LITERARY CONNECTIONS CRITICAL VIEWING. A novel or play adapted to film or an original work written specifically for filming.

MR. LINGMAN

LITERARY CONNECTIONS

CRITICAL VIEWING

SCREENPLAY OR SCRIPT

A novel or play adapted to film or an original work written specifically for filming.

TREATMENT

A detailed pre-production literary summary or presentation of a film’s story.

PLOT

The plan or storyline of any narrative.

SUBPLOT

A minor or secondary plot of a narrative, often running parallel to the development of the main plot or mirroring the main plot.

SETTING

The where and when of a narrative.

CONFLICT

The basic struggle within the plot of the narrative.

vs. Nature vs. Supernatural

vs. Himself vs. Society

vs.

Man

PROTAGONIST

The main of leading character

ANTAGONIST

The character who oppose the protagonist

ANTI-HERO

The principal protagonist of the film who lacks the attributes of a typical hero.

ATMOSPHERE

The effects in a narrative that produce a specific mood or impression.

CHARACTERIZATION

The development of characters in a narrative; a dynamic character undergoes change whereas a static character stays the same.

BOOKENDS

Scenes at the beginning and end of a film that complement each other and help tie a film together.

CLIMAX

The turning point of a narrative, often determining the fate of the protagonist.

ANTICLIMAX

A weak or disappointing narrative conclusion.

DENOUMENT

The final resolution or outcome of the plot.

DIEGETIC

Meaning “realistic” or “logically existing”. For example, the music that plays on a character’s radio in a scene.

EXPOSITION

Important background information for the events of a story which set up what’s at stake for the characters.

FORESHADOWING

A hint or indication of things yet to occur in the plot.

FLASHBACK

The opposite of foreshadowing, a glimpse into the past at some previous event.

IRONY

The twisting or foiling of narrative expectations.

PATHOS

Qualities in a narrative that evoke feelings of pity and compassion.

SURREALISM

A style of art developed principally in the twentieth century consisting of incongruous or jarring imagery.

MACGUFFIN

Alfred Hitchcock’s term for an item, object, goal, event or piece of knowledge that drives the logic or action of the plot.