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Chapter 1 Looking at Movies

Key Concepts:

Terms in this set (26)

Cinematic Language
The accepted systems, methods, or conventions by which the movies communicate with the viewer; how filmmakers speak to us
Shots
An unbroken span of action captured by an uninterrupted run of a motion-picture camera.
Editing
Joining together of discrete shots.
Cut
A direct change from one shot to another.
Close-up
A shot that often shows a part of the body filling the frame.
Fade-in/Fade-out
Transitional devices in which a shot fades in from a lack field on black-and-white film or from a color field on color film, or fades out to a black field or color field.
Low-angle Shot
A shot that is made with the camera below the action and that typically places the observer in a position of inferiority.
Cutting on Action
Editing techniques designed to hide the instantaneous and potentially jarring shift from one camera viewpoint to another.
Protagonist
Main character.
Implicit Meaning
An connection that a viewer makes on the basis of the explicit story and form of a film.
Explicit Meaning
Everything that a movie presents on its surface.
Formal Analysis
Examines how a scene or sequence uses formal elements to convey story, mood, and meaning.
Form
The means by which a subject is expressed.
Theme
A shared, public idea, such as a metaphor, a adage, a myth, or a familiar conflict or personality type.
Motif
A recurring visual, sound, or narrative element that imparts meaning or significance.
Dolly In
Slow movement of the camera toward a subject, making the subject appear larger and more significant.
Duration
A quantity of time.
Point of View
The position from which a film presents the actions of the story.
Jump Cut
A sudden "jump forward" in the action that intentionally defies our expectations of continuity.
Why has the grammar of film evolved to allow audiences to absorb movie meaning intuitively?
Because most people use language they hear in movies, therefore making it better understood by the viewers.
In what ways do movies minimize viewers' awareness that they are experiencing a highly manipulated, artificial reality?
The movie to use invisibility or cultural invisibility, because that makes audience understand movie.
What do we mean by cultural invisibility?
Reinforce the casual viewer's subconscious beliefs or worldviews.
What is the difference between implicit and explicit meaning?
Explicit is the given story while Implicit is the connection of the given story.
What are some of the expectations that can affect the way viewers react to a movie?
Being told about the movie beforehand from previews, trailers, commercials, reviews, and talking about it. The films form or having an actor they enjoy watching can also be an affect.
What are you looking for when you do a formal analysis of a movie scene? What are some other alternative approaches to analysis, and what sorts of meaning might they uncover?
That it focuses on the elements of film form. Cultural analysis, the process of breaking a complex synthesis into parts in order to understand it better.
How might your previous experiences of a particular actor influence your reaction to a new movie featuring the same performer?
It depends who the actor is and how their performance was. If it was a good actor, I would see another moving starring them. If it was a bad actor, I would avoid their new movie.
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