Visual and multimodal language features (niche, without editing/sound)

Mise en scene

all the visual elements within the frame – lighting, setting, and subject

Lighting elements

colour, contrast, key (lighting which helps establish the tone of the image – high key is bright with few shadows, vice versa)

Setting elements

environment, props

Subject elements

body language, costume

Composition

refers to the specific placement of elements within an image that draws the viewer’s eye – camera angle, shot type

Camera angle

eye level, high/low angle, oblique (an image captured on an angle)

Shot type

close up, long shot, medium shot

Close up shot

can be confronting, forces the viewer to focus on a particular detail of the subject

Long shot

positions the viewer far away from the subject to create emotional distance or reveal the subject’s small stature

Medium shot

brings the subject closer to the viewer showing their torso and head, offers detailed representation of the subject

Film stock

the type of film used (eg. B/W, sepia, colour)

Proxemics

the relative closeness of subjects within the image – the closer they are, the closer the relationship

Salience

refers to the dominant subject of the image, created though size, focus, lighting and/or colour

Staging positions

the direction the subjects face relative to the camera (eg. full front, quarter turn, profile, back to camera)

Text

refers to any words in the image – position, ratio, typography

Dolly

gives the impression that the viewer is moving to/from the subject

Handheld

used to mimic human movement, creates intimacy between the viewer and subject

Pedestal

camera moves vertically up or down without changing angle, creates the sense that the viewer is moving with the subject

Truck

camera moves horizontally, maintaining focus on the subject without changing the angle (different from pan as angle changes), used to create the sense that the viewer is mobbing along with the subject

Zoom

used to highlight specific details or manipulate the intimacy of the relationship between viewer and subject