A film genre which has the central conflicts played out through spectacular action sequences such as high-speed car chases, explosions and gun fights. Usually set in present day America and have a large body count and massive destruction of property. The typical characters are often one dimensional: strong male heroes, feisty females with attitude, and a cold, ruthless villain wealthy enough to employ many expendable henchmen.
The position of the camera in relation to the subject it is filming or photographing. The main camera angles are - low camera angle, eye level and high camera angle.
A system of signs and symbols invented by a culture that are used to communicate messages. For example - a stop sign at an intersection is a code which tells us to stop our cars so that cars on the intersecting roads can have right-of-way. Or the letters in the alphabet are symbols that are put together to make words. These words (codes) make a language we understand as English. The mass media has its own codes which can be just as simple or more complex. Film has technical codes (camera angles etc) to communicate a message and these codes become a language in themselves - film language. And, just as the codes of the English language can be SEEN and read on a page, words can also be HEARD. Likewise with film codes - audio codes such as music and sound effects are part of the film language which is heard.
The chosen vehicle or total system used to communicate a message. The form is made up of three parts:
The Medium (film, print, radio, television)
The Structure (genre, style)
The Institution (all the people and organisations involved in producing the text.
When these 3 elements of form come together the message (content) is then packaged to fit into that particular form.
Content -WHAT is the content?
Form - HOW will the message be sent?
For example: V for Vendetta is the story of a vengeful fighter against tyranny and evil (content) and originally appeared as a graphic novel (form). The form is a printed comic book of coloured, still images with speech bubbles. The V for Vendetta comics originally had 32 pages and appeared in 10 monthly issues from 1988 to 1989 and then all editions were put together in a graphic novel in 1990. Now the story has a different form, as a movie. The story remains the same but has to be presented differently. The greater expense of film will cause changes while the long, detailed narrative of a book is compressed into the standard time frame of a movie. So some elements have to be left out. Directors, actors, stuntmen, SFX experts and other crew are employed to make the pictures move. Music and sound were added to the normally silent comic book images. Therefore, the message (V for Vendetta) will be communicated differently in each form to the consumer.
In a film, the audience is positioned to view the narrative from the perspective of one or more of the characters. As events unfold, perspective may change several times. At any one point in time, we are seeing the story from one point of view. The audience is encouraged (positioned) to identify with that character at that time. We may not always approve of their actions or ideas, however, our value systems will almost always be reinforced by the outcomes of the film. Point of view is very dependent on the position of the camera, framing and focus. The camera can lend us to notice certain details in a scene. If there is a narrator, the audience is told the story from the narrator's point of view. Whether the narrator is a character or not, their narration may be very objective, or just as easily, very subjective.
Refers to the construction of a version of reality. Individuals, groups, institutions, ideas etc are always represented in a certain selective way. For example, the media offers us representations of people and types of people by describing them or constructing an image of them so that we think we know what they are like. We don't really know, we only have an impression, based on what the media have given us. A representation is therefore, a combination of:
the individual or object;
the opinion of the person/s constructing the representation, and
the context of where it is taking place.
A stereotype is a simplistic representation.
A rule of composition for photography based on the idea that an image can be divided into nine equal parts (by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines). Lining up the subject of focus at the point where these (imaginary) lines intersect is said to create a more interesting, aesthetically pleasing and professional photograph.
The written text for a film. Screenplays have a prescribed format and include all of the settings, dialogue, character movements and gestures, and all essential actions and events (often including camera directions). A script for a television program is sometimes called a teleplay. Television scripts also have a prescribed format.
A series of illustrations or rough sketches displayed in sequence to help visualise the script. The narrative is depicted shot by shot and shows camera position and movement. Storyboards are also used for animated films and advertisements.
A three legged stand used for mounting a camera on. Height and angle are adjustable and the camera may be panned left or right and up or down.