My favorite film cliches to avoid!

You'll find most of these in student films and I've committed most of them:

-A character brooding in front of the bathroom mirror during a moment of "self-reflection" then proceeds to wash face.
-Extreme close-up of a flaring retina.
-Making animation out of anything. (After Gondry's White Stripes video many similar animations surfaced).
-Alarm clock awakens character.
-A character awakens from some sort of nightmare or flashback while covered in sweat at the beginning of the film.
-Slow motion explosions.
-Combining classical music and slow motion.
-Shot of a gun with only the hollow point in focus.
-Rack focus shot from a flower or dandelion to a character.
-One shot/single take scenes.
-Moving through walls.
-Shooting through a glass cup to distort the image.
-Ending by suddenly going to black abruptly (being pretentious).
-MY FAVORITE; Landing like a superhero face down then suddenly looking up.



Remember, these should only be used if it is absolutely necessary i.e. it propels the story forward. I'll keep updating this list as I'm reminded of them. Please feel free to contribute.