Film Studies 100 - Formal Film Analysis

Film art

Form: the overall system of relationships amongst the
parts of the film

Film form (two dimensions)

Pattern of elements in a narrative film by which it is organized

1. The film itself

A system of cues that directs a viewer’s attention to relevant details of the film itself to trigger cognitive and emotional responses, and create expectations of what will happen next

2. The viewer’s engagement

The construction of the story and character based on the cues the film supplies, and the emotions the viewer feels as a result of their construction of story and character

Two film elements

Narrative elements: elements that constitute a film’s story (plot, settings, characters, the goals and subjective states of the characters)

Stylistic elements: elements through which the story is told (mise en scene, lighting, camera movement, editing, music, etc)

Both elements work in tandem

Two viewer components (what the viewer brings to a film)

Knowledge about the world (nature, history, social conventions, etc)

Knowledge about films, including story conventions and genre conventions

Motivation

Narrative function of an element of film, can be narrative or stylistic device

• ex. choosing authentic costumes, erasing individuality in a group shot with costume repetition and shot angle, choosing a known actor

Motif

Any significant element that is repeated, frequently bearing thematic significance

Can be narrative or stylistic devices

Variation

Any significant element that is repeated, but that repetition makes variations on past instances, frequently bearing thematic significance

Can be narrative or stylistic devices

Development

Film’s progression from beginning, middle to end, often described as a film’s plot structure

Unity vs Disunity

Unity: degree to which all elements of a film serve a narrative function and are interrelated to other events in a film, often used as an evaluative criteria when assessing a film