Film Language

Film Language

 

Films use many techniques to exaggerate and emphasise scenes and just to make a great film. they are:

• Sound
• Lighting
• Cinematography
• Mise en Scene
• Pace and editing

Sound consists of things like:

• Music
• Dialogue
• Silence
• Sound effects
• Real sound

Lighting consists of things like:

• Key light
• Fill light
• Back light
• Under lighting
• Top lighting
• Back lighting
• Low key lighting
• High key lighting

Cinematography consists of things like:

• The look of the film
• Types of shots
• Colours- (Denotation: What you see, Connotation: What you think of)
• Lighting
• Locations

Mise en Scene consists of things like:

• What you see in a frame on screen
• The characters/acting
• Props
• Wardrobe/Clothing
• Environmental details/Setting
• Placement of everything on screen and stage
• Effect on the audience

Pace and editing consists of:

• Speed of action
• Length of shots

Editing  is the process of looking at all the footage shot during the making of a film/ TV programme and placing it in the desired order and joining it together. There are two key areas they are:
1. Speed of Editing (how long each shot lasts for)
2. Style of Editing (how each shot is joined to the next)

In a film each scene may last a matter of seconds, or it could continue for minutes but the length of each sequence establishes the pace of the film moving the action along. Speed editing helps set out the mood of what is happening on screen. "Suspension of disbelief". If a relaxed mood is desired, the scenes last longer and change less frequently. For example in a romantic comedy. Scenes at the beginning of a film must be long, probably introduces the main character. As films progress, scenes may become shorter as editing cuts between telling two or more story lines simultaneously.

The word Complement is used when two or more things go together.
The word Juxtapose/Juxtaposition is used when something don't fit or go together.
Time Laps is when time speeds up to show how fast time is or time going by.


Graphic Match is when one image crosses and fades into another image for example, in psycho when the plug hole turns into the women's eye.

Straight cut is a more common and "invisible" form of transition. One shot moves instantaneously to the next without attracting the audiences attention. They help retain reality. They do not break the viewers suspension of disbelief.

Jump cut  is when the audience's attention is brought into focus on something very suddenly. It breaks continually and appears as if a section of the sequence has been removed.

A dissolve is when one image/scene merges or fades into another image/scene.

Fades are when an image/scene gradually darkens or lightens until it becomes black or white. One shot will fade until only a black or white screen can be seen.

Wipes are when one image is pushed off the screen by another, or by an object. Images can be pushed left or right so its natural, like reading a book.

Match on action is when we see a character start an action in one shot and then see them continue it in the next.

The 180 degrees rule is a basic guideline to help film action. It states that two characters in the scene should always have the same left/right realtionship to eachother.

Eyeline match is self explanatory, for example in frame 1 we see Person A looking straight forwards, then in frame 2 we see Person B looking straight forwards, therefore it looks like they're looking at eachother.

Shot/Reverse shot is when one frame is shot reasonably close to fit the persons face and the other persons shoulder in the frame. Then it is reversed to show the other persons face and the person they're talking to shoulder. Then it's reversed again, however many times that are desired.