Choose a film or television episode. Look at it closely. Pick one shot. Write 1000 words about it.

These were the instructions given to the contributors of this first issue of Peephole. The aim: To move away from the format of the evaluative review and instead construct a creative essay that develops an argument about film, television or the image through examination of the workings of a single shot.

Launching Peephole is incredibly exciting venture. We hope that this magazine can become a locus of engaging screen criticism that brings together a variety of people interested in film, television, music video, and video games. Peephole is envisioned as a place for a particular kind of creative screen criticism built upon the idea of constraint as a form of freedom. Like the surrealists, we aim to encourage new ways of seeing, writing and thinking about both the image and the screen.

Our inaugural issue does not contain a theme. Rather, it is the beginning of a creative experiment in thinking and writing. Through it, we ask: what does it mean to look closely at the syntax of the screen? Publishing periodically, Peephole will continue to explore this question through issues themed around particular ideas, shots and genres.

This issue consists of five essays on a diverse range of screen content. Each of the essays draws attention to the interplay between elements within the frame, emphasising the tensions present at the micro level of the image. We hope you find the pieces both entertaining and thought provoking.

Whitney Monaghan, Editor.