Film Appreciation

Open Course in English

Film Appreciation

An Introduction

Film (also known as a movie / motion picture or cinema) is a series of motion

pictures. It is created by recording photographic images with cameras or by creating images
using animation techniques or visual effects. Films are made up of a series of individual
images known as ‘Frames’. When these images are arranges or shown rapidly in succession,
a viewer has the illusion that motion is happening. In the United Kingdom and all over
Europe, cinema is popularly known as ‘Film’ while in the US, it is known as ‘Movie’.
Synonyms of cinema include ‘Silver Screen’, ‘Big Screen’, ‘Celluloid’, etc. The material
‘film’ is a thin strip of plastic or other material with light-sensitive emulsion for exposure
in a camera.

Films are cultural artefacts created out of a specific background, which reflect those
cultures and tradition and, in turn, affect them. Cinema is considered to be a mass-medium -
an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating
– or indoctrinating – citizens. The visual elements of cinema provide a universal power of
communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or
subtitles that translate the dialogue into the language of the viewer.

Definition of Cinema

Cinema can be roughly defined as ‘a combination of shots’. According to Jean-Luc

Godard, the French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic, “Cinema is the most
beautiful fraud in the world”. He has also said that. “Photography is truth. The cinema is
truth in twenty-four times per second”.

One can analyse cinema from different angles. Cinema is an art, business and
technology. The literary aspects of a movie include plot, characters, setting, themes, point of
view (of the makers), recurring images and the use of symbols. Like in drama, cinema also
has actors portraying characters through dialogue, costumes, and makeup – sets or locations
and a director (captain of the ship) who stamp his identity over the product (film).

What is Cinema / Film?

Cinema is the biggest form of entertainment for the masses. Cinema can be
entertaining, but it also has the power to create awareness among the people about their
socio-economic problems, and contribute to changes in the society. In cinema, an idea gets
transmitted through the moving pictures and later on with the help of sounds. In cinema, the

N.S.S. College, Pandalam

 Film Appreciation

most important aspect is ‘time’. Cinema arranges and rearranges time.

Basic Components of Cinema

Script – A piece of prose, longer and more detailed than an outline – written text of a film.

Screenplay – A piece of writing that includes the movement, actions, expression, and
dialogues of the characters

Shooting Script – A detailed final version of the screenplay with the separate scenes
arranged in proper sequence, and used by the cast. It includes - Scene number + type of shot
+ position of the camera + time and location + movement of the camera + lens or filter +
topic; props; character; dialogues; music and effect; cut or fade (editing style).

Story Board – A sequential series of illustrations, stills, rough sketches and/or captions
(sometimes resembling a comic or cartoon strip) of events, as seen through the camera lens,
that outline the various shots or provide a synopsis for a proposed film story.

Different Stages of Production

The three stages of cinema creation – 1. Pre-production (paper works including script,
casting, etc.) – 2. Production (Filming – at the time of shoot and later dubbing) – 3. Post-
production (final touches).

Sound Mixing

Sound effects are added to improve the standard of the movie. The sound can be either
Diegetic or Non-Diegetic.

Diegetic simply means realistic or logically existing, such as the music that plays on a
character's radio in a scene; more generally, it refers to the narrative elements of a film (such
as spoken dialogue, other sounds, action) that appear in, are shown, or naturally originate
within the content of the film frame. It can also be referred to as the ‘on-screen’ sounds.

Non-diegetic elements include sounds such as background music, the musical score, a voice-
over, or other sounds. Eg: Narration in a documentary (voice-over). It can also be referred to
as the ‘off-screen’ sounds.

Synchronous Sound - Sound coordinated with and derived from a film’s visuals.

Nonsynchronous Sound - Sound that combines sounds from one source with visuals from
another, such as intense argument with only a man walking alone visible, or the sounds of a
rooster accompanying visuals of a classroom lecturer.

N.S.S. College, Pandalam

 Film Appreciation

Language of Cinema

Types of Shots

The various types of shots are - Extreme Long Shot, Long Shot (LS), Medium Shot
(MS), Close-up (CU), Extreme Close-up (ECU) and Over the Shoulder Shot (OS).

Establishing Shot (or Extreme Long Shot): Shot taken from a great distance, almost always
an exterior shot, shows much of locale. Eg. the outside of a building, or a landscape; Only a
little detail is visible and such a shot gives a general impression – like the beginning of a
story.

Long Shot (LS): a relative term, a shot taken from a sufficient distance to show a landscape,
a building, or a large crowd. It shows the image as approximately as “life” size and it gives
the audience the feel of the real distance between the audience and the screen. The focus is on
the characters with plenty of background in detail.

Medium Shot (MS): also relative, a shot between a long shot and a close-up that shows
people from the waist up. This is also known as ‘Dialogue shot’ where the background is
minimal and focus is on interaction.

Close-up (CU): a shot of a face or object that fills the screen completely. It adds maximum
importance to the object with little background and magnifies the object. It takes us into the
mind of a character revealing all the details.

Extreme Close-up (ECU): a shot of a small object or a part of a face that fills the screen and
it creates a dramatic effect.

Over the Shoulder Shot (OS): Usually contains two figures, one with his/her back to the
camera, and the other facing the camera.

Dolly Shot – It refers to a moving shot in which the perspective of the subject and
background is changed; the shot is taken from a camera that is mounted on a hydraulically-
powered wheeled camera platform (sometimes referred to as a truck or dolly), pushed on rails
(special tracks) and moved smoothly and noiselessly during filming while the camera is
running.

Tilt Shot (Oblique Angle) – Shot taken with the camera tilted up or down on a diagonal
along a vertical axis - a vertical camera movement from a fixed position often used to suggest
an imbalance, or strangeness, or to emphasize size, power or menace.

Dutch Angle – Shot taken with an extreme diagonal tilt which shows imbalance. The angle is
also known as Dutch tilt or canted angle. It is used to portray psychological uneasiness or

N.S.S. College, Pandalam

 Film Appreciation

tension in the subject being filmed.

Pan Shot – The abbreviation for panorama shot. It refers to the horizontal scan, movement,
rotation or turning of the camera in one direction (to the right or left) around a fixed axis
while filming.

Handheld Shot – The shot taken with a handheld camera or deliberately made to appear
unstable, shaky or wobbly; often used to suggest either documentary footage, 'realism,' news
reporting, cinema verite, or amateur cinematography.

Types of Angles

The angle is determined by where the camera is placed not the subject matter. The angles can
serve as commentary on the subject matter. The main angles are Bird’s Eye View, High
Angle, Eye-Level and Low Angle

Bird’s Eye View – The Camera is placed directly overhead. The shot looks extremely
disorienting and the Viewer is Godlike.

High Angle (h /a) - Camera looks down at what is being photographed. This angle takes
away power of subject, makes it insignificant. The camera is elevated above the action using
a crane to give a general overview. It takes away power of subject and makes it insignificant.

Eye-Level – Often described as a neutral shot. The camera is positioned as though it is a

human actually observing a scene. The camera will be placed approximately five to six feet
from the ground.

Low Angle (l / a) - Camera is located below subject matter and it looks up at what is being
photographed. This angle increases the height and power of the subject. A psychological
domination is made possible through this angle.

Crane Shots – These are actually Dolly-shots-in-the-air. Shot taken by using a crane (or jib).
The camera moves up, down, left, right, swooping in on action or moving diagonally out of
it.

Editing

The process (performed by a film editor) of selecting, assembling, arranging,

collating, trimming, structuring, and splicing-joining together many separate camera
takes (includes sound also) of exposed footage (or daily rushes) into a complete,
determined sequence or order of shots (or film) - that follows the script.

Digital Editing refers to changing film frames by digitizing them and modifying them
electronically. Relational editing refers to editing shots to suggest a conceptual link

N.S.S. College, Pandalam

 Film Appreciation

between them. An editor works in a cutting room and the choice of shots has a
tremendous influence upon the film's final appearance.

Different Steps in Editing

Capturing (Rushes) - (From camera to the system) - First Assembly (Rough Cut) -
Fine Cut - Final Cut

Different Styles of Editing

Cut: the most common type of transition in which one scene ends and a new one immediately
begins.

Fade-out/Fade-in: one scene gradually goes dark and the new one gradually emerges from
the darkness. It is used as a transitional device consisting of a gradual change from a
normally lit scene to darkness (fade out, fade-to-black) or from complete black to full
exposure (fade in), or from silence to sound- a 'fade in' is often at the beginning of a
sequence, and a 'fade out' at the end of a sequence.

Dissolve: a gradual transition in which the end of one scene is superimposed over the
beginning of the a new one

Wipe: an optical effect in which one shot appears to "wipe" the preceding one from the
screen. Special wipes include flip wipes, iris wipes, star wipes, etc.

Iris - An earlier cinematographic technique or wipe effect, in the form of an expanding or

diminishing circle, in which a part of the screen is blacked out so that only a portion of the
image can be seen by the viewer.

Match Cutting – This cut makes sure that there is a spatial and visual logic combination. A
cut between two shots that creates the illusion of the character (in the first shot) looking at an
object (in the second shot). Eg: In the first shot, the character is shown looking at an object
off screen and the second shot shows what is being looked at.

Jump Cut – It is an abrupt, disorienting transitional device in the middle of a continuous shot
in which the action is noticeably advanced in time and/or cut between two similar scenes,
either done accidentally (a technical flaw or the result of bad editing) or purposefully (to
create discontinuity for artistic effect).

Cross – Cutting - The editing technique of alternating, interweaving, or interspersing one

narrative action (scene, sequence, or event) with another - usually in different locations or
places. The editor combines the two events and this editing method suggests parallel action
(that takes place simultaneously). It is often used to dramatically build tension and suspense

N.S.S. College, Pandalam

 Film Appreciation

in chase scenes, or to compare two different scenes. It is also known as inter-cutting or

parallel editing.

Flash Back – It is a filmic technique that alters the natural order of the narrative. A flashback
may often be the entire film - it takes the story order back chronologically in time to a
previous or past event, scene, or sequence that took place prior to the present time frame of
the film. The flashbacked story that provides background on action and events is often called
the back-story.

Continuity Editing – A strategy in film practice that ensures narrative continuity. The
editing is invisible thus to provide a coherent narrative. It is also known as Chronological
Editing. Continuity editing is the process, in cinema, of combining more-or-less related shots,
or different components cut from a single shot, into a sequence so as to direct the viewer's
attention to a pre-existing consistency of story across both time and physical location. It is
opposed to Montage editing.

The Use of Lights

Lighting helps the filmmaker to establish the mood of the film and it also takes the
spectators’ attention to the details. The most important term in regard with the use of light is
‘Chiaroscuro’. It is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts
affecting a whole composition. This creates an effect in cinema and photography and hence
known as ‘Chiaroscuro’.

The system of ‘three-point’ lighting

1. Key light – The primary or the key light source which is used to illuminate the subject
and to present strong shadows

2. Fill light – It is positioned near the camera and it fills the shadows thrown by the key
light. It is used to soften the illumination upon the subject and its area

3. Back light – It comes from behind the subject and it creates a separation for the
subject from the background. It balances the brightness of the key light.

Effects of Lighting

1. High-key – It creates little contrast between bright and dark and is used for revealing
the details. It gives clarity, transparency and intelligibility for the object.

2. Low-key – It creates a high contrast presenting the harsh and the hard. Normally this
kind is used in horror and mystery films for the presentation of the underworld,
shadowy world, fear, evil, etc.

N.S.S. College, Pandalam

 Film Appreciation

Focus

It is the focus, which determines the effect and the sharpness of the image. Focus depends on
the range of lenses regarding the focal length.

Two kinds of Focus

Deep Focus and Shallow Focus

Deep Focus presents maximum depth of field with wide-angle shots (to highlight the
background). It gives a feel of realism and enhances the magnitude

In Shallow Focus or Narrow Focus, the image fills the screen. The sharpness and clarity is
high and the background is blurred or not clear (the image is foregrounded)

180 Degree Rule

It is a screen direction rule that cameramen must follow. The concept is an imaginary line on
one side of the axis of action is made (e.g., between two principal actors in a scene), and the
camera must not cross over that line - otherwise, there is a distressing visual discontinuity and
disorientation.

Genre Films

Genre refers to the method based on similarities in the narrative elements from which
films are constructed. Generally, the term is used to name the class or type of a particular
film (i.e., westerns, sci-fi, etc.) that shares common, predictable or distinctive artistic and
thematic elements, narrative content, plot, and subject matter, mood and milieu (or setting) or
characters. The genres include Children's films, family films, cult films, animation films,
documentary films, pornographic films and silent films. A further categorization is listed
below.

Buddy Films – for the boys; friendship between two or more male protagonists (father –
son). Two mismatched persons (usually males) are forced to work together, often a pair of
police cops; situations are often contrived to present the pair with challenges or strains that
both strengthen their bond and weaken it. Buddy films are often action/comedy films with
witty dialogues and sometimes with the the inclusion of a love triangle. Eg: Men in Black
(1997)

Road Movie – discovery, obtaining self-knowledge, roadster is a male and it presents his
perspective, sequence of events unveiled. A road movie is a film genre in which the main
characters leave home to travel from place to place, typically altering the perspective from
their everyday lives. It is a type of bildungsroman, a story in which the hero changes, grows

N.S.S. College, Pandalam

 Film Appreciation

or improves over the course of the story.

Fantasy Films – horror, science fiction, adventure – journey to improbable places, meetings
with improbable creatures, use of myths

Gangster / Detective / Thriller Films – Action packed, popular cinema, resolving mystery,
male heroics, stylized

War Movies – Resistance films, heroics, thrilling events, evoking pity

Animation Films – The shooting inanimate objects, such as drawings, frame by frame in
stop-motion photography. Eg: Tom and Jerry

Romantic / Family oriented films – story of relationships

Musical – Descent from the opera, musical and romantic elements (songs), dance, colourful,
costume dramas (films which refer to the time in history through the costumes), imaginative,
fantasy. It is a major film genre category denoting a film that emphasizes segments of song
and dance interspersed within the action and dialogue; known for its distinctive artists, stars,
singers, and dancers. There are two major types of Musical - 'backstage' musicals and 'music-
integrated' musicals.

The Jazz Singer (Alan Crosland, 1927)

My Fair Lady (George Cukor, 1964)

Western – also known as the ‘Horse Opera’ – adventure, migration, individualism – Cowboy
films. Westerns are the major defining genre of the American film industry - a eulogy to the
early days of the expansive American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most enduring
genres with very recognizable plots, elements, and characters (six-guns, horses, dusty towns
and trails, cowboys, Indians, etc.). Over time, westerns have been re-defined, re-invented and
expanded, dismissed, re-discovered, and spoofed. Examples include The Great Train
Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903); Movies of Clint Eastwood.

Documentary – It is a non-fiction (factual), narrative film with real people (not performers
or actors. Normally, it is a low-budget, journalistic record of an event, person, or place. A
documentary film-maker should be an observer, capturing reality as it happens. Documentary
is also referred to as ‘doc’ or ‘docu’. It is also called direct cinema.

Film Noir

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime
dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations.
Hollywood's classical film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early

N.S.S. College, Pandalam

 Film Appreciation

1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white
visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography.

Film noir encompasses a range of plots: the central figure may be a private eye (The
Big Sleep), a plainclothes policeman (The Big Heat), an aging boxer (The Set-Up), a hapless
person (Night and the City), a law-abiding citizen lured into a life of crime (Gun Crazy), or
simply a victim of circumstance (D.O.A.).
Chronology

Up to 1895 – Pre-Cinema

1896 – 1915 – The Origin of Cinema (From Slideshow to Art form)

1916 – 1930 – Silent Film – The Arrival of Radio and Sound Films (Talkies) – The
emergence of Hollywood and of course the time of World War I.

1931 – 1945 – The Transition Age - The time of Hollywood and Radio. Domination by the
Studios; Genre movies and of course the time of World War II.

1946 – 1960 – The Arrival of Television and Colour Movies (Decline of Hollywood)

1961 – 1980 – The Media World (The New Wave times)

1981 to the present – The Media World leading to the Digital World.

Select Bibliography

Villarejo, Amy. Film Studies – The Basics. New York: Routledge, 2007.

Hayward, Susan. Key Concepts in Cinema Studies. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Monaco, James. How to Read a Film? New York: OUP, 2000.

Various other Online Sources

\
Ranjith Krishnan K.R

N.S.S. College, Pandalam