Film Terms & Techniques Novel to Film: Keys to Insightful Adaptation Analysis Film Terms & Techniques

Theme- Analytical points to consider What do the characters or their relationships represent? How do the characters’ actions create a story with meaning? What kind of life or what actions does the film want you to value or criticize? How does the movie make you feel at the end?

Characters- Analytical points to consider Do the characters seem realistic, or are they meant to seem strange or fantastic? What elements define the characters? Are the characters static, or do they experience changes? In what ways do they change?

Mise-en-scene This is a fancy way of referring to items and elements that appear in a scene. Elements include: Lighting Costumes Sets Quality of Acting Analysis: Does the arrangement of objects, props, and characters in the setting have some significance? Lets take a look at a clip of The Graduate to practice analysis.

Composition- Camera Shots A shot is what is recorded between the time a camera starts and the time it stops. Three Common shots: Long Shot/ Establishing Shot Medium Shot Close-up shot Analysis: How does the camera angle affect the audience’s understanding?

Long Shot Shows the main object at a considerable distance from the camera to present it in relation to its general surroundings The head of the actor is at the top of the frame and the feet of the actor are at the bottom of the frame

Medium Shot The camera records a figure from the waist up

Close-up shot There is a very short distance between the subject and the camera Tight shot of the actor’s face Emphasizes a detail

Moving Shots Pan Shot: Camera moves from left to right to right to left along the horizon Tracking Shot: Camera follows behind a character as s/he moves through a space High Angle Shot: The camera is placed higher than the subject to suggest a God’s eye view of helpless and vulnerable people Low Angle Shot: The camera is placed lower than the subject to produce a towering figure or object

Edited Images: Sequence Intercut inserts shots of other scenes, such as a flashback, into the narrative of the film; can provide an ironic comment on the main sequence. Coppola’s iconic Godfather II illustrates this technique well. Parallel Editing Intercuts are so abundant in a sequence that two or more sequences are going on at once. The film classic, Silence of the Lambs includes an amazing parallel sequence.

Edited Images: Transition Films are scenes and sequences of scenes that are pasted together . The filmmaker creates his desired emotion by pasting scenes and sequences together in a particular fashion. Two of several techniques are: Montage Rapidly edited images that suggest the passage of time or events Does not develop information about characters Example Invisible editing Uses simple cuts to join film clips in order to create a sense of real time which makes viewers feel part of the experience

Analyzing editing techniques Points to consider: When a filmmaker uses continuity editing, are there implications concerning the world and society in the “continuity”? Is the movie trying to create a sense of a logical or safe world? Do establishing shots, for example, indicate that the characters know where they are and should feel at home? In films that break away from continuity editing, why are there so few establishing shots in them? Is it difficult to say where an action takes place because the scene begins with a close-up of a character or inside an unidentified room? Do the characters share the audience’s disorientation? Is the disorientation related to the theme of the film?

Analyzing editing techniques More points to consider Is there a point of view we can identify with? Does the filmmaker force us to remain detached from the ordinary people and to identify with something or someone else? Does the film contain images that seem to have no place in the story? Is that image a symbol or part of a character’s memory? Why does the unexplained image break the continuity of the action?

Sound Possible relationships with the image or story: Background music Source may be on screen or off screen Can proceed or follow the image it is linked to Analysis: What is the relation of the sound to the image? Is the sound used to link images, or is it associated with introducing or closing an image? Is the sound more important than the image? What role does silence play in the movie? As you watch one of the final scenes from Silence of the Lambs, practice the analysis of sound.

Putting it all together… Remember, the information from this presentation is what you need to keep your ongoing journal. You must evaluate at least three of the following elements: Character Development (narrative device) Theme development (narrative device) Mise-en-scene (Cinematography) Composition (Cinematography) Editing Sound Use the information for each element to create a logical, informative journal.