11 English Studies
Film Techniques

What is required of me?
• Contribution (class discussions, blogs, written and
practical work, homework)
• Collaboration (working independently and in groups,
sharing ideas, fair distribution of responsibility)
• Creativity (be courageous and imaginative with your
ideas)
• Courtesy (no phones, no gum, no talking over each
other)

What is Media?

Reading the Moving Image –
Film Language
• Learning to read and speak the language of film – film
as a text
• Terminology
• Purpose
• Processes
• Analysis
• Commentary
• Production
• Conventions (not rules)
• http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/gramt
v.html

SOUND (music, dialogue, silence, sound effects, real sound) CINEMATOGRAPHY (the look of the film; types of shots;
colours, lighting, locations where action takes place)
PACE AND EDITING (speed of action, length of shots) MISE EN SCENE (what you see on screen; the casting of
characters, their clothing; the details of the environment; props)
Film Title: ____________________________. Excerpt _____min - ____mins. Student Name:_____________________________

• Write the tagline for the film in 8 words or less
• GRAVITY:

• Write the tagline for the film in 8 words or less
• GRAVITY: Don’t play with guns, it’s not fun!
• GRAVITY: You don’t know where the bullet will fall.
• GRAVITY: Don’t let others pull you down.
• GRAVITY: What goes up must come down.
• GRAVITY: Once it draws you in, there’s no way out.
• GRAVITY: What goes around comes around.
• GRAVITY: Don’t let the trigger drag you down.

Reading the Moving Image
• Mise en scène (setting/location, costume,
actors, props)
• Sound (diegetic and non-diegetic, sfx)
• Editing (post-production, CGI, gfx, colour
grade)
• Cinematography (shot size, angle, framing,
focus, lighting)
• Directing

Reading the Moving Image
• Mise en scène(setting/location, costume, actors, props)
• Sound (diegetic and non-diegetic, sfx)
• Editing (post-production, CGI, gfx, colour grade)
• Cinematography (shot size, angles, framing, focus, lighting)
• Directing (structuring shots and action)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E
ak_lmYEps

Mise en scène – the composition of a
shot and everything in frame
• Setting
• Wardrobe
• Props
• Acting
• Placement

Diegetic sound
= ‘actual sound’
Sound whose source is visible on the screen or
whose source is implied to be present by the
action of the film:
• voices of characters
• sounds made by objects in the story
• music represented as coming from instruments in
the story space ( = source music)
Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originating from within
the film's world

Non-diegetic sound
Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has
been implied to be present in the action:
narrator's commentary
sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect
mood music
Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from the a source
outside story space.
The distinction between diegetic or non-diegetic sound depends
on our understanding of the conventions of film viewing and
listening. We know of that certain sounds are represented as
coming from the story world, while others are represented as
coming from outside the space of the story events. A play with
diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create
ambiguity (horror), or to surprise the audience (comedy).
Another term for non-diegetic sound is commentary sound.

Friday 21st September 2012
Film Language
LO: To explore mise-en-scène
within film.

Mise-en-scène
• The arrangement of everything that appears in
the framing – actors, lighting, décor, props,
costume
• a French term that means “placing on stage.”
• Framing and camerawork also constitute the
mise-en-scène of a movie.
• The director is the one that oversees the entire
mise-en-scène and all of its elements.
• During the early stages of pre-production, the
director works with set designers, prop masters,
location managers, costume designers, and scenic
artists to determine the look and feel intended.

Mise en scène – Things to consider…
• Setting – location and environment where action takes place,
colours used to light the action, exterior/interior, time of day
• Wardrobe – importance of costume for certain characters, make-
up, hair
• Props – what is visible in the frame, where are they (in/out of focus)
• Acting – positioning of actors, interaction with each other, casting
• Placement – how all of these things are positioned within the
composition of a shot
• Effect – on the audience: mood; tension; atmosphere; emotion
(pathos); implicit/explicit meaning

Editing
• Post-production
• GFX (Graphic Effects)/After Effects
• CGI (Computer Generated Images)
• Colour grade/rotoscoping

Cinematography
• Shot sizes
• Camera angles
• Cranes, jibs, dollies etc.
• Lighting

Think of a film you have
watched recently.
Write down the story as quickly
as you can.

Film Language
LO: Exploring directing within film.
Keywords:
Storytelling
Narrative
Plot
Aesthetic

Plot, Narrative or Story?
• A story will have a beginning, middle and end. On
film, these can unfold in a different order.
• A story is a series of events recorded in their
chronological order (linear narrative).
• A plot is a series of events deliberately arranged
so as to reveal their dramatic, thematic, and
emotional significance (linear/non-linear
narrative).

Non-linear Films
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnSgSe2GzDc
• Memento
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vS0E9bBSL0
• Pulp Fiction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZBfmBvvot
E
• Iris
• Slumdog Millionaire

Directing
• Good directing, or good storytelling, is the
ability to plot a story in the most compelling
way for an audience.
• Plotting a filmed story means deciding:
– which events, characters and settings will be seen
in the film,
– what will not be seen, and
– how these elements will be presented to gain
maximum dramatic effect to engage the viewer.

Directing
• The director then needs to make decisions about
how best to represent the story: camera angles,
costume, settings etc.
• The need to create an interesting and believable
cinematic world which draws the viewer in and
makes them forget it is ‘just a movie’.
• It is the director’s job to ensure that all the filmic
elements (mise-en-scene, sound, sfx etc.) are
drawn together to best suit the story being told.

The Bourne Ultimatum
• Watch this extract from the film; it shows a story within
a story.
• Jason Bourne has learnt that journalist, Simon Ross, is
investigating his past and contacts him to find out his
source.
• This sequence shows the CIA hunting down Ross.
Unbeknownst to them, Bourne is also at Waterloo
Station.
• This clip shows the conflict between the CIA and Ross,
the CIA and Bourne, Ross and Bourne, and the assassin
with Ross and Bourne…..
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUd5RPVDjPY

In pairs, answer these questions. Write
your comments in your books.
1. How does the editing drive along the
conflict?
2. Describe the way the sequence is shot and
the way this helps to build tension.
3. The viewer is omniscient (all-knowing) and
omnipresent (all-seeing). Given that we see
all of the action taking place, how does this
add to the tension for the audience?

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
Film Language
LO: To understand what
cinematography is within film.
Keywords:
Cinematography

Cinematography
• From the Greek, kinema, meaning ‘movement’ and
graphein, meaning ‘to record’.
• Mainly to do with the camera and lighting departments,
the person operating the camera is the cinematographer.
They will work closely with the Director, Gaffer and Grips.
- Director of Photography (DOP)
- Camera Operator
- Focus Puller
- Clapper Loader
- Lighting dept. (Gaffer and Sparks)
- Grip dept. (Riggers)

DOP
• Deakin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0-
dXh_IsiQ
• Cam Moves Tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSzjUQ-OsSU
• Video Maker
http://www.videomaker.com/video/watch/tips-
and-tricks/473/3-point-lighting

Lighting

Lighting
• Key light: brightest, main light on subject
• Filler Light: softens the harsh key light,
eliminates harsh shadows
• Back light: counters the key light, helping to
add depth of field and makes the subject look
more ‘rounded’

Under Lighting
• Main source of light comes from below the
subject, mainly used in horrors.

Top lighting
• When the main source of light comes from
above the subject, highlighting features to
create a glamorous and flattering look in a
star.

Back Lighting
• When the light source is behind the subject,
creating silhouettes.

Low-key lighting
• Using only the key and backlights, a sharp
contrast of light and dark is created, forming
deep shadows.

High-key lighting
• More filler lights are used to create a bright,
daylight effect.

Colour
• Denotation: What you see
• Connotation: What you think of
• Schindler’s List
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1VL-
y9JHuI

Movie Stills to Life
• http://iwdrm.tumblr.com/

Montage
• Rocky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=632hVDL_N6w
• Top 10 http://www.itsfilmtastic.co.uk/the-10-best-
movie-montage-scenes/
• Requiem for a Dream
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJNzlQoh8zI
• Team America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFrMLRQIT_k

Friday 12th October 2012
Film Language
LO: Learning how to read a film
extract and analyse it.
Keywords:
Complement
Juxtapose/Juxtaposition

Homework
(write in your diaries!!)
• Due next Friday 19th October
• 250-500 words
• You must complete a reading of a film extract.
• Any film and any section of it. Try to choose an extract
which will allow you to talk about as many features of
film language as possible.
• No more than 3-4 minutes, so that you can analyse in
detail.
• Always comment on why the film language has been
used in the way it has (genre, mood, audience, building
tension etc.)

Remember to comment on:
• Mise en scene
• Sound
• Colour
• Lighting
• Cinematography
• Editing
• Costume
• Acting
• Narrative

Sound
• Diegetic (belonging to the film’s world) and non-
diegetic (fake sound added in post – v/o or music)
• Sound bridge – sound from one scene continuing into
another, to bridge the gap between scenes, creating a
smooth transition and enhancing continuity
• Parallel sound – sound which complements the image
• Contrapuntal – conflicting/contrasting with the image
(juxtaposition)
• Dialogue – conversations between characters,
monologues
• Sound effects (sfx) – extraneous sound, can be diegetic
or non-diegetic, voice, accent

• Hunger
• Slumdog Millionaire
• A Clockwork Orange
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v90KPJ6n
4Ew&feature=related
• Reservoir Dogs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPFJupeaC
uA&feature=related

Costume, Hair and Make-up
• These all play a large part in mise en scene, as
they can instantly tell us things about a
character’s personality, social status, job etc.
• Costume: can tell us a lot about when/where
the film is set, how important the character
will be, the genre of the film etc.
• Hair and make-up: complements the costume
and can tell the audience a lot about a
character’s state of mind

Acting and Casting
• Casting: why have certain actors been cast in
certain roles?
• Acting: body language, facial expression
• Stereotypes

Storyboard
• Create a storyboard with directions for camera
movement and shot size for one of the following:
– An opening sequence for a film called ‘Eagle’s Path’
about a family living in an isolated cottage, set in the
highlands of Scotland.
– An extract detailing a chase scene from a comedy film
called ‘Whoops! There Goes Another One!’
– An extract from the climax of a film called ‘Trolls’ in
which the final battle takes place between these
creatures and the heroes.

Motion Control
• Phillips Carousel Joker Robbery Scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0MjC4m
h0aw
• Phillips explained
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wBZuxeA
pe0&feature=related
• Matrix

Next week – editing, cgi, graphics, 3d,
soviet montage

Friday 9th November 2012
Film Language
LO: To re-cap on all the elements of
film language.

Low-key lighting
• Using only the key and backlights, a sharp
contrast of light and dark is created, forming
deep shadows.

High-key lighting
• More filler lights are used to create a bright,
daylight effect.

Back Lighting
• When the light source is behind the subject,
creating silhouettes.

Deep Focus
• Is when the depth of field is large.
• The foreground, middle-ground and
background are all very clear and in focus.

Shallow Focus
• Is when the depth of field is small.
• Only the object in the foreground is clear, the
rest is out of focus.

Denotation and Connotation

Montage Theory
Lev Kuleshov was among the very first to theorize
about the relatively young medium of the cinema
in the 1920s. He argued that editing a film is like
constructing a building. Brick-by-brick (shot-by-
shot) the building (film) is erected.
• Sometime around 1918, Russian director Lev
Kuleshov conducted an experiment that proves
this point.
• He took an old film clip of a head shot of a noted
Russian actor and inter-cut the shot with
different images.

Montage
• Rocky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=632hVDL_N6w
• Top 10 http://www.itsfilmtastic.co.uk/the-10-best-
movie-montage-scenes/
• Requiem for a Dream
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJNzlQoh8zI
• Team America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFrMLRQIT_k