Film Appreciation
A quick “how-to” guide in analyzing film
By Mrs. Merritt
Edited by Mr. Egan
Analyzing Film
• Composition: The arrangement of all the elements
within the screen image to achieve a balance of
light, mass, shadow, color, and movement.
• Camera Work: This includes the details on where
the camera is situated and whether it moves or not.
• Editing: The mixing of shots into a holistic movie
• Lighting: The amount, intensity, color, and direction
of the lights.
• Sound: The sound effects and musical score of a
film.
Composition
• Scene: The basic thematic unit of a film.
Definition: one of the subdivisions of a film
which presents continuous action in one setting.
• Mise-en-Scene: A term used in the theater to
refer to the staging of a scene, in relation to the
setting, the arrangement of the actors, the
lighting, etc. In film, the term is used to describe
the arrangement of elements within the frame of
a single shot.
Composition (cont.)
• Shot: The basic visual unit of a film is the
shot. Not a set length, the shot is a single,
constant take made by a camera,
uninterrupted by editing, or cuts.
• Shots are usually described in terms of
camera distance with respect to an object
within the shot. There are seven
fundamental types of shots:
CLOSE-UP
• In a close-up, the
subject is framed by
the camera, filling the
screen. This
connotes intimacy.
MEDIUM CLOSE-UP
• A medium close-up shows one or two characters
framing the shoulders or chest and head.
MEDIUM SHOT
• Medium shots frame a character from the
waist, hips or knees up. The camera is
sufficiently distanced from the body for the
character to be seen in relation to his or her
surroundings.
MEDIUM LONG SHOT
• Half way between a long and a medium shot.
If it frames a character, the whole body will be
in view in the middle ground of the shot.
LONG SHOT
• In long shots, the subject or characters are at
some distance from the camera. They are
seen in full in their surrounding environment.
EXTREME LONG SHOT
• Extreme long shots
show the subject or
characters very much
in the background of
the shot. The
surroundings have as
much if not more
importance,
especially if the shot
is in high-angle.
SHOT/COUNTER SHOT
• Also known as a
reverse angle shot, it
is most commonly
used for dialogue. It
consists of two
alternating shots,
generally in medium
close-up, framing the
two speakers.
Camera Work
• The shot angle is the direction and height from which
the camera takes the scene. The convention is that in
“factual” programs, the subjects should be shot from
eye-level only. A high angle makes the viewer feel more
important or detached from the character. A low angle
exaggerates the character’s importance. Overhead
shots are made from directly above the action.
Types of Shots
• Dolly Shot: A shot taken while the camera is in motion.
• Establishing Shot: A shot showing the location of the scene or the
arrangement of the characters. Often the opening shot of a
sequence. (ex. Any Star Wars film, as the ship places down on the
planet, or characters enter a new cantina)
• Panning Shot: A shot in which the camera remains in place but
moves horizontally on its axis so that the subject is constantly reframed.
• Reverse-Angle Shot: A shot taken by a camera positioned opposite
from where the previous shot was taken.
• Subjective Shot: A shot that represents the point of view of a
character. Often a reverse angle shot, preceded by a shot of the
character as he or she glances off-screen. (ex. The Crow, when
director wants us to relate to the character)
CUTTING RATE
• Frequent cuts may be used as deliberate
interruptions to shock, surprise, or
emphasize.
• A cutting rhythm may be progressively
shortened to increase tension. (ex. Star
Wars)
• Cutting may create an exciting, lyrical or
staccato effect in the viewer.
Lighting
• Soft and harsh lighting. Soft and harsh lighting can
manipulate a viewer's attitude towards a setting or a
character. The way light is used can make objects,
people and environments look beautiful or ugly, soft or
harsh, artificial or real. Light may be used expressively or
realistically.
• Backlighting: Lighting which comes from directly
behind the subject, placing it in silhouette A romantic
heroine is often backlit to create a halo effect on her hair.
• Colors: Many directors use colored lighting in order to
affect the mood more viscerally (ex. The Crow in the
flashback scenes.)
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
• SOUND EFFECTS: Any sound from any source other
than synchronized dialogue, narration, or music.
Dubbed-in effects can add to the illusion of reality.
• The Score: Music composed for the film. This music
helps establish the pace of the accompanying scene.
The rhythm of the music often dictates the rhythm of the
cuts, and the emotional coloring of the music reinforces
the mood of the scene. Conventionally, background
music accelerates for a chase sequence, becomes
louder to underscore a dramatically important action.
Through repetition, it can also link shots.
Figurative language
• Directors often try to create images which work like
figurative language in fiction and poetry.
– Symbolism—the placement of people or objects on
the screen can create symbols that are greater than
those people/objects.
– Allusion—this same placement can “remind” a
watcher of something in history or literature, making
the objects work on two different levels.
– Motif—directors may work in an object several times
in order to drive home a theme which they are trying
to convey (reflections in Matrix b/c all of “reality” is a
reflection.)
ASK YOURSELF:
• Why has the director framed the shot this
way?
• How does the shot influence my
connection to the characters?
• What is the camera’s point-of-view? Why?
• Why does the director want me to identify
with this character or see things from this
perspective?
REFERENCES
• The “Grammar” of Television and Film,
www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/gramtv.html
• Connections: A Hypertext Resource for
Literature,
www.math.grinnell.edu/~simpsone/Connections/Film/Shots/cuts.html
• Dartmouth Writing Project
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/humanities/film.
shtml#camera
• http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/