Mosaics of Time

Just wanted to say thank you for the response to the latest video.

When I started working on it, I wasn’t entirely sure whether spending several weeks analysing eyelines, camera positions, editing rhythms and facial expressions in a 30-year-old submarine movie was a sensible use of my time 😅

The support, comments and discussions over the last day have been amazing to see, and I’m grateful for every single one of you who’ve taken the time to interact and help this video find an audience. It’s reassuring to know there are people out there who enjoy this level of detail as much as I do.

Now, onto the next one.

Wallace & Gromit 🧀

– Luke ✌🏽

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 55

Mosaics of Time

Have you seen Crimson Tide?

Easily one of the most intense dialogue-driven films ever made.

2 months ago | [YT] | 9

Mosaics of Time

Unfortunately, I need to temporarily take down my latest video.

I woke up today to the notification that it has been partially blocked in multiple territories due to automated copyright claims. Rather than trimming around it in a rushed way, I’m using this as an opportunity to restructure the essay and make a stronger version.

If you’ve already watched it — thank you.
If you haven’t — it’ll be back soon.

Of course, it's frustrating to have 60+ hours of work derailed like this, but this kind of friction comes with working directly with film material, and it’s part of the learning curve of building my channel properly. My aim has always been to respect the work I’m discussing while also making these videos sustainable and globally viewable.

The re-upload will include some meaningful structural changes — not just minor trims — so even if you’ve seen it before, I think you’ll find it tighter and sharper.

So...thank you, automated copyright system, I guess, for this unexpected opportunity to refine and have another crack at this project.

*Inserts Pedro Pascal laugh-cry GIF* 🫠

Ciao for now,

— Luke

4 months ago | [YT] | 79

Mosaics of Time

I just came across this video by ‪@EmpathyMachines‬ on blocking. It’s a really nice, simple breakdown on what creative blocking can look like.

As many of you have enjoyed my blocking breakdowns during my cinematography analyses, you may enjoy this one, too 🫡

Check it out if you get 9 minutes at some point: https://youtu.be/MUuFtEryv2k?si=zOcRk...

— Luke ✌🏽

4 months ago | [YT] | 22

Mosaics of Time

Hey team!

As promised, here’s the first book recommendation—one that also comes with a TV series chaser: The North Water by Ian McGuire.

If you’re a fan of Cormac McCarthy, this book is absolutely worthy of your time. At face value, it’s a gripping—but brutally savage—survival thriller set in the mid-1800s aboard a whaling ship in the Arctic Ocean.

Looking more deeply, however, it contains some fascinating philosophical through-lines that place it firmly in the pessimistic and existential territory of books like No Country for Old Men and Blood Meridian. Through some genuinely disturbing subject matter—particularly around whaling and seal-hunting—McGuire explores themes of moral naturalism, foregrounding both the indifference of nature and the animalistic side of humanity that emerges in situations of desperation and survival. The cold, desolate, and unforgiving Arctic makes for a fascinating and entirely appropriate backdrop for this kind of commentary, and McGuire expertly uses it to clarify, rather than corrupt, his depiction of humanity here.

The character of Henry Drax is central to this effect. He’s less a traditional antagonist than a complex and ambiguous force of nature, operating in his own depraved, animalistic, and thoroughly unrelatable way. With his lack of a discernible origin story or legible motivation—beyond a raw, bestial drive—Drax bears strong resemblance to McCarthy’s Anton Chigurh. Where Chigurh appears mysteriously principled, bound to a warped but recognisable sense of order, Drax feels like a walking embodiment of moral indifference itself. His conflict with the novel’s central character, Dr. Patrick Sumner, makes for a bleak but compelling read.

Overall, I’d highly recommend the book even for those who simply want a solid, well-written survival thriller and don’t particularly care to read too deeply into its philosophical implications.

And finally, once you’re done with the book, I’d strongly recommend checking out the 2021 TV adaptation, which seems to have flown under the radar for many. It succeeds in communicating the same philosophical undertones as the book, and Jack O’Connell and Colin Farrell are phenomenal, with the latter delivering one of his most underrated—and unhinged—performances to date as Henry Drax.

Visually, the series is bleak in the best way: the cinematography and production design create something claustrophobic and drearily lit aboard the ship, then starkly hostile once it reaches the ice. It helps enormously that much of the show was shot near the Arctic Circle—you can really feel it.

However, be warned: the whaling and seal-hunting sequences are among the most harrowing things I’ve sat through. If you thought Avatar: The Way of Water was bad, these are on another level entirely.

And on that cheerful note—happy reading and watching!

— Luke ✌🏽

P.S. The next video is coming along well now that our little man’s first birthday weekend has passed. Exhausting, but what a blast it was! 😁

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4 months ago | [YT] | 22

Mosaics of Time

It’s been a pretty crazy first month on YouTube, so I just wanted to pop on and say thank you to all of you who’ve engaged, supported and already made this venture so fun and rewarding 🫡

There’ll be a little wait for the next upload, as my wife and I are celebrating our son’s first birthday this weekend, so finding time for some big editing blocks will be trickier. It’s also a big project and I want to give it the time and effort you all deserve 👍🏽

If you fancy some film-nerd conversations in the meantime, feel free to follow me on Letterboxd to keep up with what I’m watching: boxd.it/99Pdv

Going forward, I’m also planning to share a handful of books I’ve enjoyed recently. I’m by no means a huge reader, but there have been some genuinely great reads that feel worth passing on, especially considering you’re all fellow film nerds!

Thanks again for making this run at YouTube not feel like such a batshit crazy idea 😂

Ciao for now,

— Luke ✌🏽

5 months ago | [YT] | 76

Mosaics of Time

Hey team!

New video on Dune dropping tomorrow at 17:00 (GMT+0100) (aka. Italy time)

A lot of work went into this one–let's hope it was worth it 😅

For now, it's straight onto editing the next video (it's a big one 👀).

Much love,

– Luke ✌🏽

5 months ago | [YT] | 107

Mosaics of Time

Next video goes live on Monday.

A look at how The Batman tells its story through light and sound (and some sweet blocking).

Hope you enjoy it, team ✌🏽

5 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 93

Mosaics of Time

That's crazy.

Thank you, team; I'm glad you liked it.

More on the way ✌🏽

5 months ago | [YT] | 239

Mosaics of Time

I'm not sure what else to say other than, well, thank you 🥹

Truly, I couldn't be more grateful for the response you've all had to my first video. The words of encouragement, the constructive feedback and general supportive tone have been incredible to read, and they've made me even more excited for the creative journey ahead.

1000 subscribers was a milestone I wasn't even close to expecting to hit for many many many months (so much so that I have put "Become one of my first 100 subscribers" at the end of every video I have already created...I guess I need to go back and make some small tweaks there before they go live). To have done it within the first few days of my first video is something I never thought I would experience. Thank you all for making it possible.

I will do my best to get back to as many comments as I can (at the time of writing I am already way behind simply because I was not prepared for this sort of response), but if I don't reply directly, please know that I am extremely grateful that you've taken the time to comment on my work.

I look forward to engaging with you all over the coming days/months/years. Here's to an exciting and productive 2026.

Happy New Year, everyone!

– Luke

P.S. You can expect my next video (a follow up, of sorts, to my first video–it's also on Sicario) sometime in the next couple of days 😁

6 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 110