film & literature film terminology & cinematic effects
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FILM & LITERATURE
Film Terminology & Cinematic Effects
FRAMING
• Shot = single uninterrupted piece of film
• LONG SHOT• CLOSE UP OR CLOSE SHOT• MEDIUM SHOT
LONG SHOT• Object on-screen appears small or
appears to seen from some distance• Can establish the scene, by showing,
say, the Manhattan skyline• Can serve to show distance or
separation between characters• Can show character is integrated with or
alienated from the surroundings• Lack of detail; unclear, indistinct objects
CLOSE UP• Subject takes up nearly 80% of the
screen; thus, appears very large• Directs viewer’s attention to, for
instance, a crucial clue, a facial expression or gesture, etc.
• Viewer can only see what director intends
• What is missing/excluded from sight?
MEDIUM SHOT• Between a long shot and close up• Most common and most
naturalistic shot; “NEUTRAL• Shows more context and setting
than close up• Brings viewer closer to subject
than long shot
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
FRAMING
• Establish scene with a long shot
• Move into medium shot• Only then use the close up
FOCUS• SOFT FOCUS• RACK FOCUS• DEEP FOCUS
SOFT FOCUS• When director intentionally puts
object slightly OUT OF FOCUS• Looks softer but also unclear• Think of Glamour Shots• Often used in romantic or
nostalgic films but could also be used to highlight a character with mysterious or unclear motives
RACK FOCUS• When focus is SHIFTED from one
object to another in one shot• Example: character in focus in
background, nervous and pacing. Phone rings and character goes out of focus and phone in foreground comes into focus = important call!
DEEP FOCUS• All objects in shot are IN
FOCUS—both foreground and background
• “The public may choose, with its eyes, what it wants to see in a shot” ----Orson Welles
• Gives greater sense of reality
ANGLES• LOW ANGLE• HIGH ANGLE• EYE LEVEL• DUTCH ANGLE
LOW ANGLE• Camera shoots subject from
BELOW• Makes subject look LARGER
than normal• Effect: subject looks STRONG,
POWERFUL, THREATENING
HIGH ANGLE• Camera is ABOVE the subject• Usually makes the subject look
SMALLER than normal• Effect: subject seems WEAK,
POWERLESS, TRAPPED
EYE LEVEL• 90-95% of shots• Most NATURAL or NEUTRAL• Camera EVEN with characters’
eyes
DUTCH ANGLE• Shot tilted sideways on the
horizontal line• Also called “canted” angle• Used to add TENSION to a
static frame• Creates a SINISTER or
DISTORTED view of character
CAMERA MOVEMENT• PAN• TILT• ZOOM• TRACKING or DOLLY SHOTS
PAN• Stationary camera moves left or
right• Often used to introduce a
setting• Often moves left to right as
Westerners read• Can come from character’s
point of view
TILT• Stationary camera moves up or
down• Communicates distance, size,
and strength• Can show power, objectification• Often male gaze on female body:
starts at feet and moves up
ZOOM• Camera is stationary but lens
moves, making the object appear to grow larger or smaller
• A way to direct audience’s attention to detail
TRACKING/DOLLY SHOT• The camera itself is moving
with the action• It’s on a track, on wheels, or
hand-held• Audience becomes part of the
action
LIGHTING• LOW-KEY LIGHTING• HIGH-KEY LIGHTING• NEUTRAL LIGHTING• BOTTOM/SIDE LIGHTING• FRONT LIGHTING
LOW-KEY LIGHTING• Scene is flooded with shadows
and darkness• Patches of bright light• Creates moods of mystery,
suspense, danger• Good for horror films, film noir,
detective films
HIGH-KEY LIGHTING• Scene is flooded with light• Bright, open, lack of shadows,
little contrast between light and dark
• Good for romantic comedies, musical, costume dramas
NEUTRAL LIGHTING• Even lighting throughout• Neither bright nor dark• Similar to a “Medium Shot”---
probably doesn’t mean much
BOTTOM/SIDE LIGHTING
• Direct lighting from below or side
• Often dangerous, evil looking• May convey split personality or
moral ambiguity• Think: flashlight-under-the-chin
look
FRONT/REAR LIGHTING
• Direct lighting on face or back of subject
• May suggest innocence: a halo effect
• Good for hero/heroine; honest, open characters
SOUND• DIEGETIC SOUND• NONDIEGETIC SOUND• INTERNAL DIEGETIC SOUND
DIEGETIC SOUND• Any sound that could logically
be heard by character within the film environment
• Background noise, traffic, dialogue, etc.
• Audience & characters hear the same thing
NONDIEGETIC SOUND• Sound NOT logically heard by
characters• NOT part of film environment• Music—unless characters hear
it too, voice over narration
INTERNAL DIEGETIC SOUND
• Sound heard by only one character
EDITING• THE CUT• THE FADE• THE DISSOLVE• THE CROSSCUT• THE FLASHBACK & THE FLASH-
FORWARD• THE EYE-LINE MATCH• Talking to himself, hearing a
remembered sound
THE CUT• Most common way to move
from one shot to another• Literally, one piece of film is
cut and affixed to another• Tiny, split-second of black• Like a blink of the eye
THE FADE• Image on screen slowly fades
away and is replaced by black or white screen
• Might denote end of scene• Might show time passage• Very slow transition• Not very realistic effect
THE DISSOLVE• Image on screen slowly
dissolves but this time, it’s replaced by another image
• Can be used to make a connection between characters/objects
• Another slow transition
THE CROSSCUT• Also called parallel editing• Cut to action happening
simultaneously• Peaceful town + missile
screaming across sky = town in danger!
• Can create suspense as well as links between characters, themes, plots
FLASHBACK/FORWARD• Flashback: movement into action
that has happened previously• Signified by a change in music,
voice-over narration, or a dissolve
• Flash-forward: does the same but moves us forward in time
THE EYE-LINE MATCH• Also known as point of view shot• Shot of person looking• Then a cut to what she’s looking at• Cut back for a reaction• Can reveal character’s thoughts,
put view into character’s POV
DURATION/RHYTHM• Consider duration:• Shorter takes create excitement,
suspense, rapid pace• Longer takes more calm, less
distracting, more natural• Hitchcock’s Rope: 8 cuts in 80
minutes!
MISE-EN-SCÈNE• French term having to do with
the theater• Describes what’s onstage:
sets, costumes, lighting, acting
PUTTING IT TOGETHER• Identify the technique/term• THEN describe its EFFECTS• “I saw a low-angle shot that
demonstrates ________________.”
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