Watch the meeting here:

Defining what “cinematic” means:

Your film “doesn’t need to look expensive”
It’s more about the level of the
Copy movies you love as you develop your taste
Getting good sound can make it feel robust and bigger than big production
Talent increases the cinematic quality of your film
In Layover, Josh’s most “expensive” looking shots were the airport/club scenes, and the cheapest things to make
You can do a lot by piecing things together to get the expanse/shot you need: ie. if you need a controlled performance against a vast expanse, shoot small/close for those scenes and then go grab the more expansive footage which may be a bit too “wild” for the controlled performance you want, and then stitch those two pieces together in post
“We can’t discount the audience’s psychological understanding, they’ve seen it all” / You know [cinematic quality] when you see it

How do you elevate the cinematic feel of your movie?

Staging vs. Capturing: staging has more of a formality to it, perhaps set on a studio set, etc.; capturing feels like you’re more so getting a slice of life
Figure out what feeling you’re trying to get and then use the tools/skillset at your disposal to create that feeling (whether it’s stage or capture)
Down play what you’re doing, don’t make it big, keep it small so you can deliver, and then keep increasing the scale
Take it outside of the four walls, get outside
“It can still be a small story on a big canvas”
Every scene has an intention, every scene has a POV, when you’re intentional about your approach and you’re thinking through how it shows up on screen, this creates cinematic moments
Think about how you’re framing
Budget is irrelevant to the cinematic feel