FILM LANGUAGE
Books communicate through words.
To begin to understand the meaning of a book we need to be able to read the words and know how the words combine and relate to form ideas and meanings.
Film communicates through words, colours, images, movement, composition, lighting, sounds editing…… (they are all features of film language)
To begin to understand the meaning of a film we need to be able to read film language and know how the features combine and relate to form ideas and meanings.
All film is highly contrived and constructed. Each second is the product of hundreds of decision regarding film language made by a large number of skilled intelligent people. These decisions are made in order to communicate meaning to the viewer. Our task here will be to:
· IDENTIFY features of film language
· EVALUATE the effects of these features
For convenience we will classify features of film language into five categories:
1: Composition
2: Colour, Lighting, Focus
3: Production Design
4: Soundtrack
5: Editing
EDITING
The arrangement of shots in the film is the aim of editing. Editing gives a film shape and determines how the viewer interprets or read the images and sounds. Editing is very powerful in creating meaning. A MCU of a concerned face followed same face MCU followed by the CU of a photo might suggest lost love, or the same face MCU followed by a CU of a child smiling might suggest parental concern.
The basics:
Shot duration – how long is the shot? Why?
Cut – where the shot changes sharply. The question become – why have these two shots been cut together?
Pace of editing – Are the cuts slow or fast? Fast cutting can increase tension or excitement. Slow cutting can give a relaxed, sedate feel to a scene.
Rhythm of editing – Smooth rhythms can put the audience at ease, while a jerky, irregular rhythm can be disturbing.
Transition – connects scenes or shows passage of time.
Fade – where the image fades to a colour, usually black. A classic transition. Can give a slow, measured or thoughtful feel to a scene.
Dissolve – where one shot fades into another shot. Often used to give a dreamy or gentle feel to a scene.
Wipe – where a colour or another shot moves onto the screen like a curtain coming across. Used in documentary, rarely used in features.
SOME TYPES OF CUTS:
Matched cut – no part of the action is left out but the camera angle or shot size changes
Cutaway - Cut to someone or something related to the action-reaction shots, audience shots, objects ……
Jump cut – where two shots are intentionally not matched to surprise the audience. Can be used to show lots of time passing.
Parallel Cutting – two separate scenes are cut together to suggest that they are happening at the same time. Often the scenes will be brought together in some kind of meeting of elements form each scene.
Intercutting – where the film cuts between one subject or event to another.
Shot and reverse – common conversation or interaction cutting. The scene shows one character then the other then back to the first and so on.
Montage – a series of quick cuts connected by theme. Can show a lot of important but background information in a short space of time. They might show a character’s life, a relationship building or a significant event all in a short space of time – much shorter then real time. TV ads use Montage extensively to associate a mood or lifestyle with a product.
SOUNDTRACK
Sound is really important in film – it is used to give important information about plot, character, theme. Sound should tell us something that the images don’t. Sound dramatically effects our emotional reading of scenes. Sound is very powerful.
Dialogue – what characters say and how they say it. Reveals emotion, relationships, plot. Often post-synched – added in later in a studio.
Music – establishes, reinforces mood and/or enhances meaning. Always carefully chosen to produce a specific effect – which can be analysed.
Sound effects – any sound that is not music or dialogue. Used to advance plot, enhance mood or meaning. Often added later.
Subjective sound – like the POV shot. Where the soundtrack distorts (usually) in a way to suggest that we are in the sound world of a character.
Silence can of course be powerful – especially in enhancing suspense.
Ironic Music – where the music against (deliberately) the mood of a scene. Used to shock or surprise.
Overexposure – too much light; subject looks washed out. Often used to create an unreal or dreamlike effect.
Underexposure – not enough light. Can empasize uncertainty, increase tension.
FOCUS
Telephoto lens – allows the camera to get very close to a distant subject. The background or foreground may be blurred. Shallow depth of field. (meaning the range of distance in focus is small)
Wide Angle Lens – captures a wiser shot than normal. Background and foreground remain in focus, but close objects may be distorted. Useful to capture a very wide scene. Great depth of field – the range of distances in focus is large.
Fisheye lens – very wide angle, distorted lens. Objects are all in focus and distorted. Useful for disturbing shots.
Zoom lens – combines wide and telephoto lenses and all in between. It is very easy to overuse the zoom within shots; generally, you need a good reason to use it.
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Props – any object used. What does the object say about the character, situation, theme?
Costume – often used to give a strong impression of character in a short space of time. Remember how much we judge people (at least at first) by what they wear.
Set design – what do the spaces say about character, situation, theme? Where are we and why?
COLOUR
Colour can have meaning attached to it. Colours can be associated with characters (Red – fiery, passionate hero; Blue – a cool, calculating villain; Black – the evil one?). Colours can dominate action or scenes to influence our reading. Colours can convey emotions or meaning – blue for anxiety, depression; white for innocence, wonder; red for danger, violence. Think carefully about ideas and emotions commonly associated with colours.
Black and White can be used to give a serious, historical or artistic feel to a film. Contrast is vital in Black and White shooting, areas of shadow and light forming the dynamic force in compositions that colour often achieves in colour films.
LIGHTING
· Film-making has been called Painting with Light – Lighting is central to Film Style.
· Lighting enables Directors to show people or objects in the way in which they want them to be seen, highlighting people, emotions, moods or objects.
· Lighting is as much about creating shadow as light. Contrast is crucial!
Harsh Lighting – high contrast, clear strong shadows. Can increase tension.
Soft Lighting – low contrast, soft shadows. Can reduce tension
Key light – main light on the subject
Fill light – reduces shadows, softens the lighting
Backlight – light behind the subject – can help define the subject and cut it out from the background. Also used to separate foreground from background.
3-point lighting – a standard lighting set-up using a key light, fill light and back light.
Underlight – light shines up at the subject – can make it look threatening
Sidelight – light shines from the side. Emphasises shadows; objects can appear gaunt or sinister.
MOVEMENT
Pan – camera moves from side to side. Often used to follow action or show a panorama. Usually comes to a halt before the next cut. Always shot in one direction.
Track – camera moves through space horizontally or vertically or a combination. Used to follow actions, lead the viewer into a scene, explore a location. Reverse tracks go backwards and allow the subject to follow. Tracks can give a fluid, lively feel to a film.
Tilt – camera pivots up or down. Used to explore a location.
Zoom – where the lens is moved from Wide Angle to Telephoto (zoom in_ reverse (zoom out). To tell it is a zoom not a track you need to look at the foreground/background relationship during the shot. In a Track, foreground objects will disappear as background objects get closer. In a Track, all objects remain and just get closer.
Whip Pan – a very quick pan; give an edgy, tense feel.
Crash Zoom – very fast zoom shot; gives and edgy, tense feel.
Often films will combine a number of different movement types in one extended shot when exploring a scene, sometimes to energise a scene or place the audience right in the scene. The Steadicam has made complicated smooth moving shots much easier and relatively common.
Handheld – deliberately shaky camera, used to add tension, create a “live” or documentary feel or just give you a headache. Hard to do well.
Arrangement of elements within the shot
Foreground Background Vertical
Framing Screen Dominance Horizontal
Diagonal Balance Shape
Line
Use these terms when discussing and analysing individual shots. Remember that every shot is carefully planned and composed by highly skilled people. Relationships between characters, emotions of characters, important themes and ideas can all be emphasised in the way shots are arranged visually.
SHOT TYPE – a few special ones
POV shot Point of View Shot – shows the scene through a subjet’s eyes, often signalled by a CU of their face immediately before and/or after. Used to get us inside a character’s point-of-view for a moment, usually so we can identify with them. Generally used sparingly.
Reverse Shot – the other perspective in a scene. Often used in conversations, where a shot of one character speaking will be followed by a shot of the other listening etc… Usually you match MS with MS, MCU with MCU, CU with CU…
Over the Shoulder Shot – shot looking over a character’s shoulder at someone or something. Often used in conversations with reserve shots to get the audience close to the action.
Reaction Shot – shot of a character reacting to something. Often used to build empathy with a character or to help the audience respond to an event or development appropriately.
Cutaway – A shot of another subject which is linked in some way to the previous shot; perhaps a shot of an object or person someone is talking about…. Used to break up longer shots, add visual interest and help to visually tell the story.
ANGLE
Angle is often manipulated for aesthetic reasons – to make shots look good!
Low Angle – the camera looks up at the subject. Can be used to make the subject seem powerful.
High Angle – camera looks down on the subject which can make the subject appear weak or vulnerable.
Dutch Tilt – camera is titled sideways (horizon is off level). Can give a disturbing, tense feel to shots.
Overhead Shot – camera looks directly down at subject. Dramatic shot, used rarely.
COMPOSITION
Includes all the elements that contribute towards the appearance of the shot; shot size, shot type, angel, movement, arrangement of elements within the shot.
The Shot
The basic unit of film is the shot. This is a continuous unbroken piece of film, everything recorded between starting and stopping the camera recording.
How shot-conscious are you?
When and why do you remember individual shots?
Shot Size
WS Wide Shot – a whole view of a scene, full body shot. Used often to establish and end a scene and give an overview of important action or a sense of spatial relationships – foreground/background.
MS Medium Shot – A person from the waist up. A common conversation shot, especially in film.
MCU Medium Close Up – shoulders up shot. Also common in conversation especially on TV as it people in MCU on a standard TV are of life-like size! Gives a sense of comfortable conversation distance..
CU Close Up – Head only shot or close to an object – a knife, a car door handle, a glass…… A very powerful shot – often to show emotion. Their power of emphasis is very important and needs to be carefully considered in analysis and production work. Often overused in NYPD Blues style shooting to give an edgy, tense feel.
ECU Extreme Close Up – part of a face or an abject very close. A dramatic, disconcerting shot used to shock or raise tension even further.
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