cinema.

Wow. The CinemaStix logo wipe at 25:16 is insane. Had to replay it multiple times, amazing editing style bro.

Without James E. Jones’s iconic and menacing voice performance Star Wars would have been a joke. The campy movie everyone, except George Lukas, thought they were originally making. That one change elevated the picture to the masterpiece that it is.

I have an 8x11 Darth Vader photo signed by David Prowse. He signed it: “David Prowse is Darth Vader”….lol. I was probably like 12 at the time and still the sentiment he was trying to get across was pretty clear to me. Also, I actually think both of them did a great job. Prowse’s big movements and sometimes even being a little stiff added to the inhumanity of the evil character. Also, I guess he couldn’t really turn his head naturally in the helmet, so that’s a factor too. Either way I still love every bit of the character

The Editing essay with the Godfather restaurant scene reminded me of the dvd commentary on Carlito's Way by Brian de Palma. IIRC, he said that the test audiences complained that the pool trick shot scene was too long. They wanted Pacino to just get on with it. Brian said that they were completely correct, and to fix the problem he made the scene much longer. This clarified the stakes, engaging the audience more and upping the tension.

I dropped out of college (majoring in film) because of essays like this. I loved being in school but I realized the best thing it was good for was access to people and resources. I’ve learned so much from watching breakdowns like these and i’m saving a lot more money that I can use for projects. Proud student of youtube university 🏅

It’s like a day-long buffet of top-drawer room service being delivered at Hotel Cinema. Of course I quickly sampled the appetizer (the overture) and the dessert (the postlude), which were both fabulous, and I look forward to enjoying all 8 courses (movements) throughout the day. Thanks for your great work (and for allowing me to mix your metaphors). Cheers to your first two years! 🥂

Omg every time the music draws up at the end of each segment I need a spotify playlist more and more.

You've turned into a pretty good successor to Every Frame A Painting.

Over a decade ago I stumbled across my first experience of really excellent film analysis. It was something along the lines of the Zen of Michael Mann in three parts. Sadly the site it was on is long defunct. A decade later I found Every Frame A Painting and knew I’d discovered something special. Sadly that too ceased creating new material some time ago now. I mean no offense to other creators but the space has become dominated by mediocre material and lipstick applied to pre existing material. Then 18 months ago I stumbled on your videos. You’ve rekindled my love for the space and the material you are creating consistently fills me with joy and the desire to explore and express my own creativity. Thank you. And congratulations on your anniversary.

I've watched so many wonderful movies because of your channel and for that I can't thank you enough. Looking forward for more. Cheers, man.