Film Form

Hard Openings

Beginning a film with an intense or dramatic moment to capture the audience's attention immediately.

Soft Openings

Gradually introducing the audience to the story, allowing time for immersion into the world and characters.

Film Form

The way different elements within a film work together to create meaning and emotional responses.

Narrative Structure

How events in a film unfold and relate to each other.

Stylistic Elements

Components such as camera movements, color schemes, music, and editing techniques that contribute to a film's overall form.

Form Versus Content

The distinction where form actively shapes content and audience perception rather than being merely a container for it.

Formal Expectations

The expectations generated by film form that guide audience anticipation.

Conventions

Established practices in storytelling that filmmakers use to meet audience expectations.

Referential Meaning

Concrete meanings that relate to real-world references within a film.

Explicit Meaning

Clear and openly stated messages within a film.

Implicit Meaning

More abstract meanings suggesting deeper themes within a film.

Realistic Criteria

Evaluation based on how realistic a film's narrative and elements are.

Moral Criteria

Judging films based on their depiction of values such as nudity, violence, or profanity.

Disunity

A lack of coherence in a film's structure that may enhance thematic elements.

Function

The purpose of each film element and how it guides audience responses.

Similarity and Repetition

A structural tool in filmmaking involving the recurrence of key elements to create patterns.

Motif

A repeated significant element in a film that contributes to its overall form.

Parallels

Comparing elements across a narrative to highlight similarities.

Development

The progression of a film through alternating repetition and difference.

Staircases and Doors

Symbolic elements in the film representing social mobility and transitions between classes.

Ki-woo

A character in Parasite who represents ambition and class struggle.

Scholar's Rock

A symbol in Parasite representing false hope and the cyclical nature of poverty.

Rain Imagery

Contrasting imagery in Parasite highlighting disparities between the rich and the poor.

Status Anxiety

The anxiety related to one's social status and the perception of wealth and power.

Gender Roles

The depiction of gender within film narratives and how they relate to class structures.

Filmmaker Intent

The necessity for filmmakers to communicate themes through formal properties of their films.

Complexity in Film Meaning

The idea that a film's meaning is often complex and can have multiple interpretations.

Cyclical Structure

A narrative technique where the ending mirrors the beginning to emphasize themes.

Evaluation Principles

Frameworks for assessing films that include function, similarity, repetition, and unity.

Playing with Expectations

A technique in filmmaking that involves subverting audience anticipations to create surprise.

Thresholds and Boundaries

Narrative elements that illustrate the divide between class structures.

Character Dynamics

Relationships and interactions among characters that drive narrative engagement.

Unity

The cohesive quality of a film where all elements work together harmoniously to create a clear and compelling narrative.