Visual Motifs: Using Studiobinder Software to Organize Creatives

Creatives are, well, creative. I think it's more than just a cliche that creatives can be a bit disorganized. Ideas can come and then go with such frequency and speed that keeping track of them can be difficult. Do you have a way of keeping track of your ideas? Of making sure your ideas make it onto the screen?

I recently watched Studiobinder's breakdown of Jonathan Demme's Americana motif in "Silence of the Lambs." Studiobinder defines motif as 

Any recurring element that has symbolic significance to a story

Studiobinder quickly reviews Demme's use of Americana to highlight Demme's views on the American myth and the unique American sickness associated with serial killers. 

Of course, the video is clearly advertising, but the way that Studiobinder shows off their software to help creatives keep track of an idea is great. It's both a sales piece and a quick little discussion of "Silence of the Lambs." I'm particularly impressed by the way the software is employed to work through the use of the tarp/flag from prop to key motif. Smart and efficient.

I'm curious: Have any of you have used Studiobinder's software? Does this type of marketing/sales pitch resonate? As I noted, I was impressed with the way they combined sales and movie critique. What are your thoughts on the software and on the marketing approach?

I also found the summary of "Silence of the Lambs" much more interesting (and funny) than what you'd get in the TV Guide:

It's about a young female FBI agent who needs to win the trust of a guy who eats people, so they can stop a guy that skins people.

Images and video used with the permission of Studiobinder.

Mark Dunsmuir's picture

Mark is a Toronto based commercial photographer and world traveller who gave up the glamorous life of big law to take pictures for a living.

Log in or register to post comments
5 Comments

As with some software, there are limited, but a free option to their program. I mostly use the program for the call sheet aspect. I find the service very helpful especially when I am working with more than 3 people on set.

Yep, the free plan can actually get you far (multiple free shot lists, managing your entire crew details for free, create call sheets, etc.).

After watching the advertorial, I also take a much closer look at the very useful call sheets.

You can actually customize the process to fit your own creative needs and easily enable/disable things that don't pertain to your shoot. I.e. If you just need a shot list / call sheet, you can use those which is available on the lowest tier.

I do love pencil and paper, but, as you pointed out, for bigger productions, something like this can really help to organize the thoughts of several creatives / producers. Thanks for taking the time to comment!