VOCABULARY
AND SYNTHESIS:
OR HOW TO BEGIN TO ‘READ’ A FILM
Bugs Bunny and Gossamer © Warner Bros.
TERMS RELATING TO CAMERA DISTANCE
& FRAMING
close up,(CU), Extreme Close Up
(ECU), Medium Shot (MS), 3/4(plan américain), full shot , Long Shot
(LS), Establishing shot, framing (closed/open), persistence of vision,
on/off-screen space, frame within a frame Describe the shot(s). What is
the distance to the subject photographed?
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What is the composition of the
shot? (graphic design, symmetry)
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what do we notice first within
the shot? (dominant elements) how does lighting/focus/framing draw our
eyes to certain parts of the frame? why?
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what do we look at next in the
frame? (subsidiary elements) does movement/framing/color/lighting draw
our attention to particular elements in the frame?
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What is inside the frame and
what is implied in the off-screen space?
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is the frame densely packed with visual
details or focused on one or two subjects? why?
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is the camera-subject distance
intimate/ objective/subjective?
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Kinetics: is the frame static
or moving? A Long take?
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Are the subjects or objects within
the frame static or moving? how does this construct the story? mood? style?
TERMS RELATING TO CAMERA ANGLE;
High Angle shot (Aerial or Overhead
shot), Low Angle shot, Eye -level shot, Oblique/Dutch/canted angle, over
the shoulder shot, Voyeurism, Omniscient/eye of God/ subjective
Where is the camera positioned
in relation to the subject/object?
Are there object/sets between
camera and subject? to what effect?
Does the camera “look through”
aspects of the mise-en-scËne? (fog, sets, greenery)
How does the visual perspective
relate to the telling of the story? How does it connect to omniscient or
subjective narration?
TERMS RELATING TO CAMERA MOVEMENT
Stationary shot, Pan, Tracking,
crane, dolly, tilt, steadicam, hand-held camera, swish-pan, snorri-cam,
tilt, helicopter/plane shots,
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how does camera movement show
us the space of the setting?
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when doesn't the camera move
and why?
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on what does the camera focus
in the space? how does this connect to atmosphere/style/themes?
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what movement does it ‘follow’?
how does the frame move with the actors’ action?
TERMS DEALING WITH THE CINEMATOGRAPHY
& LIGHTING
High-key/low contrast, Low-key/high
contrast, diffused, back-lit (silhouettes), halo lighting (top lighting),
rim lighting, key light, shadows, chiaroscuro, under-lit, three-point lighting,
Telephoto shot, Wide-angle shot, Zoom, rack focus, deep focus, depth of
field, fish-eye lens, filters, tinting, toning, mise-en-scËne, aspect
ratio, de/saturated color, warm colors, cool colors, film stock, fast/slow
film,
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How does the light function?
in terms of legibility? atmosphere? emotions? graphic designs? setting?
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how does it function in terms
of realism? style? themes? abstraction? experimentation?
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how does the cinematographer
‘paint with light? color? how does this relate to space/character/theme?
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what kinds of lenses are used
and how does this construct filmic space?
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how is the implied 3-D ‘space’
created within the frame by blocking of actors/lighting/lens-choice?
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is there a foreground/middle-ground/background
and what do we see within them ? How do they relate to each other
in terms of the story or structure ?
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is there shallow-focus? why?
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are the shots photographed at
24 fps or at faster or slower speeds? What kinds of frame manipulations
occur in contemporary war movies like Black Hawk Down or Saving Private
Ryan? To what effect?
OTHER ASPECTS OF MISE-EN-SCENE
Props, sets, costume, makeup, performance,
character actors, star persona, acting style, production values, leitmotif
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what do we see in the frame and
what kind of world is created there?
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what is the kind of space created?
what details of costuming/props/makeup/sets do we see? how do they connect
to the place, time and story? how do they establish character and
theme?
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are certain objects important
in the story? do they recur? with what associations?
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what style of acting does the
performer choose? how does this connect to their character and the period,
style & cultural context of the film?
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how is the actor blocked in relation
to the camera and sets? to what effect?
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is the actor a star? what kinds
of roles are associated with the actor? (star persona) is the actor playing
against type? how do accents function in performance ?
EDITING
Frame, shot, Sequence, Cut, Edit,
Montage, Cross-cutting (parallel cutting), shot-reverse shot, jump cut,
reverse angle shot, match on action,,eyeline match, fade in/out, dissolve,
iris in/out, wipe, shot/ reverse shot, Classical Hollywood editing/continuity
editing, 180 degree rule, dissolve, graphic match, point of view shot,
reaction shot, fast/slow motion, freeze-frame, reverse-motion, stop-motion
animation, invisible editing,, time-lapse photography
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What is the rhythm of the editing?
does it get faster or slower? how does that affect the drama or mood?
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are there changes in the camera
speed between different shots or in particular sequences? to what effect?
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what shots does it link and why?
what associations does it make between different spaces, characters, ideas?
how does it express themes/style/story/suspense/drama ?
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how does it suggest subjectivity
or objectivity? who is looking and why?
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hpw does editing deal with time? expand?
compress? does it express simultaneity?
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how does editing deal with space? does
it show us all of a scene or privilege certain elements?
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what is the graphic style of the editing?
do certain vompositional elements (verticals/horizontals/symmetry/asymmetry)
recur across the shots?
SOUND
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synchronous sound, asynchronous
sound, sound bridge, voice-over, diegetic sound, non-diegetic sound
(score/soundtrack) sound effects, Foley/footstep artist, sound editing?
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How does the diegetic sound function?
(realism, expressivity, atmosphere, story) How does the score affect mood,
drama, emotion?
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when is there silence? diegetic
sound? score? how are each of these used in the film? how does sound
underscore/intensify particular moments in the narrative?
GENERAL TERMS
Time, flashback/forward, Diegesis
(story), auteur, genre, ideology, narration, production code (censorship),
aesthetics/visual & aural style, Restricted/subjective/privileged/omniscient
narration
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how are time and space constructed
in the film? how does editing make connections between these elements?
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what kind of a film is it? narrative/
non-narrative/experimental/genre?
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how do the formal choices in
editing, sound/color/mise-en-scène etc. express the Themes/Ideas/emotions/structure/ideology
of the film?
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Narrative films: what is the
structure of the film? can you divide it up into sequences and acts? how
does the film's structure “tell” the story? who contributes key creative
decisions/styles/production values to the film?
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what are the roles of the writer?
director/cinematographer/producer/studio?
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how does technology and production
values, stars and budget affect the film's style and reception?
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when is the film made and in
what national/cultural/historical contexts ?
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Spectatorship and Reception:
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how do you and others respond
to the film ? how is this related to cultural and historical context? how
are we encouraged to look at and respond to the film?
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how do we read film? How do we
‘consume’ film? How does the form of the film structure particular responses
and how do we recognize these structures through the formal devices used?
Do we respond to the film in the way it structures us to? e.g. emotions/ideas/suspension
of disbelief?
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Ideology: what kinds of ideas/assumptions/belief
systems are expressed in the film? how do you respond to these ? Does the
film attempt to persuade us or to identify with specific values?
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how do different social contexts/historical/cultural
contexts affect our response to a film?
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what kinds of tools can provide
insights in the ‘reading’ of the film? how do you read the film through
its formal/visual/ideological/structural aspects?
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how does thinking about sexuality,
politics, gender, race, class and national context inform our reading of
the film?
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is a film supposed to be “realistic”?
What does realism mean and how is it constructed? are the filmmakerís
techniques designed to make us suspend our disbelief and become absorbed
in the story?(transparency) or is the form and style opaque? self-reflexive?
campy?
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what conventions does the film
use? what conventions does it break or manipulate? what are our responses
to these? Are we manipulated by the film's structure? Does it surprise
us in certain ways? how?
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how do historical context and
technology affect the style of the film? (think about silent films, “classic”
Hollywood, special effects and spectacle)
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what kind of experience does
the film create? do we identify with characters? do we suspend our
disbelief? do we notice ‘style’? do we get impatient? how is cinema connected
to painting, photography, dance, theater and other art forms?
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how does a 2 D art form create
the illusion of a 3D world? How do we respond to it psychologically? intellectually?
emotionally?
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How does cinema create
fantasies that we respond to? How is it voyeuristic? How is it like a dream?
a roller coaster? or a train?
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what films do you find boring
and why?
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what kinds of techniques are
used when films are experimental or non-narrative, abstract or expressive?
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Watch a subtitled film
and/or a silent film. How is your experience different?