Film Motifs, Editing, Sound, and Narrative Analysis for Film Studies

Run Lola Run motif

Time loops / repetition - the same 20 minutes replay with variations.

Run Lola Run director

Tom Tykwer

Gravity motif

Silence and soundlessness - isolation, disorientation in space.

Gravity director

Alfonso Cuarón

Citizen Kane Motif

"Rosebud" / childhood innocence - longing for lost simplicity.

Citizen Cane Director

Orson Welles

The Headless Woman motif

Amnesia / disorientation - blurred memory as psychological repression.

Mirrors and surfaces - fractured identity and uncertainty.

The Headless Woman director

Lucretia Martel

Strangers on a Train motif

Duality / doubles - Guy and Bruno as mirrored opposites.

Criss-cross imagery - fate, entanglement, moral crossing of lines.

Strangers on a Train director

Alfred Hitchcock

The River Motif

Floods / water - the destructive and renewing power of nature

The River director

Pare Lorentz

Tongues Untied motif

Voice / spoken word - reclaiming narrative and identity.

Chant and rhythm ("brother to brother") - collective identity.

Tongues Untied director

Marlon Riggs

The Sixth Sense motif

Cold / temperature drops - presence of ghosts.

Childhood vulnerability - innocence confronted with trauma.

The Sixth Sense director

M. Night Shyamalan,

Dissolve

One shot fades into another; suggests passage of time or connection.

Fade-in

Image gradually appears from black.

Fade-out

Image gradually disappears into black

Wipe

One shot replaces another with a moving boundary line

Graphic Relations

Visual similarities or contrasts (shapes, color, composition).

Rhythmic Relations

Duration of shots and tempo of cutting.

Spatial Relations

Constructed space created by editing (Kuleshov effect).

Temporal Relations

Controls story time: order, duration, frequency.

Kuleshov Effect

We can understand something by adding 2 things together:

face emoting+ soup= hungry

Face + grave= sadness

Same face

Graphic Match

Linking shots by similar visual elements (shapes, color, movement).

Crosscutting

Alternating between two or more actions happening simultaneously.

Flashback

Move to earlier story time.

Flashforward

Move to later story time.

Punctuation transitions

Dissolve, fade, wipe.

Empty Frames

Character leaves; next shot skips ahead.

Cutaways

Insert other imagery to skip unimportant action.

Overlapping Editing

Action is repeated across multiple shots → extends story time.

Continuity Editing

Goal: clear spatial/temporal coherence.

Axis of Action (180° rule)

Stays on one side of line of action for spatial clarity.

Consistent Screen Direction

Movement direction remains stable.

Establishing Shot

Sets up space and character positions.

Shot/Reverse-Shot

Back-and-forth between characters' viewpoints.

Eyeline Match

Cut from a character looking to what they see.

Match on Action

Action continues seamlessly across cuts.

Cheat Cut

Small continuity change that doesn't break viewer comprehension.

Montage Sequence

Condensed series of shots showing passage of time, typically with music.

Jump Cut

A cut that disrupts temporal continuity by skipping forward; creates jarring effect.

Types of Sound

Speech/Dialogue, Music, Noise/Sound Effects, Silence (intentional absence of sound).

Loudness

Volume/intensity.

Pitch

High/low sound frequency.

Timbre

Sound quality or tone

Rhythm

Beat, tempo, pattern.

Fidelity

Accuracy of sound relative to its source.

Space

Where sound originates (on/offscreen; diegetic/nondiegetic).

Time

Synchronization with image; order.

Coordination vs. Disparity

Coordination: Sound matches image; Disparity: Sound contrasts with image (irony, tension).

Mickey Mousing

Music mimics onscreen actions literally.

Diegetic Sound

Exists within the story world.

Nondiegetic Sound

Exists outside story world (score, narration).

Diegesis

The film's story world.

Onscreen Sound

Source visible.

Offscreen Sound

Source not visible but in the story world.

Internal Sound

Inside a character's mind (thoughts).

External Sound

Normal sound of the environment.

Dialogue Overlap

Dialogue continues across a cut.

Sound Bridge

Sound carries over from one shot/scene to another. Another time

Narrative

Chain of events linked by cause and effect occurring in time and space.

Story

All events (explicit + implied).

Plot

Only what is shown/heard in the film, plus nondiegetic elements.

Screen Duration

How long the film runs.

Story Duration

How long the story lasts.

Temporal Order

Sequence of plot events (e.g., flashbacks).

Frequency

How often events are shown.

Narration

How story information is delivered.

Character Subjectivity

Access to thoughts, POV, dreams, hallucinations.

Restricted Narration

Audience knows only what one character knows.

Unrestricted Narration

Audience knows more than any character.

Seven Characteristics of Typical Hollywood Narrative

1. goal oriented protag

2. obstacles

3. Protag motivates casual chain

4. time subordinated- how time is presented

5. deadlines and appointments- dialogue tells next setting

6. dual plot

7. Closure

Genre

Category based on shared conventions (iconography, narrative patterns, themes).

Why group?

Audience expectations, Marketing, Industry production strategies, Critical analysis.

Authorship

Identifying stylistic and thematic signatures of filmmakers.

Why group films by author?

Recognizing directorial voice (auteur theory), Comparing recurring themes, techniques, obsessions, Understanding creative control and artistic identity.

Categorical Form

Organizes information by category or class.

Rhetorical Form

Uses persuasive argument; tries to convince the viewer.

Abstract Form

Take everyday things and make it unfamiliar

Associational Form

relating unconnected images and sounds