ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Film Terminology. Literary Aspects of Film Those aspects that films share with...
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Transcript of ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Film Terminology. Literary Aspects of Film Those aspects that films share with...
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Film Terminology
Literary Aspects of Film
Those aspects that films share with literature: plot characters setting themes point of view recurring images symbols
Questions to ask when viewing on a Literary Level:
Who are the characters? What is the setting? What is the plot? From whose point of view is the story told? What is the film’s theme? Are there any symbols or recurring images?
Those elements film shares with live drama: actors portraying
characters through dialogue, costumes, and makeup
sets and/or locations directors who leave
personal stamp on final product
Dramatic Aspects of Film
Questions to ask when viewing on a dramatic level:
How effective is the acting? Why? How does the set affect understanding and
enjoyment of the story? How are the costumes and makeup effective
in establishing a character?
Cinematic Aspects of Film
Elements unique to film
Requires some knowledge of technical terms
Other Ways to Organize a Film Study
Genre StudiesFilm HistoryNational Cinema (Culture, Politics, Etc.)Auteurs (Directors)Foreign FilmsThematically
Basic Film Terms
Low Angle (l/a)
• Camera is located below subject matter• Increases height and power
of subject
The Patriot
“Eye-Level”
Roughly 5 to 6 feet off the ground, the way an actual observer might view a scene Most common, like walking down the street
High Angle (h/a)
Camera looks down at what is being photographed
Takes away power of subject, makes it insignificant
Gives a general overview
High Noon
Crane Shot
a crane shot is a shot taken by a camera on a crane.
The most obvious uses are to view the actors from above or to move up and away from them, a common way of ending a movie.
Aerial Shot or Bird’s Eye View
Camera is placed directly overheadExtremely disorientingViewer is godlikeusually done with a crane or with a camera
attached to a special helicopter to view large landscapes
Beverly Hills Girl Scouts
Subjective or Point of View (POV)
A shot taken from the vantage point a particular character, or what a character sees
Hollow Man
Cross Cutting
an editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time in two different locations.
In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which can suggest the simultaneity of these two actions
Extreme Close-Up (ECU)
A shot of a small object or part of a face that fills the screen
The Saint In London
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Close-Up (CU)
A shot of a small object or face that fills the screen
Adds importance to object photographed
Under Pressure
Medium Shot (MS)
(Also relative) a shot between a long shot and a close-up that might show two people in full figure or several people from the waist up
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Long Shot (LS)
(A relative term) A shot taken from a sufficient distance to show a landscape, a building, or a large crowd
Austin Powers andthe Spy Who Shagged Me
Establishing Shot (or Extreme Long Shot)
Shot taken from a great distance, almost always an exterior shot, shows much of locale
ELS
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom
Pan
The camera moves horizontally on a fixed base.
Tilt
The camera points up or down from a fixed base
Zoom (Zoom In/Out)
Not a camera movement, but a shift in the focal length of the camera lens to give the impression that the camera is getting closer to or farther from an object
Tracking (dolly) shot
The camera moves through space on a wheeled truck (or dolly), but stays in the same plane of motion
Dolly shot
Hand Held Camera
a film and video technique in which a camera is literally held in the camera-operator's hands--as opposed to being placed on a tripod.
The result is an image that is perceptibly shakier than that of a tripod-mounted camera.
High Key Light
a style of lighting for film, television, or photography that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene.
High-key lighting is usually quite homogeneous and free from dark shadows.
Low Key Light
attempts to create a chiaroscuro (contrast between light and dark) effect.
accentuates the contours of an object by throwing areas into shade while a fill light or reflector may illuminate the shadow areas to control contrast.
Back Lighting
the process of illuminating the subject from the back.
lights foreground elements from the rear, is not to be confused with a background light, which lights background elements (such as scenery).