Movie Review Notes

Elements of Drama

Literary 5 main parts of plot: Exposition – introduction to setting, characters, and often a hint to the conflict Rising action – introduction to and development of the conflict Climax – the main turning point in the story Falling action – attempt to resolve the conflict Conclusion – resolution of or change to the conflict Subplot – a secondary or auxiliary plot in a film Setting – time and place

Literary cont. Protagonist – The leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work Antagonist – the person who is opposed to, struggles against or competes with the leading protagonist The conflict between the two does not always indicate a true “good vs. evil” theme

Literary cont. Devices of fiction: Motif – a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc. Symbol – an object, person, idea, etc. used in film to stand for or suggest something else Foreshadowing – to show, indicate or suggest in advance Flashback/forward – a scene in the movie set in a time earlier than/future to the main story Foil – a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast Opposition – antagonism or hostility Irony – Events that seem deliberately contrary to what one expects, which usually makes the plot particularly amusing or dissatisfying to the viewer

Technical All technical aspects are utilized to suggest a location, time period, economic situation and/or physical setting (castle, doctors office, school, the Great Depression etc.) Sets – where a movie is filmed – Not all movie sets are located in a studio; often, films are shot on location, which can still be described as the “set” of the scene Costumes

Technical Sound Diegetic sound – the sound (be it music, dialogue, or sound effects) emanates from a source in the movie environment – can include characters talking, the sound of traffic or of a footstep, music from a radio, and any other sound that could logically be heard by a character Nondiegetic – sound that cannot logically be a part of the movie environment –can be the music we hear while the title is rolling or the music that appears seemingly out of nowhere to heighten a romantic scene

Technical Lighting Low-key lighting – a lot of shadows with sharp contrasts between light and dark – Mysteries and suspense thrillers are also often shot in low-key light indicating that things are hidden, or that something unexpected can happen at any time High-key lighting – characterized by brightness, openness, and light – Romantic comedies, musicals, and important scenes in family dramas, are shot with this lighting: characters’ motives are not hidden, nor are there likely to be many scares or sudden surprises – Individual lighting on a particular character can affect how we feel about that character.

Technical Lighting Side lighting – where one side of the actor’s face is darker than the other – can hint at a character’s secrets or that the character is somehow torn between opposing forces Front lighting – when a character is brightly lit, without any shadows appearing anywhere – Heroes and heroines are usually shot this way to show pureness and honesty

Technical Cont. Props: Make-up: Includes fake hair and hair styles Set props – stationary items on the stage (sofas, chairs, tables) Hand props – carried by the actors to enhance their character (swords, handbags, feather dusters) Make-up: Includes fake hair and hair styles

Performance Vocal expression: Nonverbal expression: Diction (correct words/enunciation) Articulation (pronunciation/dialect) Volume Nonverbal expression: Facial expressions Body alignment Gestures and basic movement

Other elements of cinematic art

Shot framing Close-up – see only the actor’s head from about the neck up; objects shot in close-up take up most of the screen – can show enormous amounts of detail, can reveal characters’ emotions, can be used to emphasize important objects and details Medium shot – actor seen from the waist up – good mix of emotions and details can be caught – most scenes filmed this way Long shot – see the actor’s entire body; objects in this type of framing would appear to be seen from some distance – few emotions are seen but you can see the character’s surroundings

Camera angles Low-angle – director positions the camera below a subject, looking up – has the effect of making the subject look larger and more powerful than it normally would High-angle – director places the camera above an object, looking down on it – has the effect of making a character look smaller than normal; it emphasizes a character’s weakness or powerlessness Eye-level – audience sees an object straight on – very neutral concerning emotion and power – most shots used in movies are eye-level because it is the normal way that we see each other in real life

Camera movement Pan – when a stationary camera’s head moves left to right (or right to left), staying on the horizontal axis – often used to show the setting because it tends to reflect a typical movement of our own eyes when we take in a new scene Tilt – stationary camera’s head moves up and down on the vertical axis – often used to show the height of an object in a scene Zoom – focus of a stationary camera changes within a shot, as when a director zooms in to reveal a key clue in the mystery, or zooms out to show the character’s reaction to finding that clue. Dolly shot – refers to any time the camera itself moves, either on tracks, from a helicopter, on someone’s back, or in any other way – dolly shots move the audience with the action and keep us from feeling like spectators

Editing choice Cut – quickest way to move between images – editor joins two pieces of film (or two shots) together so that in the finished film it looks like an instantaneous change between shots – can be jarring or smooth depending upon the filmmaker’s purpose. Fade – the image seen on screen slowly fades to black or white or some other color – sometimes shows that time has passed, as when a couple in an older movie goes into a bedroom and the shot fades to gray; when the shot fades back in, they’re smoking a cigarette. Hmmmm. What happened? A fade can show that a segment of the film has ended (like a chapter in a book) – Fades tend to be slow paced and sometimes reflect a somber or pensive mood. Dissolve – an image on screen slowly fades away while the next image is slowly fading in – For a period of time, both images are on screen at the same time – Dissolves are used to connect images or to move between images in a smooth, rhythmic fashion

Length of take Long takes – feels as if they unfold in real time, allowing the director to set up the scene realistically –the viewer often gets to decide where to look and what to look at, which creates a greater sense of realism Short take – typical in the quick-cutting productions such as MTV videos in which a single shot can last under a second – creates a much more rapid, energetic style and pace – Action films often use increasingly short takes to create suspense and drama in their fight sequences or car chases – When an editor uses a short take, they are directing our attention to what is important, in contrast to the long take in which the viewer has an opportunity to examine the scene