film terms glossary english 30-1 film analysis unit
TRANSCRIPT
FILM TERMS GLOSSARY
English 30-1 Film Analysis Unit
AUTEUR
French for “author”
Used by critics writing for Cahiers du cinema and
other journals to indicate the figure, usually the
director, who stamped a film with his/her own
“personality”.
Auteur theory emphasizes the director as the major
creator of film art.
BIOPIC
Biopic
A biographical film normally about
the life of a famous person.
CAPTIONS/ TITLES
Written labels on the screen.
A title designer is responsible for the captions.
One of the most famous title designers was Saul
Bass who worked on many of Hitchcock’s films.
Here are the titles for Vertigo.
The artist responsible for the lighting of a shot and
the quality of the photography in a film.
Cinematographer
Director of Photography
DIAGETIC VS. NON-DIAGETIC SOUND
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_4hOY-9nKA
D O L LY S H O T, T R A C K I N G S H O T, T R U C K I N G S H O T
A shot taken from a moving vehicle. In the past
tracks were laid on the set to permit a smoother
movement of the camera.
In Hitchcock’s North by Northwest we can see this
example of a dolly shot.
E D I T I N G
The joining together of clips of film into a single
filmstrip. The cut is a simple edit but there are many
other possible ways to transition from one shot to
another.
The following was a short film. This video was time
lapsed.
https://vimeo.com/4636202
FLASHBACK / FLASH-FORWARD
A jump backwards or forwards in diegetic time.
With the use of flashback / flashforward the order of events in the plot
no longer matches the order of events in the story. Citizen Kane(Orson
Welles, 1941) is a famous film composed almost entirely of flashbacks
and flash-forwards. The film timeline spans over 60 years, as it traces
the life of Charles Foster Kane from his childhood to his deathbed —
and on into the repercussions of his actions on the people around him.
Some characters appear at several time periods in the film, usually
being interviewed in the present and appearing in the past as they tell
the reporter of their memories of Kane.
FOCUS
Focus refers to the degree to which light rays coming
from any particular part of an object pass through the lens
and re-converge at the same point on a frame of the film
negative, creating sharp outlines and distinct textures that
match the original object.
“Out of focus” means the images are blurred and lack
acceptable linear definition.
FREEZE FRAME
A device which allows you
to pause the film and freeze
the image.
GENRES
Types of film recognized by audiences and/or
producers.
These types are distinguished by narrative or
stylistic conventions.
Here is short clip of the American Film
Institute’s Top 10 films by genre.
MISE-EN-SCENE
All the things that are “put in the scene”:
the setting, the decor, the lighting, the
costumes, the performance etc.
In this short clip there is an explanation
and examples of mise-en-scene.
SCENE
A scene is a segment of a narrative film that
usually takes place in a single time and place, often
with the same characters.
Here is one of the most famous scenes from
Hitchcock’s Rear Window.
SCRIPT, SCREENPLAY, SCENARIO
A written description of a film’s
dialogue and action, sometimes with
basic camera directions.
SHOT
A single stream of images,
uninterrupted by editing; a unit of film in
which the camera does not stop filming.
TYPES OF SHOT:
ANGLES
Aerial shot:A shot taken from a crane, plane, or helicopter,
restricted to exterior locations.
The trailer for Psycho starts with an aerial shot of
Hitchcock outside The Bates Motel.
BIRDS' EYE VIEW
A shot in which the camera photographs the scene
from directly overhead.
Crane shot
A shot taken from a mechanical device called a
crane which can carry the camera in any direction.
High angle shot
A shot taken from above the subject.
Low angle shot
A shot taken from below the subject.
SHOT SIZES
Extreme long shot
A framing in which the scale of the object shown is very small; a building,
landscape, or crowd of people will fill the screen.
Establishing shot
An establishing shot is usually the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience
where the action is taking place. It is usually a very wide shot or extreme wideshot.
Long or full shot A type of long shot that includes the human body in full,
with the head near the top of the frame and the feet near the bottom.It makes for a relatively stable shot that can accomodate movement without reframing .
Three shot A medium featuring three actors in the same frame.
Dutch Tilt A shot in which the camera angle is deliberately slanted to
one side. This can be used for dramatic effect and helps portray unease, disorientation, frantic or desperate action, intoxication or madness.
Stills Still pictures taken from from a film. This short clip looks at the work of a film stills
photographer.
Synopsis A short description of the
main parts of a story. In this clip we have an
explanation of how to write a film synopsis.
Teaser An opening sequence
designed to catch the interest of the audience.
The opening sequence of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs certainly grasp the audience’s attention.