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#filmmaking advice
filmcourage · 11 months
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Masterclass On Selling A Movie And The Money They Make - Glen Reynolds [FULL INTERVIEW]
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ninjadeathmedia · 1 year
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originalharmonysalad · 8 months
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Some advice for filmmakers from the legendary John Waters!
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bupphaofficial · 11 months
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writingwithfolklore · 3 months
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5 Tips for Creating Intimidating Antagonists
Antagonists, whether people, the world, an object, or something else are integral to giving your story stakes and enough conflict to challenge your character enough to change them. Today I’m just going to focus on people antagonists because they are the easiest to do this with!
1. Your antagonist is still a character
While sure, antagonists exist in the story to combat your MC and make their lives and quest difficult, they are still characters in the story—they are still people in the world.
Antagonists lacking in this humanity may land flat or uninteresting, and it’s more likely they’ll fall into trope territory.
You should treat your antagonists like any other character. They should have goals, objectives, flaws, backstories, etc. (check out my character creation stuff here). They may even go through their own character arc, even if that doesn’t necessarily lead them to the ‘good’ side.
Really effective antagonists are human enough for us to see ourselves in them—in another universe, we could even be them.
2. They’re… antagonistic
There’s two types of antagonist. Type A and Type B. Type A antagonist’s have a goal that is opposite the MC’s. Type B’s goal is the same as the MC’s, but their objectives contradict each other.
For example, in Type A, your MC wants to win the contest, your antagonist wants them to lose.
In Type B, your MC wants to win the contest, and your antagonist wants to win the same contest. They can’t both win, so the way they get to their goal goes against each other.
A is where you get your Draco Malfoy’s, other school bullies, or President Snow’s (they don’t necessarily want what the MC does, they just don’t want them to have it.)
B is where you get the other Hunger Games contestants, or any adventure movie where the villain wants the secret treasure that the MCs are also hunting down. They want the same thing.
3. They have well-formed motivations
While we as the writers know that your antagonist was conceptualized to get in the way of the MC, they don’t know that. To them, they exist separate from the MC, and have their own reasons for doing what they do.
In Type A antagonists, whatever the MC wants would be bad for them in some way—so they can’t let them have it. For example, your MC wants to destroy Amazon, Jeff Bezos wants them not to do that. Why not? He wants to continue making money. To him, the MC getting what they want would take away something he has.
Other motivations could be: MC’s success would take away an opportunity they want, lose them power or fame or money or love, it could reveal something harmful about them—harming their reputation. It could even, in some cases, cause them physical harm.
This doesn’t necessarily have to be true, but the antagonist has to believe it’s true. Such as, if MC wins the competition, my wife will leave me for them. Maybe she absolutely wouldn’t, but your antagonist isn’t going to take that chance anyway.
In Type B antagonists, they want the same thing as the MC. In this case, their motivations could be literally anything. They want to win the competition to have enough money to save their family farm, or to prove to their family that they can succeed at something, or to bring them fame so that they won’t die a ‘nobody’.
They have a motivation separate from the MC, but that pesky protagonist keeps getting in their way.
4. They have power over the MC
Antagonists that aren’t able to combat the MC very well aren’t very interesting. Their job is to set the MC back, so they should be able to impact their journey and lives. They need some sort of advantage, privilege, or power over the MC.
President Snow has armies and the force of his system to squash Katniss. She’s able to survive through political tension and her own army of rebels, but he looms an incredibly formidable foe.
Your antagonist may be more wealthy, powerful, influential, intelligent, or skilled. They may have more people on their side. They are superior in some way to the protagonist.
5. And sometimes they win
Leading from the last point, your antagonists need wins. They need to get their way sometimes, which means your protagonist has to lose. You can do a bit of a trade off that allows your protagonist to lose enough to make a formidable foe out of their antagonist, but still allows them some progress using Fortunately, Unfortunately.
It goes like… Fortunately, MC gets accepted into the competition. Unfortunately, the antagonist convinces the rest of the competitors to hate them. Fortunately, they make one friend. Unfortunately, their first entry into the competition gets sabotaged. Fortunately, they make it through the first round anyway, etc. etc.
An antagonist that doesn’t do any antagonizing isn’t very interesting, and is completely pointless in their purpose to heighten stakes and create conflict for your protagonist to overcome. We’ll probably be talking about antagonists more soon!
Anything I missed?
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thewriteblrlibrary · 5 months
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A Step-by-Step Marketing Guide so we can spite traditional publishers (and make people cry).
~ This is a guide specific for fiction/writeblr. All of this is for free and there is little social media posting/ads involved (unless you want to venture into that). ~
Within the writeblr spheres, there's this underlying hope that our stories will find their audience. Perhaps we'll have a fandom full of fanart and video essays, or maybe we'll be an instant classic and sit on collectors' beloved bookshelves. Our stories could sit within the deepest corners of someone's heart and maybe they never tell a soul about what's so special to them. Maybe our stories become those 'underrated masterpieces'.
Or we just want to see people ugly cry over our writing.
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Whatever your hope may be, marketing is an important path to venture on (especially because traditional publishers are rejecting diverse books in favor of ones that are already famous + the whole sub-par machine thing they seem obsessed with.)
And thus, my childhood marketing obsession will hopefully be of use to you. This is all for free (unless you want to spend money) and you don't need to figure out social media platforms (unless you want to, and this guide works if you decide to take that route too.)
Step One: Characters
Marketing spheres will define these fictious people as 'avatars' or 'the target audience'. You could also call them characters. Because that's what they are: fictional people.
For this step, you shall create characters that would love your story.
And here's some great news: You've already done this.
Perhaps you wrote your story to comfort a prior version of yourself. Perhaps each character in your story holds an aspect of your personality. Perhaps you were ridiculously self-indulgent and made the story you would've loved to read. These are all possible characters you can reuse for marketing.
Write down 2-4 quick archetypes for these characters. You'll chose an aspect of your story (characters, themes, or the younger-self that you wrote it for) and write a thumbnail sketch. (Main issue, fears, wants, personality traits if they relate to the main issue.)
I'll do it for my story (the Land of the Fallen Fairies) down below:
Anuli-like (my MC): Overthinking and aloof. Wants a happy ending but thinks their current personality/character isn't good enough for one. The present stales in comparison to the past/the childhood they lost. The 'gifted theater kids'. Kamari-like (side character): Postpones happiness in favor of creating a perfect schedule/getting accomplishments. Heavy masking. Creative but doesn't create anymore. Promises themself they'll enjoy themselves later, when they've earned it. Workaholics. My younger self: Wanting a fantasy escapism to embody the traits they wish they had in real life. Dissatisfied and worried about reality. Perfectionists. Self-indulgent: People who love plants and forests and fantasy worlds far away from reality/humanity.
Great! Now it's time to find these characters.
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Step Two: Setting.
(Let's assume you're using the internet for your marketing. But a similar method works for real life too.)
Where do the characters live?
In order to figure that out, we need to discover the characters' interests, what they watch to solve their problems, and who they find #relatable.
(You can do this for each character or for all the characters at once.)
For example:
Anuli-like -
interests: Stories. Analysis videos. Fantasy escapism. Things that remind them of their childhood. (so nature, warmth, comfort, play, imagination and the times they would actually enjoy learning.)
Places to look: Nature quotes, ambience videos, children's shows and fairytales (comfort shows). Fandom culture - fanfic video essays, fan art.
Solving problems (the problem being wanting a 'happy ending' but feeling that their personality/lifestyle/characteristics aren't right for one): Mindfulness things. Self-healing. Quotes and meditations and candles galore. Slow living. Nature vlogs. Self care. All that 'live in the moment' culture.
Places to look: Slow living. Nature vlogs. The 'softer self-help' (spirituality stuff. Magic/ overnight answers). Witchcraft. 'aesthetic nature' places. Guided meditations.
#relatable: Burnt out gifted kids. People who think so much that their life passes them by. Storytellers and creative who create to make sense of the world. People who like dark, gory things in spite of who they want to be. People who don't like reality.
Places to look: Those 'learn better and remember everything' places. (The 'burnt-out gifted kid' recovery places.) Stop overthinking spots. Those quotes on Pinterest from poetic people who think too much /aff. Storyteller places. Dark academia. Classical music. One off quotes/ poetry.
Okie dokie. Once you have this, find channels, social media accounts, blogs, songs, books, etc. that fit with the categories you wrote down. (They should appeal to the characters) You can search up some of the terms you listed into searches and see who pops up. Bonus points if you find people that overlap with multiple sections.
I know I didn't include booktube or booktok in here. You can if you want too. But those can be a bit... 'consume these 500 books'. You also want to find other places where people who would like you story live, even if they don't follow booktube or booktok.
Congrats! Now you know where your characters live!
Step Three: the scary part
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Take everyone you found on your search for the settings and write them down a list. Make sure you get an email/contact info. (they usually list them somewhere under 'for business inquires') Also feel free to watch their content and get to know what attributes these settings have.
And now... we talk to them. about our stories. You can do it. I believe in you.
This called 'pitching your product' in marketing spheres. But you can be informal about it.
I know it can be difficult to talk about your work, so here's a tone to have:
'I made this thing I like and I think you'll like it too'.
What you'll do is send an email (or dm) that goes like this (inspired by Creative Hive on youtube):
Hi [name],
[Genuine compliment]
[Quick sentence or two about your story. Include the themes and who it appeals to. If you have a logline/sentence summary, include that. But I find that the underlying themes and 'who's it's for' is more engaging.
For my story, I might say something like.
I've written a story you might enjoy, since you like [interest]. It's called the Land of the Fallen Fairies. It's a nature-themed commentary on the pursuit of happiness and fixing yourself to deserve that happiness, told by an overthinking, unreliable, houseplant narrator. It was supposed to comfort me when I got frustrated with myself and my happiness chasing, and I hope it can comfort others too.
(That's probably a bit long and I can trim it down a bit.)
You can phrase it like a gift if you want too.]
[Call to action.
'If you like it, I'd appreciate a mention on your [platform].
I know this part may be difficult to mention (imposter syndrome is not fun.) But I promise that if they do like it, they'll be happy to mention it.]
If they don't respond within... four-ish days? (A week at most). then you can include a follow up. For this you can include a template with info about your story. This way it's easy for them to talk about your story.
The template:
title
genre
blurb
Author
where to find the book
Bonus points if you have an additional, physical thing to send them.
Congrats! Now do this pitching process a few times until you've covered most of your bases. (Pitch to as many people as you can. It will get more comfortable as you do it. Play your favorite song and don't let yourself think too hard about it.)
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The benefits of this process are that you find people that are already interested in the themes and vibes of your story (in comparison to to ads, which get shoved in everyone's faces.). Someone your audience already trusts will talk about it, which means you don't need to do all this trial and error to find your audience and make content for them.
It's basically a bunch of people talking about something they like!
AND you diversify your audience across niches, but with an underlying theme/interests. Booktok/booktube must appeal to everyone, so it's a hit or miss for recommendations. (Unless there is someone that specifically does one genre/type of story.)
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From here you can do fun little things to build up hype and make the book launch feel like this fun event. (I love it when that happens so here's my thoughts about trying to create an event with your story... although that may require another post entirely.)
preorder goals
charity goals
Arg's and puzzles
fund with side plushies and trinkets
Book blog tour
book boxes
as many memes as you can make
rewards (like bookmarks or posters or smth) that people can get for supporting
Talk about the process of creating your story. I know this one channel called 'Dead Sound' that creates 'making of' videos for his short films and they are some of the best videos on youtube.
Okay dear storyteller! Now go forth and share your story with the world!
Additional resources:
Creative Hive <-- a youtube channel that goes through the pitching process.
This video is also very good <-- Haven't watched the rest of the channel but I assume it's also good.
One of the best marketing channels on the internet (the videos are actually entertianing to watch.
Seth Goldin <-- I read his book and took the parts I liked and modified for storytelling marketing.
Dead Sound <-- propaganda to watch the short film series he has (he did the whole 2-d 3-d style wayyyy before spiderverse did... and he's one person making these. One person. It's amazing.
Glitch <--- If someone can figure out how The Amazing Digital Circus was marketed then I will pay you money. It seems to be a lot of memes and funny things.
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sas-soulwriter · 7 months
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Follow for more book stuff
Hey there, writers and readers! Since there are a few more of you here on the blog, I thought I'd do a quick reintroduction. I'm Soulwriter, and I've been scribbling stories since I was nine. I'm all about sharing tips on writing, writing prompts, and chatting about anything book-related. If you have questions about writing, feel free to ask, and I'll share what's worked best for me.
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leighlew3 · 4 months
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Screenwriters looking for reps, querying producers, etc -- this is an important question to ask yourself: Does your writing have VOICE? Is it an ENJOYABLE READ? People have limited time. Make what's on the page engaging, also.
Some people will literally look past a story issue or non-viable concept if they ENJOY YOUR WRITING / feel you have a unique style or voice, and take interest (even if just in YOU) because it was memorable. Hell, some stuff you put on the page will never be SEEN, but in the script it makes a reader chuckle or feel somethin' extra.
Obviously you want your story on point and concept ripe for the selling. But does the script have voice, is it at all uniquely you in any way? If you want your writing to stand out from just having the first two boxes checked (when so many do) -- be sure to throw the third part into the mix to elevate the read(er's experience).
I've read a lot of scripts from those seeking to break in that are on point in terms of story, structure, and even concept... but the writing is just... so... bland. It's dull. And yeah, actors and a director can bring the thing to life for the screen if it makes it that far. But it was a chore to read/get through. And that's going to stack the deck against its chances to get very far. Don't stack the deck against yourself!
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ahb-writes · 10 months
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Writing Problem: The Story Favors Style Over Substance
Problem: The Story Favors Style Over Substance
Solution: Writers commonly risk stumbling into the crevasse of convenience, no matter the genre (e.g., action must be cool or flashy, comedy must be glaringly funny, horror must be unremittingly scary). The primary fault lines for these seemingly innocent errors are twofold: inexperience and immaturity. That is to say, the more one reads and the more one writes, the greater one experiences, learns, and empathizes with a greater array of storytelling styles, techniques, and attitudes. Writing a more dynamic and engaging story that leaps beyond the crevasse of style over substance requires an eagerness to learn, a willingness to experiment, and an openness to difference.
Writing Resources:
8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One (Writer's Digest)
Building a Bold Narrator's Voice: 5 Methods (Now Novel)
How to Avoid Plot Armor (Coffee Bean Writing)
10 Tips for the Middle of Your Story (Coffee Bean Writing; ahbwrites)
Avoiding Plot Armor (How to Fight Write)
How to Absolutely Wreck Your Audience With a Character Death (lunewell)
Writing Description: Make Introspection More Engaging (ahbwrites)
How to Frame Scenes Like a Filmmaker (Kristen Kiefer)
Shakespeare's Genius Is Nonsense (Nautilus)
❯ ❯ Adapted from the writing masterpost series: 19 Things That Are Wrong With Your Novel (and How to Fix Them)
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dougielombax · 2 months
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Okay.
Now!
If you’re gonna make an experimental film, at least make sure it’s interesting.
I don’t want 7 fucking hours of a traffic cone or 12 hours of the Empire State Building and nothing else.
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Or 17 hours of THIS SHIT!!!
That’s just bullshit.
It should be anything else so long as it’s interesting.
(No matter how incomprehensible or otherwise baffling it may be)
At the very least.
Please try to keep this in mind.
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filmcourage · 2 months
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Genius Directing Advice For 30 Minutes Straight...
Watch the video interview on Youtube here.
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aidenwaites · 10 months
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I couldve made so many cool things by now if only I had the time and the money and the resources and the time and the money and the money and the time and the money and th
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girasolreves · 1 year
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Nina always spittin’
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Hotel room tour thing, mostly to remind myself to keep on top of my shit as I spend too much of my life living transiently.
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writingwithfolklore · 4 months
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Describing Foods - A Masterlist
                As a broke university student, I love reading about food. It’s almost like eating a real meal myself <3.
I get a little angry when characters are eating a meal and I barely get to experience it with them. In that, I mean I don’t just want to know what it is, but what it’s like to eat that food—how it tastes, smells, sounds, and feels. Is a perfect croissant still a perfect croissant without the crack of the exterior, the airiness of the pastry inside, the smell of yeast?
                Probably not. When writing about a dish, the smell, texture, technique, taste, and how it looks are all important to painting the experience, so here’s some words to use when describing a meal:
Taste:
Acidic: Sharp tasting. Often used to describe tart or sour foods as well.
Aftertaste: A different taste that remains in the mouth after eating something
Bitter: Tart, sharp, and sometimes harsh flavour.
Bittersweet: Less harsh than bitterness. Tartness + sweetness.
Bland: Has no significant flavor or texture
Briny: Just means salty. Often describes pickled foods.
Citrusy: Bright flavour like… well citrus fruits—oranges, lemons, limes, etc.
Cooling: Mimics that cooling feel—like mint.
Earthy: Reminiscent of soil. Can be used to describe wines, root vegetables, and mushrooms.
Fiery: Another word for spicy.
Fresh: Light and crisp—describes produce or herbs.
Fruity: Sweet and reminiscent of fruit.
Full-bodied: Rich and ‘feels heavy’ in your mouth. Can describe wines or soups.
Herbal: Bright, fresh, sometimes earthy from the presence of herbs
Honeyed: Sweet or candied taste like honey.
Nutty: Taste similar to the flavors of nuts. Often used to describe certain cheeses.
Rich: Full, heavy flavour. Often dishes that contain cream taste rich.
Robust: Rich + Earthy. Used for lots of wines or aged liquor.
Savory: Describes meaty, earthy dishes and soups.
Sharp: Harsh, bitter, or tart taste. Used to describe acidic foods.
Smoky: Reminiscent of the smell of smoke.
Sour: Biting, tangy, tart flavor.
Spicy: Burning taste.
Sweet: Sugary.
Tangy: Tart, biting taste—feels tingly
Tart: Sharp, bitter, or sour flavour. Used to describe acidic foods.
Woody: Earthy, sometimes nutty taste. Describes some coffees or cheeses.
Yeasty: Earthy taste reminiscent of yeast. Describes beer and bread.
Zesty: Fresh, vivid, or invigorating flavour.
Sound/Texture:
Sound has a lot to do with texture, so I've combined them for this section!
Airy: Light, pillowy texture (think inside of croissant)
Brittle: Hard but easy to break
Bubbly: Usually during heating, when bubbles rise to the surface—low sound.
Buttery: Smooth, creamy texture (think certain pasta sauces)
Chewy: Food that needs to be chewed thoroughly. Can be light and bouncy (chewy bread) or heavy (steak) and sticky (candy)
Creamy: A smooth and rich texture, comes from dairy.
Crispy: Light texture with slight crunch.
Crumbly: Food with loose structure that falls apart into crumbs.
Crunchy: Firm, crisp texture with a sharp, loud noise.
Crusty (behave): Food with a hard outer layer and soft interior (many loaves and breads)
Delicate: Light and fine, feels like it can come apart easily.
Doughy: Soft and heavy, usually pale colouring.
Fizzy: Usually liquids—a hissing sound, feels like ‘static’
Flaky: Light, characterized by layers that come apart during eating.
Fluffy: light and airy.
Frothy/Foamy: Airy bubbles, usually in a drink like a latte.
Gamey: Usually refers to meats when they’re very “meaty”
Gooey: Viscous, sometimes sticky texture from moisture in a dense/solid food.
Hearty: Firm, robust texture.
Juicy: Tender and succulent texture from liquid in a solid food (steak)
Molten: Hot, gooey
Oily: Slick, heavy, lingers on the tongue.
Silky: Fine, smooth texture that feels sleek.
Smooth: Texture free of grit, lumps, or edges.
Snap: A quick, sharp, crackling sound when broken.
Squelch: A soft sucking sound when pressure is applied. Somewhat gross.
Sticky: Gluiness in the mouth.
Succulent: Tender and juicy
Tender: Soft and easy to break down
Velvety: Smooth and rich
Smell:
Acrid: Strong, bitter, unpleasant
Comforting: pleasant, probably calls back to a nice memory
Damp: Wet smelling—probably a bit earthy
Delicate: subtle, faint, not overpowering
Earthy: reminiscent of soil
Fetid: Caused by decay—unpleasant
Fishy: reminiscent of fish
Floral/flowery: Reminiscent of flowers
Fragrant: Sweet or pleasing
Fresh: Cool, crisp, refreshing—produce, probably not cooked
Funky: Something’s gone off
Heady: Strong smell, pungent, rich
Musty: Not fresh
Perfumed: Pleasant, reminiscent of something (can be perfumed with citrus, say)
Piquant: stinging, pungent—tickles the nose
Powerful: strong
Rancid: Definitely gone off, decomposing
Ripe: Strong, usually unpleasant smell
Savory: spicy, salty, no elements of sweetness
Sour: has gone off
Spicy: Sharp, tingles the nose
Tangy: Strong and bitter but in a good way
Tart: Sharp
Woody: earthy smell, reminiscent of wood
Sight:
Usually texture gives us a really good picture of what a food looks like, so here’s some non-texture sight additions:
Blistered: Bumpy exterior.
Caramelized: Usually golden brown
Cloudy: Splotched. Almost see through if not for a slight white or grey mist.
Colourful: Bright and vibrant
Glassy: Resembling glass
Glossy: Smooth, shiny
Marbled: Two colours intertwined
Opaque: Not transparent. Can’t see through.
Ripe: Colourful (can be to a fault). Nearing the end of its edible state.
Scaly: Covered in scales, fish.
Shiny: Appears wet or glossy
Sparkling: Glimmers under the light
Stuffed: An ingredient placed inside a larger part with no additional space.
Translucent: Allows light through
Vibrant: Striking, bright
Food Prep:
How the food is prepared gives it these other attributes. If your character is familiar with cooking (or is the cook themselves!) they may describe food this way.
Baked: Cooked in an oven. Results in browned or crispy outer layer.
Blackened: When food is dipped in butter and coated with spices then cooked in a hot pan—spices darken, making it appear ‘blackened’
Blanched: Food scalded in boiling water and moved to cold water so it stops cooking. Texture comes out soft.
Braised: Food that is briefly fried in fat and then stewed in a pot. Results in seared, crispy exterior with a tender interior.
Breaded: Coated with breadcrumbs/batter then baked or fried so it turns crispy
Broiled: Food cooked with intense radiant heat in an oven or on the grill. Results in a darkened appearance and crispy texture.
Caramelized: Food slow-cooked until it’s browned, nutty, and has a bit of sweetness.
Charred: Grilled, roasted, or broiled and gains a blackened exterior and smoky flavor.
Fermented: Food that’s sat with bacteria, yeast, or another microorganism and has produced acids, alcohols, or gases. Results in a biting, pungent flavor. (Kimchi is fermented)
Fried: Food cooked by submerging in hot oil. Creates crispy, crunchy texture and golden colour.
Glazed: Food with a coating brushed onto its surface. Appears glossy with a thin, flavorful, and crisp outer layer.
Infused: Food steeped in liquid with another ingredient so it carries the essence of that ingredient. Used with herbs usually.
Marinated: Usually meat soaked in liquid containing flavourful herbs, spices, vinegar, or oil.
Poached: Food cooked in near boiling water. Results in tender, moist texture.
Roasted: Food cooked with dry heat in an oven or over the fire. Results in browned exterior and crisp coating.
Sautéed: Food cooked quickly in small amount of fat.
Seared: Food cooked in small amount of fat until caramelized. Finished by roasting or grilling. Results in crisp exterior and tender interior.
Smoked: Food exposed to smoke from smoldering wood for a long time. Results in that distinctive smoky flavor.
Whipped: Food beaten to incorporate air. Light and fluffy.
What did I miss?
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Video
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Guillermo del Toro Career Retrospective |  2023
Director Guillermo del Toro shares stories from ‘Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio’, 'Cronos', 'The Shape of Water', ‘Nightmare Alley’, 'Pan's Labyrinth' and ‘Hellboy’ in this career spanning discussion moderated by Joe Neumaier. Guillermo shares special advice for actors and performers, based on his experience working with some of the best in the business and his extensive study of film history.
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