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 ________________.”