6: Acting and Performance

character actor

a secondary performer who specializes in playing a similar recognizable character type from film to film

the method

an acting technique derived from the teachings of stanislavsky, the actor studio though which performers explore their own feelings and memories in an attempt to create more naturalistic characters onstage and screen

naturalism

in acting, an attempt by a performer to appear not to be performing, because of changing ideas about what constitutes a realistic performance the term naturalistic is more flexible and useful than realistic

auteurism

a critical theory developed in france a popularized in the US by andrew sarris, that views the director as a films chief creator, values a directors personal style over whatever literary merit a screenplay may have and ranks directors according to perceived morality of their worldview

representation

a sign or symbol that communicates meaning with a combination of content and form. all films and photographs are representation no matter how realistic they may seem

form

in art the shape and structure of the artwork in film all the specific techniques used by filmmakers to create expressive meaning

composition

the formal arrangements of shapes within the image including people sets props and landscapes elements.

motivated (camera movement)

camera movements are those that are promoted by the characters and events in the film.

mobile framing

the general term that describes the cameras ability to move whereas still photography is in a word, still, cinema is about motion the objects and characters in the image move and so may the camera itself

reframing

any camera movement including even the most minute readjustment- for instance, the camera pans ever so slightly to the left to keep a characters head centered in the image when she shifts a little in close up

camera operator

the member of the cinematographers crew who is chiefly responsible for running the camera and setting the camera in place with the aid of a viewfinder. (first assistant camera operator or focus puller, 2nd assistant or clapper, and clapboard are involved)

cinematographer

director of photography, the person in charge of selecting the cameras, lenses, film stocks and overall lighting design in the masking of a motion picture and overseeing the work of the camera operator if they are not operating the camera

image track

that portion of the cinematic medium that contains the picture as opposed to the soundtrack

soundtrack

the portion of the cinematic medium that contains aural information- dialogue ,music and sound effects

score

the music usually nondiegetic, that accompanies the image

unmotivated (camera movement)

camera movements are those that pertain to the filmmakers commentary on the characters and events