Cinematography Refers to the visual aspects of a films language Camera shots and movement can give us clear indications of emotion and motive as well.

Film Language

Devices and terms used to describe the poetics of film

Cinematography Refers to the visual aspects of a film’s

language

Camera shots and movement can give us clear indications of emotion and motive as well as give audiences clues as to things that may be about to happen.

Mise-en-scene

Literally “putting in the frame,” mise-en-scene encompasses the directors choice of frame, lighting, set design, objects in the frame, choice of lenses, space between figures, etc. The director has chosen the exact location of everything within the shot to create meaning as if it is a painting.

Examples of Mise-en-scene

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Montage

Montage is simply a method of editing, most commonly used to piece together a variety of images quickly to relate an idea to the view.

Developed by Soviet Russian filmmaker Sergi Eiseinstein

use of image A and image B combines to create another meaning, idea C.

Montage

Rocky (1976)

Lighting The lighting in a scene can create the tone of

a shot or connote character traits.

Example of high-key lighting in Marie Antoinette (2006)

Low-Key LightingDouble Indemnity

(1944)

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Low Key LightingBlade Runner

(1982)

Drive (2011)

Focus

The sharpness of the image. A range of distances from the camera will be acceptably sharp.

Deep focus is when figures in the shot are in focus deep within the frame creating a clear image that more closely matches what we see with our eyes in reality.

Shallow focus is when only the things in the foreground are in focus while the background is out of focus to place an emphasis on what is in the foreground.

Deep Focus Example

Citizen Kane (1941)

Shallow Focus Example

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Framing

The way in which subjects and objects are framed within a shot produces specific readings. Size and volume within the frame speak as much as dialogue. So too do camera angles.

Lost in Translation (2003)

Establishing Shot

A panoramic view of an exterior location photographed from a considerable distance, often as far as a quarter-mile away.

Close-up

When the frame of the shot contains only the head or details of the subject.

Point of View Shot

AKA (POV Shot) A shot which shows the scene from the specific point of view of one of the characters.

Low Angle Shot

When a scene is shot from below, giving the figure a tall, powerful, and somewhat ominous appearance.

Matilda (1996)

High Angle Shot

When a scene is shot from up high, sometimes referred to as the “God-shot” because of the feeling of looking down on the figure(s) in

the shot. This kind of shot often creates a feeling of helplessness or inferiority.

Canted Angle

Inception (2010) When the camera is tilted and not level with the scene. This is often

used to create a feeling of chaos or uneasiness in the scene.