The Language of Film

Prof. Myrna Monllor Jimnez

English 124
copyright Myrna Monllor Jimnez 2015

All images used in this presentation were taken from Google and
used solely for educational purposes.
The great thing about literature is that you can
imagine, the great thing about film is that you
cant.

James Monaco, How to Read a Film

 The Theater VS. The Cinema
In plays, the audience always observes the entire
stage and all the actors within that stage.

In film, the filmmaker controls what the audience

sees and how, by choosing the information that
viewer will see and changing the spaces where
the characters will move. This is done mainly
through edit.
 Mise-en-Scne/
Placing on Stage
How everything that appears on the
screen is arranged
Actors
Lighting
Dcor
Props
 Mise-en-Scne

Blancanieves 2012
 Mise-en-Scne

Blancanieves 2012
The better a viewer reads an image the
more he/she understands it.

Their physical reality

What they refer to based on cultural
references
Their various sets of meanings
When you look at a frame, one of the first things to
consider is distance.

Interstellar 2014

How much do you see of the character (s)?

Is it a close up?
Is it a full shot?
Is it a medium shot?
Can you see the whole body or a part of the body?
In general the closer the camera gets to the
characters, the closer the viewer feels towards the
characters.

This is why close ups are often used for:

love scenes

scenes where the character is suffering or

fearful

any other scene where the viewer is supposed

to understand what the character is feeling.
 Close Up

The Great Gatsby 2013

The Theory of Everything 2014
 Medium Shot

Maleficent 2014
The Imitation Game 2014
Black Swan 2011
 As the camera moves further away from the character(s), the
viewer is provided more information about them or about their
situation.

From Rosemarys Baby 1968 From Babel 2006

 Wall-E 2008

The further the camera is from the subject, the more

distant you will feel from what is happening in the scene
or to the character(s).
Selma 2015
Another thing you should consider when observing
A frame is the angle or camera position.

Was the frame shot from high above?

(a high angle)

Was it shot at eye level?

Was it shot from a low angle?

 A frame shot from a high angle is often referred to as
Gods eye view because it suggests that someone
is observing the characters. It can suggest danger
and helplessness.

Anna Karenina 2013 300 2006

Looper, 2012
Paranorman, 2012
Apocalypto 2007
A frame shot from a low angle makes the subject seem larger.

The Wolf of Wall Street 2013

The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946

Django Unchained 2013

The Lone Ranger 2013

The Dark Knight 2008
Inglorious Basterds 2009
Paranorman, 2012
A character that seems larger than another in a frame is usually the
dominant character.

Elysium 2013
The Departed 2006
 Citizen Kane 1941

A canted angle suggests that something is wrong

either in the character or the storys situation.
Artificial Intelligence 2001
Besides shots and angles, you should also watch for symbols.

Some common symbols are:

Images of entrapment are usually shown through characters framed by

doors, gates, or confined spaces (like closets).

From Lucy 2013 From Carrie 1976

 Into the Woods 2014

Pans Labyrinth 2006

Atonement 2007
 The Hours 2002

Drive 2010

The Painted Veil 2006

Inception 2010
Coraline, 2009
Alice in Wonderland, 2010
A Beautiful Mind 2001

The Departed 2006

Images of duality are usually represented by characters reflected
in mirrors , water, glass.

Psycho 1960
 The Matrix 2003

Taxi Driver 1976

The Lady from Shanghai,1947

Black Swan 2010

Birdman 2014
Black Swan 2010
Stairs, dark alleys, canted angles, darkness enveloping a character,
seeing only part of a character are some images of imminent danger.

From American Psycho

From Silence of the Lambs

From Halloween
From Kiss Me Deadly
Light cutting through a character(s), lines
which divide the frame, usually mark images of
characters that are in turmoil.
From Blade Runner 1982

From The Usual Suspects 1995

From The Awful Truth 1937
Sweeney Todd 2007
Other Symbols

Christ figures or
Messianic
figures/Biblical
References
From Dead Man Walking 1995

Crosses

From The Omen 1976

Pans Labyrinth 2006

From Hell 2001
 Inception 2010

Shadows The top

Rebirth

2006

Color

1968

From Schindlers List 1993

Eyes

From The Blair Witch Project 1999

From Un Perro Andaluz 1929

From Psycho 1960

From Spellbound 1945

 From King Kong 1933
Phallic symbols

From Blade 1998

From Rear Window 1954

Blood

Destruction or desecration of
symbols

1976 From Planet of the Apes 1968

 Trains

Slumdog Millionaire 2008

 The Moon Water
From Jaws 1975

From E.T. 1982

Roads Trees

From North by Northwest 1959

and many others

 From Taken 2008

From Alexander 2004

From The Ring 2002

The Black Dahlia 2006

 The Power of the Editor
Editing Made Cinema
The Story of Film

The editor as storyteller

Cuts the film for transition and continuity purposes
and to provide information to the viewer
Omits/eliminates the sections of the story that are
too obvious or unnecessary (ellipsis)
Alternates two or more scenes usually happening
simultaneously that culminate in a place where the
characters face each other (cross cutting/parallel
cutting)
Cross Cutting/Parallel Cutting
Example: Silence of the Lambs 1991

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts1x6uADFtM
Crosscutting: The Godfather

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_I82117oAw
The Kuleshov Effect
The Kuleshov Effect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCK53Lb4-pI
 Other definitions
Clich- overuse of situations, symbols

Voice over-a narrator whose voice is heard

throughout a film

Restricted narration-limited to one character

Omniscient narration-changes from one character to

another, the viewer receives information from many
sources.
 Auteurs/genre

An auteur is a director who manifests a consistency of style and

theme across his/her films. Auteur films are inventive and
creative. Auteur films emphasize their uniqueness.

Genre refers to a mass produced product of the Hollywood film

industry.It studies the conventions of certain kinds of films.
Genre categorizes films according to their thematic and visual
similarities.Genres are not static, they evolve. They also create
certain expectations in the viewer.
 Bibliography

Buckland, Warren. Teach Yourself Film studies.

Hodder & Stoughton, 1998.

Monaco James, How to Read a Film.

Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 2000.

Elements of Cinema.com
http://www.elementsofcinema.com

Copyright2013 Myrna Monllor Jimnez