Media Aesthetics

The techniques filmmakers use to connect viewers to a film while concealing the means of storytelling

Cinematic Language

The coordinating lead artist who links creative, production, and technical teams

Director’s Role

Movies that reinforce shared cultural beliefs and desires unconsciously

Cultural Invisibility

The study of how a film expresses meaning, rather than what it shows

Formal Analysis

Understanding how movies shape our worldviews and emotions

Purpose of Film Study

Lighting, sound, design, performance, and editing that form a movie’s style

Formal Elements

The overall structure or system that organizes all elements of a film

Film Form

The subject or topic a film is about

Content

How something is expressed rather than what is expressed

Form vs Content

A viewer’s desire for story resolution shaped by narrative setup

Expectation

An object of seeming importance to characters but minor narrative value

MacGuffin

Representation of real-world experience on screen

Realism

Stylized or imaginative representation beyond reality

Antirealism

The convincing appearance of truth or realism

Verisimilitude

Combining lighting, movement, sound, and camera into single meaningful units

Cinematic Language

Editing and camera work that stretch, compress, or distort time and space

Manipulation of Time and Space

The idea that film dynamizes space and spatializes time

Panofsky’s Theory

A chain of cause-and-effect events in time and space

Narrative

The act of telling the story

Narration

A narrator who is a character within the story

First-Person Narrator

A narrator outside of the story world

Third-Person Narrator

A character who breaks the fourth wall to talk to the audience

Direct Address

A narrator who knows everything about all characters and events

Omniscient Narrator

Narration limited to one character’s perspective

Restricted Narration

All events (seen and unseen) and elements that make up the film’s world

Story

The specific events shown and their arrangement for the viewer

Plot

Everything belonging to the story world—characters, sounds, settings

Diegesis

The movie’s actual runtime as presented to viewers

Screen Duration

The time span the implied story takes to occur

Story Duration

The time covered by events explicitly shown on screen

Plot Duration

A narrative structure with a setup, conflict, and resolution

Three-Act Structure

The highest point of tension where the protagonist faces the main obstacle

Climax

Anxiety caused by partial knowledge of what’s to come

Suspense

An unexpected event that catches the audience off guard

Surprise

The total range of time and space covered by a film’s story

Scope

Everything placed before the camera to be photographed

Mise-en-Scène

Design, lighting, composition, and movement within a frame

Four Major Visual Components

Setting, décor, props, costume, makeup, and hairstyle

Elements of Design

The person who oversees the overall visual design of a film

Production Designer

The person responsible for decorating and dressing the set

Set Decorator

Planned movement of actors according to the needs of the story

Blocking

Movement of people or objects within the frame

Figure Movement

Lighting setup using key light, fill light, and backlight

Three-Point Lighting System

Lighting style with low contrast and even brightness

High-Key Lighting

Lighting style with high contrast and deep shadows

Low-Key Lighting

Lighting from behind a subject creating silhouettes or dramatic effects

Backlighting

A visual framing guide dividing the image into nine equal parts for balance

Rule of Thirds

Empty or open areas in the frame suggesting isolation or tension

Negative Space

Visual arrangement that communicates story and mood intentionally

Composition

The idea that everything within a film’s frame is deliberately chosen

Purpose of Mise-en-Scène

Techniques and ideas that act as film grammar

Cinematic Language (Summary)

How the movie tells its story through visuals and sound

Formal Analysis (Summary)

Story elements inside vs. outside the world of the film

Diegetic vs. Nondiegetic

Believability and internal consistency of the movie world

Verisimilitude (Review)

Planned physical movement and arrangement of actors

Blocking (Review)

Bright lighting with low contrast and minimal shadows

High-Key Lighting (Review)

Dark, shadow-heavy lighting with strong contrast

Low-Key Lighting (Review)

Framing principle for balanced visual composition

Rule of Thirds (Review)

Tension created by audience foreknowledge of danger

Suspense (Review)

Shock created by sudden, unexpected narrative turns

Surprise (Review)