FILM+LANGUAGE

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=TALKING THE TALK=

[|yale film analysis]

IB GLOSSARY
Students should be familiar with the following cinematic words and phrases.

ambient light refers to natural, available light that is not enhanced in any way. audience is the group of people to whom a product is particularly aimed. This may be identified as either “mass” (or mainstream) if it is targeted at a very large number of people, or “niche” if it is targeted at a smaller, more specific group of people. high angle, low angle, worm’s-eye view or aerial view. “director of photography”. unobtrusive style of editing developed by Hollywood that is still the basis of most commercial productions. The basis of continuity editing is to cut on action so that the whole sequence looks natural.
 * Ambient sound** Natural background noise on television, film or radio. In the same manner,
 * Audience** All those who receive or interact with any media product. A target
 * Camera angle** The position of the camera in relation to the main subject. It could be a
 * Cinematographer** The person responsible for camera and lighting. Often referred to as the
 * Continuity editing** Sometimes referred to as “invisible” or “academic” editing, this is the

source within the narrative world of a film, radio or television text. unconnected to the narrative world of a text. An example of nondiegetic sound would be a film musical score. Diegetic sound would be the sound of crashing waves on cliffs or birdsong, even though these may be added in post production. using the numbers zero and one. adding music or additional sound to dialogue, or it may refer to the addition of an entire soundtrack, including dialogue. an editor uses a variety of methods to move from one sequence to another. This is referred to as a “transition”. which it is based. For example, a feature film commonly has a threeact structure. Some structures are determined by a genre and its corresponding codes and conventions. single image (or a single still image on video). As a verb, it means to adjust the position of the camera or to adjust the camera lens to compose the required image. An image can be framed to construct a close-up shot, long shot or medium shot. news, horror, documentary, soap opera and so on. Genres tend to have identifiable codes and conventions that have developed over time and for which audiences may have developed particular expectations. Media texts that are a mixture of more than one genre are called “generic hybrids”. photographed (appropriate to the time and era portrayed). This usually includes production design, set, location, actors, costumes, make-up, gesture, proxemics and blocking, extras, props, use of colour, contrast and filter. Lighting is often included within mise-en-scène. Camera shot composition, framing, angle and movement are also sometimes referred to as mise-en-shot. in the context of film and is not exclusively used to refer to “Soviet Montage”. (1) It is used as a synonym for editing. (2) In Hollywood cinema it means to edit a concentrated sequence using a series of brief transitions creating the effect of the passage of time or movement over large distances or for expressionistic moods. (3) Thematic or “Soviet” montage was developed by Sergei Eisenstein by arranging striking juxtapositions of individual shots to suggest an idea that goes beyond meanings within an individual shot. He called this “collision montage”. (4) Any sequence that creates a particularly significant effect mainly through its editing. The shower scene in Psycho would be such an example. Tsvetan Todorov, Bordwell and Thompson and Robert McKee have all presented interesting ideas about narrative development. principal photography and the completed film or programme. This includes the editing of a film or programme, along with titles, graphics, special effects and so on. television programme can begin shooting. may include interviews, questionnaires, analysis of films or television programmes that you undertake yourself. (See also secondary research.) documents, interviews, open-ended questionnaires and case studies. It is reasoned argument that is not based upon simple statistical information. Overall, qualitative research enables researchers to study psychological, cultural and social phenomena. (See also quantitative research.)
 * Diegetic sound** is that which appears to come from a recognizable
 * Non-diegetic sound** is that which appears to come from a source
 * Digital** The conversion of sound and visual to transmit information in a code
 * Dubbing** A process whereby sound is added to film. This may take the form of
 * Editing** The selection of material to make a coherent whole. In film and television
 * Form** The structure, or skeleton, of a text and the narrative framework around
 * Frame** As a noun, this refers to the single area on a strip of film that holds a
 * Genre** The classification of any media text into a category or type, for example:
 * Mise-en-scène** Literally, everything that is “put in the scene”, or put in the frame to be
 * Montage** The term is taken from the French “to assemble”. It has several meanings
 * Narrative** The way in which a plot or story is told, by whom and in what order.
 * Flashbacks**, flash forwards and ellipsis may be used as narrative devices.
 * Post-production** The period and the processes that come between the completion of
 * Pre-production** The entire range of preparations that takes place before a film or
 * Primary research** Research information or data that you collect yourself. Sources for this
 * Production** Either the product itself or the actual process of filming.
 * Qualitative research** Research undertaken through observation, analysing texts and

questions in questionnaires or structured interviews. Quantitative research may calculate how many males in the 15 to 25 years age range watch a particular television soap opera, for example, but qualitative research is necessary to determine why they watch it. and print. The term usually implies that the media text attempts to represent an external reality: a film or television programme is “realistic” because it gives the impression that it accurately reproduces that part of the real world to which it is referring. However, the concept is much more complex than this brief definition. One suggestion is to think of “realisms” rather than realism. and sounds. In its simplest form, it means to present or show someone or something. However, as a concept for debate, it is used to describe the process by which an image can be used to represent or stand in for someone or something, for example, a person, place or idea. Inherent in this second definition is the notion that there may be a responsibility on the part of the producer of any representation, with regard to accuracy, “truth” and the viewpoints and opinions that such a representation may perpetuate. Representation is used to describe the manner in which segments or individuals in society (for example, women, the elderly, ethnic minorities) are portrayed in the media. such as academic studies, reviews or essays, whether in printed format or from other film texts such as documentaries or interviews. narrow and/or exaggerated set of attributes. Stereotypes are frequently thought to be entirely negative but this is not necessarily the case. by the use of colour, mise-en-scène, lighting, music, camera angle, movement, framing, dialogue, editing and so on. film or television. the most obvious example occurs when lip-synch is out, that is, when the words spoken and the lip movement of the actor on screen do not match. romantic, sensationalist and so on.
 * Quantitative research** Primarily, this is statistical data most frequently obtained from closed
 * Realism** The dominant mode of representation in television, mainstream films
 * Representation** The process of making meaning in still or moving images and in words
 * Secondary research** Research information taken from sources other than your own work,
 * Stereotype** An oversimplified representation of people, places or issues, giving a
 * Style** The “look” of a media text; its surface appearance. It can be recognized
 * Synchronous sound** is where the sound matches the action or speech in
 * Asynchronous sound** is when there is a mismatch—
 * Teaser trailers** Short film or television trailers shown before a full-length trailer.
 * Tone** The overall impression that is given by a media text—serious, comic,

** FILM LANGUAGE ** Add key film language terms here. Remember to include definitions and examples... **Handheld Camera** : the use of cameraman's body as a camera support e.g. various scenes in //Motorcycle Diaries//.**Three-point Lighting:** the combined use of a key light, fill light and backlight to center attention on the main actors/objects, and is used in most films and television shows.**Key Light:** the dominant lighting source used to illuminate the scene, and usually casts strong shadows.**Fill Light:** the secondary lighting source used to soften shadows created by the key light.**Backlight:** the light source coming from behind the actors/objects in focus, and usually creates silhouettes. **Budget:** the amount of money used to produce a film.**Box office bomb** (aka **flop**): a film were the production and marketing costs exceeds the gross revenue regained by the movie studio (e.g. //Final Fantasy:The Spirits Within// of 2001).**Gross revenue**: the total amount of money gained at the box office for a certain movie.**Frequency**: in a narrative film it refers to the aspect of temporal manipulation that involves the number of times any story event is shown in the plot.**Boom**: a pole where the microphone can be suspended upon the filmed scene. It's used to change the microphone's position during an action shift.**Closure**: the degree to which the ending of a narrative film reveals the effects of casual events and resolves the lines of action.**Superimposition**: the exposure of more than one image on the same film strip/shot.**Variation**: in film, the return of an element with identifiable changes.**Snuff film**: A motion picture that depicts the actual death of a person for pure entertaining purposes. They are actually regarded as an urban legend because so far no real snuff film has ever been released. Fake-snuff films or presumed snuff films include the Japanese gore-horror series //Guinea Pig// and //Cannibal Holocaust// by Ruggero Deodato.**To green-light**: (verb) to give permission and approve production finance of a film.**Mondo film**: an exploitation documentary film (usually a pseudo-documentary) depicting astonishing topics, scenes and situations.

There are a number of sources online that provide glossary help.

The BFI’s excellent Education section provides a glossary that looks at both critical and technical language here: []

and another that focuses more on the technical here: []

Film Noir Studies has a genre specific but very good glossary here” []

Kodak has a very good glossary of film and video technical terms here: []

BIG - glossary...[|http://homepage.newschool.edu/~schlemoj/film_c]