Quinta Brunson's $5 Bill Writing Trick, Composition Is Cake, & the Changing Film-Buying Market

[No Film School]

Ryan Koo | July 27, 2026 Hey Stu, Welcome back! Want to know what’s new on No Film School? Check out our top craft stories of the week. 🖋️ Screenwriting Learn Quinta Brunson's $5 Bill Writing Technique 'Abbott Elementary' Credit: ABC The way you get a great TV show is through great writing, and Abbott Elementary has that more than most. It really proves why you need incredibly strong characters to sell any pilot and prove that the show has legs. So, how do you get all those voices to sound unique and special? Quinta Brunson shared a simple trick she learned from Larry Wilmore that helped her characters feel alive. She calls it the $5 Bill Test. Continue Reading - Learn Quinta Brunson's $5 Bill Writing Technique 🗞️ Quick Reads for Screenwriting Paul Thomas Anderson Thinks the Next Generation of Filmmakers Can't Write Well Enough - He says the directing keeps getting better and the writing hasn't kept up. Peripeteia Explained: The Ancient Storytelling Device Behind Cinema's Most Devastating Endings - The screenwriter of American History X on building an ending. What If You're the One Holding Yourself Back From Success? - Hollywood is not going to throw you a lifeline, so learn to swim. 🎬 Directing The Film-Buying Market Has Changed... But Make Your Movie Anyway 'Site' Credit: Blue Fox Entertainment If you're into movie-making (which we guess you are, because you're here right now), you know that the way independent films get financed has shifted hard in the last few years. So if you're putting a movie together, it pays to understand the new terrain. Writer/director Jason Eric Perlman spent that stretch making his sci-fi thriller Site the scrappy, indie way, and he recently shared what it was like to run the gauntlet of the buying market himself. Continue Reading - The Film-Buying Market Has Changed... But Make Your Movie Anyway  🎥 Cinematography ​Composition Is the Cake, Everything Else Is Frosting 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence' Credit: Warner Bros. Avery Dohrmann is a filmmaker who wrote for us back in 2023 about making his debut feature, Our Final Days in Paradise, at 20. He's back with a video essay on visual literacy, and it's a useful and inspirational watch. The tl;dr of it all is that he hasn't cracked the code, but the truth is that nobody has. His central idea is that literacy comes in two phases, and most of us get stuck in the first one. Understanding that split might help you be thoughtful about your own shot choices, so let's walk through it. Continue Reading - Composition Is the Cake, Everything Else Is Frosting 🗞️ Quick Reads for Cinematography The Grip Gear That Earns Its Place on Set - What changes between indie and industry sets. How a Decisive Film Color Palette Can Make You a Better Filmmaker - How can you make your film color palette part of the storytelling process? How 'Saving Private Ryan' Changed War Movies Forever - Steven Spielberg's masterpiece altered how Hollywood looked at war. 📚 Recommended Reads: 57 Years Ago: A Western Broke All the Rules and AFI Later Ranked It Among the Genre's 10 Best Fifty-seven years on, The Wild Bunch still teaches action filmmaking. 3 Essential Movies of 1974 Every Film Fan Should See The most essential films from one of the most essential years. Quote of the Day: How This 'Red Dead Redemption 2' Line Brought the Human Soul Into the Game "This whole thing is pretty much done. We're more ghosts than people." Why Exactly Wasn’t Stallone’s ‘Over the Top’ a Bigger Hit When It Originally Came Out? Box office bombs happen for many reasons, but something about Over the Top just doesn’t add up. 10 Funniest Moments in the 'Scary Movie' Franchise You can’t cast Regina Hall and Anna Faris without expecting some big laughs. Explore more articles → Visit No Film School 🎬 Never Miss an Update! Subscribe Now Want the latest filmmaking news, industry insights, and indie success stories delivered straight to your inbox? 📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive tips and resources: 👉 Sign up here 🎙️ Check out the No Film School Podcast for gear updates, trending film topics, and interviews with some of the biggest names in the industry. 🎥 Keep learning, keep creating. Visit No Film School for daily updates, expert guides, and in-depth tutorials. 📢 Join the conversation on social media and connect with fellow filmmakers: Instagram | Twitter/X | YouTube | Facebook See you next time with more filmmaking goodness! 🎬 Share on:Facebook|Threads|X|LinkedIn   © 2026 No Film School 14205 N Mo Pac Expy Ste 570 PMB 39920 Austin, TX 78728-6529, United States Unsubscribe Terms of Service