Film Language

By Lucy Clarke

What is film language?

• Film language means the terms, jargon and key features

to explain what is included in film making e.g. you would

have to think about the following…

Opening sequence

• An opening sequence is the start to the film which to be

successful should introduce an establishing shot to show

the location and setting of the film, should introduce

characters especially the main character, establish the

genre (theme) of the film and should introduce a hook

(the drama which starts a storyline)

• To introduce a introduce the hook, if the film was a

horror film you could have the first shot of a dead body.

This will make the viewer instantly question who it is,

what the cause was and why it happened.

Diegesis

• The diegesis of a film means the story with in the film and

what the viewers what and see on the screen. Relationships

between characters are the diegesis and the storyline is the

diegesis. This is just another way of saying everything that is

in the film.

Diegetic and non diegetic sound

• Diegetic sound means the sounds which are visible on

screen. For example, the characters in the film would be able

to hear the following sounds e.g. dialogue (the conversations

within the film) movements made by the characters e.g. car

doors slamming or footstep which makes a horror scene

intense, music within the characters (this is likely to be from

headphones or from a radio)

• Non diegetic sound is obviously the opposite to diegetic

sound as unlike diegetic, the characters within the film are

not able to hear these sounds this refers to the following, the

narrators commentary, sound effects which is added for the

dramatic effect and music to set the mood for the film. This

is often found during the credit roll at the start

Synchronous/Asynchronous sound

• Synchronous sound is Sound that fits in with the pace or the beat

of the action taking place on the screen e.g.

Music that corresponds with the clashing of swords

footsteps corresponding with the opening music e.g. Julia Roberts

walking down the street and her footsteps match to the beat to the music

in pretty woman.

Speech that is in time with lip movement (not subbed)

• Asynchronous sound is the opposite of synchronous sound meaning

Sound doesn’t fit into the pace or the beat of the action taking place on

the

Music that doesn’t correspond with the action

Speech/dialogue that isn’t time with lip movement (films that have been

dubbed) Dubbed films are normally seen if a famous film is show in a

different country so the television company who is showing the film will

dub the voices out and replace it with the countries language.

Parallel and contrapuntal sound

• Parallel sound describes the condition where audio and visual

effects match, not in synchrony, but in tone and mood.

This means in a romantic film, if a couple are dancing

together and there is a romantic genre of music playing in the

background. This would be parallel as the music matches the mood.

• Contrapuntal sound occurs when the music and visual elements

are played against each other, which contrasts with the mood of

the film. Unlike parallel the sound is very different to the

theme/mood of the film. For example a children's voice could be

used in a horror scene to add intensity and drama. Using a

child's voice gives the connotation of innocence when in actual

fact the viewer is about to watch a gory/violent scene.

Ambient sound, sound bridge and sound motif

• A sound motif is the reason behind a sound clip. this is most often used/known in

pantomimes when characters enter on the stage. For example if the evil character

of the show walks on, he/she will have a sound motif (which is a small clip of

sound/music) playing which sound evil to match the characters traits.

• A sound bridge is overlapping sound meaning when a clip of sound playing is

then turned into a different sound as they have both been mixed up this is

normally used in action films to add intensity and excitement.

• Lastly, ambient sound is just background sound which can be used as a filler

which can stop viewers getting confused as to why there is no sound. If there

was a shot of a person walking outside and there was no sound, it would give a

sense of the shot being unrealistic as there will always be sound outside e.g.

airplanes, birds, wind etc.

Types of shotThere are many types of shots used in a film some may include extreme close up,

close up, medium close up, medium shot, medium long shot, long shot and

extreme long shot. These are the basics of camera shots. These are basic but if

used right can all add drama and excitement to a film clip. For example at the

bottom of the page is two shot which are show one after the other in the good, the

bad an the ugly film. This is effective camera work at is best and is an inspiration

to all film producers everywhere. These two clips show the use of types of shots,

as the first shot shows a medium long shot of the cowboy character and then

instantly in the next cut, jumps to an extreme close up. This was done to show the

intensity and the drama behind this scene and gave the viewers a chance to grasp

an idea of what is going on. From going to one type of shot to another, it shows

the fast pace of the scene. The extreme close up is initially used to show

emotion/expression of the character which for this shows concentration and

anger. Where as the medium long shot looks more at the mise en scene and outfit

and background. This explores the theme of the movie.

• Other types of shot may include establishing shots, which are

shots to show a scene/setting. This is normally found in an

opening sequence to give the audience a hint of the location of

the film and could lead to the revealing of the theme of the

film.

• Birds-eye view is a type of camera angle which looks down on

the picture. This could highlight the height of where the

camera is situated whilst looking down on the setting.

• Worms-eye view is the opposite of birds-eye meaning that the

camera looks up at the characters or settings. This is

commonly used to look up at buildings to emphasise the height

this links into the setting of the film.

• Lastly the most often used camera angle is eyelevel this is just

the normal shot that is used in between the other shots. All

shot are used to vary the scenes.

Camera movement • Zooming/panning is one camera move that most people are probably most

used to. It involves changing the focal length of the lens to make the subject

appear closer or further away. Zooming is one of the most frequently-used

camera moves and one of the most overused. Panning means the camera is

focused on one object and zooms in to focus on the importance of that

object/person.

• Dolly is a Motion towards or motion from. The phrase dolly-in means step

towards the subject with the camera, while dolly-out means to step backwards

with the camera, keeping the zoom the same. Zooming the camera changes

the focal length of the lens, which can introduce wide-angle distortion or

changes in the apparent depth of field. For this reason, it's sometimes

preferable to dolly than zoom. This means that the camera will be placed onto

a track with wheels and can slide around to create movement on screen.

• A pedestal means a movement that changes the shot from being birds eye/eye

level/worms eye. Unlike tilting the camera, this is simply moving the camera

up and down. For example, If you wanted to shot pictures of a baby, you

would want to lower the camera. If you wanted to shot a tall person, you

would raise the height of the camera. The purpose would be to make it appear

that the subject is 'eye to eye' with the viewer

180 degree ruleThe 180 degree rule is a basic convention in media which means, two characters

should always have the same left and right relationship to each other. When a

camera crosses the ‘axis’ connecting to two subjects, it is called crossing the

line/breaking the 180 degree rule. Which shows the reverse angle of the shot.

This picture which describes the 180

degree rule shows the axis between

two characters and the 180 degree arc

on which cameras may be positioned

(the green section) when cutting from

the green section to the red section,

the characters appear to swap places

on the screen. This shows when

filming two people in this position,

you must only use the camera angles

within the green section.

Mise en scene • Mise-en-scène is an expression used to describe the elements of film production,

which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a story both should be

considered in storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in

filmography.

• All elements of film making are considered in each shot. E.g. lighting, posture,

colour balance, costume/props/scenery, hair/make up and set design. If used

correctly and accurately, all these elements can make a successful film with

clever and effective connotations throughout.

• If there was a lady portraying old age, her posture may be stiff and hunched over

to give the connotation she is quite fragile. As opposed to a person portraying

young age, who’s posture may be very relaxed, loose and flexible. Also lighting is

used to portray youth may be quite bright, as a connotation that they are youthful

and energetic. Also make up can give an actor/actress their characteristics and can

be dressed in accordance to their roles. For example, to give a connotation of old

age, you may use make up to give them dark/baggy skin and wrinkles to

represent aging.

• Scenery is important in films as the audience can distinguish the where-abouts of

the film, this could lead to better understanding of the film. However to

emphasise on a certain mood of the location you could adjust the scenery. For

example if the film was a sort of gangster theme, you could shoot urban areas,

Council estates and spray painted buildings to set the theme and give that certain

vibe