Film Appreciation

the silence of the lambs

Jonathan Demme; Quantico, Virginia

citizen kane

Orson Welles; New York City

vertigo

Alfred Hitchcock; San Francisco

punch drunk love

Paul Thomas Anderson; San Fernando Valley (California)

do the right thing

Spike Lee; Brooklyn, New York

rashomon

Akira Kurosawa; Kyoto, Japan

sunrise: a song of two humans

F.W. Murnau; Lake Arrowhead

the rules of the game

Jean Renoir; France

jeanne dielman

Chantal Akerman; Brussels, Belgium

the power of the dog

Jane Campion; Montana

DDLJ

Aditya Chopra; India

paris is burning

Jennie Livingston; New York City

joint security area

Park Chan-wook; Korea

the king of comedy

Martin Scorsese; New York City

true stories

David Byrne; Virgil, Texas

cache

Michael Haneke; Paris, France

comingled containers

Stan Brakhage; the water

dots

Norman McLaren

koyaanisqatsi

Godfrey Reggio; US

pre-production

phase in filmmaking where all the planning and preparation happens before actual shooting

production

phase in filmmaking where the actual shooting or recording takes place.

post-production

phase after filming where all the footage and audio is edited and refined

dolly

a camera on wheels that moves to follow action or show something close

pan

camera movement where the camera moves horizontally (left to right)

tilt

camera movement where the camera moves vertically (up and down)

zoom

the camera lens changes to make something look closer or farther away without moving the camera

extreme close up

a super close shot of a small detail, like someone’s eye or a hand

close-up

a shot of someone’s face or something important, making it feel personal

medium close-up

a shot that shows someone’s face and a little bit of their body (from chest up)

medium shot

a shot that shows a person from the waist up

wide shot

a shot that shows a person and a lot of their surroundings

extreme wide

a shot that shows a huge area, making the person or subject look very small in comparison

aspect ratio

the shape of the screen (like a rectangle) common ones are wide or square-ish

180-degree rule

a rule for camera placement to keep characters looking in the right direction during a scene

director

the boss of the movie, makes creative choices and tells people how to act

producer

the organizer, handles budget, schedule, and makes sure everything gets done

actor

the person who plays a character

cinematographer

the person in charge of how the movie looks on camera (lighting, shots, colors)

three-act structure

a beginning (setup), middle (conflict), and end (resolution)

direct address

when a character talks straight to the camera (and audience)

flashback

a scene that shows something from the past

denouement

the “wrap-up” at the end of the story where everything gets settled

exposition

the part that gives background info, like who’s who and what’s going on

restricted narration

we only know what one character knows

omniscient narration

we know what everyone is thinking/doing

deep focus

everything in the shot is clear and sharp

dissolve

one scene fades into another

superimposition

two images are shown on top of each other at the same time

establishing shot

a big wide shot that shows where the scene takes place

two-shot

a shot with two people in the frame, often talking to each other

eyeline matching

making sure characters look like they’re looking at each other or at the right thing

jump cut

a quick, jarring edit that skips ahead

match cut

a smooth edit that connects two similar-looking shots

steadicam

a camera setup that lets the shot stay smooth even when the operator moves

canted frame (dutch angle)

the camera is tilted to make the shot look off-balance or weird

montage

a bunch of short clips put together to show the passage of time

score

music made just for the movie, often instrumental for emotional impact

soundtrack

all the music in the movie, including popular songs

diegetic sound

sounds the character can hear (like a radio playing)

non-diegetic sound

sounds only the audience hears (background music)

foley artist

the person who creates sound effects (like footsteps or door creaks)

location shooting

filming in real-world places

soundstage shooting

filming in a studio with built sets

linear narrative

events happen in order

nonlinear narrative

events are out of order (like flashbacks or jumps in time)

the auteur theory

the idea that the director is like the “author” of the film, with their own unique style

biopic

a movie about a real person’s life

story

everything that happens in the world of the film

plot

the specific events we see happen in the movie

genre

the type of movie (comedy, horror, action, etc.)

high key lighting

bright, even lighting—used in comedies and happy scenes

low key lighting

dark, shadowy lighting—used in thrillers or dramas

day and date release

a movie comes out in theaters and streaming/on-demand at the same time

method acting

when an actor deeply “becomes” the character, sometimes even off-screen (austin butler, evan peters, heath ledger)

storyboards

sketches that show what each shot will look like before filming starts (that one scene in the phineas and ferb candace movie)