Andrew O'Keefe

I am a filmmaker and a researcher of filmmaking practice. I have written, directed and produced a couple of feature-length films, a handful of short films, lots of other things. I am always learning. This thirst for learning led me to undertake my PhD in order to become a better filmmaker. 

My PhD is entitled, The Thematic Intensity Graph: A New Approach to Production for Feature-Film Directors

This part-practice-led research proposes a paradigmatic approach to cinema-making through the invention and application of a creative system, the Thematic Intensity Graph (TIG). The TIG is a tool that emboldens film directors to express a movie’s theme pictorially according to the thematic structure deciphered in any given screenplay. The thematic structure, most likely in the form of a graph, will be then shared with the key collaborators (Director of Photography, Editor, Producer etc.) in order for them to calibrate their own creative decision-making with the knowledge that it aligns with the directors.  

The Thematic Intensity Graph attempts to bridge the gap in knowledge between the methods of the finest film directors–historically reluctant or unable to express their artistic craft techniques–and the demand for a constructivist methodology that assists mid-career directors to apply technique beyond that of the fundamentals. 

With my own work, I strive to produce research outcomes via methods that are replicable by others. I am not of the ideology that ‘practice is research’; indeed, research helps others and must leave a pathway. 

Research Areas

film, cinema, film directing, visual subtext, storytelling, film production, screenwriting, screenplay

Connect