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SEQUENCE ANALYSIS GLOSSARY OF TERMS
For your scene analysis describe (i.e in the medium shot the character of Sally enters the
dance dramatically wearing a knee-length red dress) and analyse (i.e. her wardrobe
conveys the sense that she has come out of her shell and is ready to pursue David)
everything you see and hear in your chosen scene. Use the terms listed below to in your
description and analysis.
I. Narrative
1. Describe briefly what you see in the selected sequence  consider in relation to stylistic
approach (realist vs. anti-realist) & address to audience (classical vs. reflexive)
2. What function does this segment have for the film as a whole (foreshadowing, climax,
transition, exposition, etc.)?
3. Narrative voice (objective/3rd person or subjective/1st person)
4. Narration (classical, expressionist, mannerist; realist or anti-realist; communicative or
uncommunicative; obtrusive or unobtrusive)
5. Plot (relation between story time and plot time; chronological or non-chronological; any
significant patterns?)
II. Mise-en-scène
1. Setting (studio or location? inside or outside? anything notable about environment? why this
specific location?)
2. Décor (style; architecture; significant furnishings; colours; realist or anti-realist? cluttered or
empty space?)
3. Props & costumes (realistic/non-realistic costume; potential symbolic use of costuming; any
significant objects? significance in how prop handled or shot?)
4. Frame (open/closed system; central/acentral; onscreen/offscreen space; static/mobile framing)
5. Staging of characters & objects (similarities/differences in shape; closeness/distance;
isolated/closed in; center/off-center; background/foreground; exposed/hidden figures;
deep/shallow; symmetrical/asymmetrical)
6. Movement of characters (toward/away from camera; from left to right/right to left; stationary
or busy; fast or slow; relation to camera movement; any rhythmic relation to editing?)
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III. Photography
1. Stock (tonal range; hard/soft textures; warm/cool tones)
2. Lens & focus (short/normal/telephoto/wide angle/zoom; shallow/medium/deep focus;
distortion or lens made noticeable?)
3. Lighting (natural/artificial; realistic/theatrical; angle & direction; evenly light or
shadows; notable lighting effects?)
4. Implied proximity of camera (etreme-long shot (XLS), long-shot (LS), medium-shot (MS),
medium-close-up (MCU), close-up (CU), etreme-close-up (XCU)
5. Angles & height (high/low; eye-level; canted; aerial or worm’s eye view)
6. Camera movement (panning, tilt, tracking, crane, handheld, Steadicam, speed)
7. Color (warm/cold/washed-out; saturation; brightness; notable hues; symbolic use; patterns)
8. Types of shot (establishing shot, point-of-view, reaction, flashback)
9. Duration (long or short takes)
10. Special Effects (freeze frame; slow/fast/reverse motion; filters; flashing; digital colour
manipulation; over/underexposed; animation; matte shots; front/rear projection)
IV. Editing
1. Transition techniques (cut, dissolve, fade in/out, wipe, jump cut, smash cut)
2. Editing style: continuity/classical (establishing shot, match on action, shot/reverse shot,
eyeline match) or discontinuity (non-diegetic insert, jump cut, elliptical editing,
overlapping editing, thematic or intellectual montage)
3. Rhythmic relations: accents (ie. overlapping editing), beats (ie. rhythmic or metric editing),
tempo (ie. accelerating montage & pace)
4. Temporal relations: (length of shots, chronological vs. alinear, ellipses, montage sequence)
V. Sound
Key Definitions
Diegetic Sound: Sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be
present by the action of the film such as:
 voices of characters
 sounds made by objects in the story
 music represented as coming from instruments in the story frame
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Non-diegetic Sound: Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied
to be present in the action:
 narrator's commentary
 sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect
 mood music
A sequence with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror),
or to surprise the audience (comedy).
1. Type (speech/dialogue, narration, ambient sound & effects, silence)
2. Music: diegetic vs. non-diegetic, classical (anchorage) vs. non-classical (tension), themes &
leitmotifs, style, purpose, quality
4. Sound quality (volume, pitch, timbre)
5. Source: diegetic vs. non-diegetic, onscreen vs. off-screen, internal vs. external, direct or post
synchronized, fidelity to source?
VI. Acting
1. Style (naturalistic or non-naturalistic)
2. Type (star, character, cameo, bit part, extra, typage)
3. Address (classical vs. reflexive)
4. Connotative value (star persona, ideological/cultural significance, associations)
5. Movement (rhythm, pace, quality)
6. Storytelling quality (appropriate? inherently thoughtful? expressively coherent? unified?
Don’t Forget to Include Background Considerations in your Word Document
1. Purpose of film & tradition (classical, art or radical cinema)
2. Director (stylistic tendencies & beliefs)
3. Genre (adherence or departure from conventions)
4. Period & culture (where & when is film produced? influence on film’s style?)