You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone arguing that The Godfather is a masterpiece. But what makes it so? The story, perhaps. The characters, surely. The drama, the performances, the cinematography… But the source, if you will, of all of these things, may very well be found in the way Francis Ford Coppola prepared himself for his massive undertaking – and more specifically, in his ‘Godfather notebook.’

In case you missed it, check out the breakdown of Coppola’s notes for The Godfather on No Film School. It’s truly an inspiration to see how meticulously Coppola prepared his script by breaking down every single page of the source material; analyzing, jotting down ideas, dissecting each and every beat of each and every scene.

Did you do this on your last shoot?

For a mildly OCD person like myself, it’s incredible to see how strict methodology can inform the creative process.