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HowtoReadaFilm

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Prof.MichaelGoldberg
Somesuggestionson"howtoreadafilm"
ThefilmcriticChristianMetzhaswritten"Afilmisdifficulttoexplainbecauseitiseasyto
understand."Weareusedtosittingbackinthedarkandviewingafilmuncriticallyindeed,most
Hollywoodfilmsareconstructedtorenderinvisiblethecarefullyconstructednatureofthe
medium.Further,becauseafilmisconstructedofvisual,aural,andlinguisticcomponentsthatare
manipulatedinnumerousways,itisachallengetotakeapartthetotalityofthefilmexperienceand
tointerprethowthatexperiencewasassembled.
Belowyouwillfindbriefexplanationsofwaystoanalyzethelanguageoffilm.Whilethislistisnot
comprehensive,itdoescontainalotofinformation.Iffilminterpretationisnewtoyou,youwillnot
beabletokeeptrackofalltheseelementswhileviewingthefilmthisisanacquiredskill.
Concentrateatfirstonafewthingsthatseemtoofferthemostopportunityforcriticalreading.
Ifviewingthefilmonlyonce,trytotakenotesinshorthandwhilewatchingthefilm.Arrowscanbe
usedtonotecameraangleandcameramovementquicksketchescanbeusedtonoteshot
compositionandelementsofmiseenscene.Assoonaspossibleafterviewingthefilm,writeout
yourimpressionsofthefilm,notingthemostimportantelements.Ifyouwillbewritingonthefilm
andwillbeseeingitagain,takeminimalnotesthefirsttimethrough(althoughdonoteimportant
scenesyouwillwanttoreturnto)butstillmaintainacriticaldistance.
Whenanalyzingafilmasahistoricaldocument,keepinmindthefilm'scontemporaryaudiencesor
authors.Yourownpersonalreactiontothefilmmayserveasastartingpoint,butyouneedto
converttheseimpressionsintohistoricalanalysishowareyoudifferentandsimilartothe
historicalaudiences/authors?Whathaschangedandwhathasstayedthesame?Remembertoothe
technologicalchangesthathavetakenplace,andkeepinmindwhataudienceswouldhave
expected,andhowfilmmakersusedthetechnologyattheirdisposal.Itisespeciallyimportantto
considersubstantialchangesinthemannerofpresentationifyouwillonlybewatchingthefilmon
atelevision.Also,beawarethatmostHollywoodfilmsmadeaftertheearly1950shavean"aspect
ratio"(heightandwidthratio)differentfromtelevisionscreens.Mostvideotapesofthesefilms
havebeenalteredbythe"panandscan"methodwhichdramaticallychangeselementssuchasshot
compositionandcameramovement.Videotapesthatare"widescreen"preservethecorrectaspect
ratio.MostDVDsnowcomeinboth"standard"(altered)or"widescreen"(checkthewritingonthe
disk)oronlyinthecorrectaspectratio,andmostlaserdisksusethecorrectaspectratio.Ifpossible,
findaformatthathasnotalteredtheaspectratio.
MEANING
Themes/tropesThebroadideasandallusions(themes)thatareestablishedbyrepetitionof
technicalandlinguisticmeans(tropes)throughoutthefilm(suchasalienation,powerand
control,transcendencethroughromanticachievement,etc.)
Intent/MessageSometimes,aswithafilmlikeJFK(theKennedyassassinationwasthe
resultofamassivegovernmentconspiracy)orWayne'sWorld(adolescenceisagoofytime
thatprovidesplentyoflaughs),thisisobvious.(Justbecausethemessageisobvious,doesn't
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meanthatthefilmissimple,orthatthereisnotacontradictorysubtext).Sometimes,however,
thefilmmakersaren'tsureoftheirmessage,ortheintendedmessagebecomescloudedalong
theway.Atothertimes,thefilmmakers(principallytheproducer,director,actorsand
actresses)areatoddsovertheintent.Atothertimes,thefilmmakersintendonemessageand
manyintheaudienceinterpretthefilmdifferently.)
Metaphorandmetonymy/symbolismSimilartoliteraryinterpretation,onlyconsiderall
aspectsofthefilmlinguistic,visual,aural.Metaphorsareelementsthatrepresentsomething
differentfromtheirexplicitmeaning(forexample,therosepetalsinAmericanBeauty).
Metonymsareelementsthataresimilarorthesame(forexample,inthefinalsceneofThe
GrapesofWrath,TomJoadrepresentsthelonelybattleofactivistsandMarepresentsthe
resilienceof"thepeople"orwhenapartofthewholesuchasacloseupofawoman'sleg
representswomenassexualobjects).Metaphorsandmetonymsonlygainrelevanceiftheyare
repeatedinsignificantwaysorconnectedwiththelargermeaningofthefilm.(Avoid
simplisticequationssuchasthewhitetablesymbolizesAthehighangleshotofacharacter
symbolizedB).
SubtextTheoftennumerousmessagesafilmconveysbeneaththesurfacesometimes
intended,oftenunintended,andsometimesconveyingadifferentorcontradictorymessage
thantheintendedmessage.Lookespeciallyforironies,contradictions,interesting
juxtapositions,orifsomethinginitiallydoesn'tseemtomakesense.Subtextisusually
developedthroughtheuseoffigurativeelementslikemetaphorandmetonymy.
BASICELEMENTS
Title/openingcreditsTitlesarechosencarefullyconsideralternativesandwhythistitle
waschosenconsiderambiguitiesinthetitle(HisGirlFriday,afilmwithastrong,
independentfemaleprotagonist).Theopeningcreditsestablishatone,andoftenareusedto
foreshadowevents,themes,ormetaphorspaycarefulattentionfromthebeginning.
Story/Plot/NarrativeThenarrativeprovidesthebasicstructurebywhichafeaturefilmis
understood.(Mostdocumentariesalsohavenarratives.)Thenarrativeconsistsofthestoryand
theplot.Thestoryconsistsofalloftheinformationconveyedbythefilm(eitherdirectlyorby
inference)assembledinchronologicalordertocommunicatetheoverallsenseofwhat
occurredinthefilm.Thediegesisistheentireworldofthestory.Afilm'sdiegesismayhavea
differentlogicthanthe"real"world,butaslongastheirispropermotivation(seebelow)it
willmakesensetotheviewer.Diegeticelementsarefoundexplicitlyorimplicitlyintheworld
ofthestorynonorextradiegeticelements(thesoundtrack,thetitle,avoiceover,an
audience'sexpectationsofastar'spersona)areoutsidethestory.Theplotprovidesthecause
andeffectrelationsthatcuetheaudienceandcreatesuspense,surprise,andfulfill
expectations.Whiledialogueprovidesagooddealofinformation,payattentiontoallthe
otheraudioandvisualcluesthatconveyinformationaboutthenarrative..Inconsideringthe
narrativestructure,notewhetherthefilmfollowsastandardchronologicalnarrativeornotand
howtimeisused.Whatarethekeymomentsandhowaretheyestablished?Whatarethe
climaxesandanticlimaxes?Howfaraheadistheaudienceinunderstandingwhatishappening
tothecharactersthanthecharactersthemselvesare?Whatpropelsthestoryforward?Whatis
thepaceofthenarrative?Howdoearlierpartsofthenarrativesetuplaterparts?Whereare
thekeyemotivemomentswhentheaudienceisfrightened,enraged,enraptured,feeling
vindicated,etc.,andhowhasthenarrativehelpedtoestablishthesefeelings?Notewhenthere
isachangeofknowledge(whencharactersortheaudiencebecomeawareofnewinformation)
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whichshiftsthehierarchyofknowledge(therelativeamountofknowledgecharactersandthe
audiencehave).Doesthenarrativehaveacoherentunity,ordoesitleavetheaudiencefeeling
unfulfilledorconfused?(Sometimesthelatteristhemarkofanunsuccessfulfilmsometimes
itseitheranintentionaleffecttochallengetheeasy"Hollywoodending"orelsetheresultof
themixedintentionsofthevariousauthors.)
Motivation"Justificationgiveninthefilmforthepresenceofanelement.Thismayappeal
totheviewer'sknowledgeoftherealworld,togenreconventions,tonarrativecausality,orto
astylisticpatternwithinthefilm."(Bordwell,Thompson)Failuretoprovideproper
motivationchallengesthesenseof"cinematicrealism"inafilm.(Ifacharacter'spersonal
motivationisexplainedinafilmasareasonforhis/heraction,thatfallsunder"narrative
causality."Donotconfusecharactermotivationasrevealedthroughnarrativewithyourown
expectationsyoubringtothefilm.Charactersarenotrealpeople,anddonotmakechoices
outsideofwhatisconveyednarratively.)Hollywoodfilmstendtostressperfectlymotivated
narrativessothateveryelementhasapurpose.Discoveringtheunderlyingmotivationofthe
narrativeoftenhelpsexplainwhyaudienceexpectationsarefulfilled(orifpoorlymotivated,
unfulfilled.)Forexample,intheWesternUnforgiven,thecloseup,eerilylightedshotof
MorganFreeman's/Ned'sscarsfromwhippingbyGeneHackman/LittleBillmotivatesClint
Eastwood's/WilliamMoney'sslaughterofHackmanandvarioustownsfolk.Theshotthuscues
theaudience'sdesireforrevengethroughviolence(notethemetonymicsymbolismofthe
scarredblackbodyandthewhip),despitethesupposedlyantiviolentthemeofthefilm.
Extendeddefinition:clickhere.
MotifTherepetitionofanelementinwaysthatacquiresymbolicmeaningfortheelement.
Anmotifcanbeatechnicalfeature(ashotangle,alightingsetup),asoundorpieceof
dialogueormusic,oranobject.
ParallelismTwoormorescenesthataresimilartoeachotherbutwhichgainmeaning
becauseoftheirdifferences.
CharacterizationWhoarethecentralcharacters?Howareminorcharactersused?Are
charactersthinlyorfullydrawn,andwhy?Whointheaudienceismeanttorelatetowhich
characters,andwhatsortofemotion(fear,pleasure,anxiety)areaudiencemembersmeantto
feelbecauseofthisidentification?Isthereaclearorambivalentheroorvillain?Whatvalues
dothecharactersrepresent,anddotheychangeduringthefilm?Arethecharactersmeantto
playaparticulartypeanddotheyplayagainsttypeatanytime?
PointofviewIsthefilmingeneraltoldfromaparticularcharacter'spointofview,orisit
objective?Isthefilm'sperspectiveprimarilyintellectualoremotional,visionaryor
realistic?Withinthefilm,isaparticularshotviewedfromacharacter'spointofview
("subjectiveshot"),andhowdoesthecameratechnicallyreinforcethepointofview?Whois
theaudiencemeanttobefocusingonataparticularmoment?
MISEENSCENEEverythinggoingonwithintheframeoutsideofeditingandsound
Settingandsetsisthesceneshotinastudiosoundstageoronlocation?Howisthesetting
integratedintotheaction,boththelargerbackgroundandparticularprops?Howisthesetting
usedincomposingtheshot(verticalsandhorizantals,windowsanddoors,theeverpopular
slatsofshades,mirrors,etc.)?Howdoparticularsettings(vastmountainranges,cluttered
urbansetting)functionassignsinordertoconveynarrativeandideologicalinformation?How
arecolorsused?
Actingstylemoreobviouslymannered(classical)intenseandpsychologicallydriven
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(method)lessaffectationsandmorenatural?Doparticularactorshavetheirown
recognizablestyleortype,andhowdothefilmmakersusetheaudience'sexpectations,either
byreaffirmingorchallengingtheseexpectations?Whatexpectationsdo"stars"bringtotheir
roles?Dotheyfulfillorchallengetheseexpectations(playingagainsttype)?
Costumes(orlackthereof)notecontrastsbetweencharacters,changeswithinfilmuseof
colors.Thisalsoincludesphysiques,hairstyles,etc.
LightingKeyLight:mainlighting,usuallyplacedata45degreeanglebetweencameraand
subject.FillLight:Auxiliarylights,usuallyfromthesideofthesubject,thatsoftensor
eliminatesshadowsandilluminatesareasnotcoveredbytheKeyLight.HighKeyLightingis
whenallthelightsareon(typicalofmusicalsandcomedies)LowKeyLightingiswhenone
ormoreofthefilllightingiseliminated,creatingmoreopportunityforshadows.Highcontrast
lightingreferstosharpcontrastbetweenlightanddarklowcontrastreferstoshadesofgray.
Hardlightingcreatesaharshlightsoftlightingcreatesamuted,usuallymoreforgiving
lighting."Hard"charactersoftengethardlighting,andvisaversa.Highlightingor
spotlighting:pencilthinbeamsoflightusedtoilluminatecertainpartsofasubject,ofteneyes
orotherfacialfeatures.Backlighting:placingthemainsourceoflightbehindthesubject,
silhouettingit,anddirectingthelighttowardthecamera.Toplighting:lightingfromabove.
Lightingandcameraanglearethekeymeansofcreatingshadowsandshadingsinblackand
whitefilms,whichareimportantelementsoftheoverallmiseenscenewhenconveying
meaning.Alloftheabovetermsarebipolar,wheninfactmanylightingsetupsliesomewhere
inbetween.
Diffuser/Filter:Agelatinplatethatisplacedinfrontoflighttochangetheeffect.(Whetherto
castashadoworsoftenthelight,forinstance.)
CINEMATOGRAPHYThecameraworkthatrecordsthemiseenscenebetweenedits.Eachshot
representsmanychoicesmadebythefilmmakers.Whyhavetheymadethesechoices?Whatdo
thesechoicesrepresent?
Tonebright,sharpcolorsgrainyandblackandwhite:hazy?Ifblackandwhitewhencolor
wasavailable,whywouldthefilmmakersmakethischoice?
Filmspeedsloworfastmotionused?filmspeedreversed?
CameraAngleTheangleatwhichthecameraispointedatthesubject:low(shotfrom
below),high(shotfromabove),oreyelevel(includesextremelowandhighangleshots).This
createstheangleofvisionthepointofviewfortheaudience,andisoftenusedtoestablish
character'slevelofpowerandcontrol(highangleshotscanmakecharacterseemdiminished),
buttherearemanyotherusesaswell.
Tracking,Panning,andTiltTrackingshotmovesthecameraeithersidewaysorinandout.
Thecameracanbemountedona"dolly,""handheld"tocreateajerkiereffect,mountedona
craneandmovedinalldirectionswithinalimitedrange,orinahelicopter,train,car,plane,
etc.forothereffects.Panningswingsthecamerahorizontally,tiltswigsitvertically.These
effectsareoftenusedsimultaneously.
AngleofView/lensTheangleoftheshotcreatedbythelens.Awideanglelenspresents
broadviewsofsubjects,andmakespossiblealargedepthoffield(manyplanesofaction)as
wellasadeepfocusshot.Anormallens(35mm)canonlyfocusononeplaneatatime.A
telephotolenshasaverynarrowangleofviewswhichactslikeatelescopetofocusfaraway
subjectsandflattenstheview.
Focus"Shallowfocus"usessharpfocusonthecharactersorthingsinoneareaoftheshot
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andsoft(blurred)focusintherest."Deepfocus"bringsoutthedetailinallareasoftheshot.
"FocusIn"gradually"zooms"inonthesubject,"focusout"gradually"zooms"out(theseare
knownasfocuspulls).Rackfocusisanextremelyfastfocuspullthatchangesfocusfrom
oneimage/charactertoanotherbychangingthefocustoadifferentplane.
ShotdistanceFullshot,threequartersshot,midorhalfshot,closeupandextremecloseup
forshotsofbodies(extreme)longshot,midshot,(extreme)closeuptodescribemore
general.Canbeusedtocreatesenseofisolation(extremelongshotofcharacterinadesert)or
greatpain,angerorjoy(extremecloseupofcharacter'sface).Choiceoflens(seeabove)can
createstrangeeffects(wideanglecloseupextendsanddistortsimageattheedges,likea
funhousemirrortelephotolensusedinlongshotsflattendistancesandputtingbackground
outoffocus.
Frametheborderthatcontainstheimage.Canbeopen(withcharactersmovinginand
out)moving(usingfocus,tracking,panning)canted(atoddangles,unbalancedshot
composition).
ShotcompositionTherelationoftheelementsofmiseenscenetotheframe.Smallframes
usedwithcloseupscancreatesenseofclaustrophobia,oftenenhancedbytheset(low
ceilings,numerouspropsandfurnishings)andlighting.Thesetcanalsobeusedtoframethe
shotinotherways(lamps,flags,etc.oneithersideabedoutoffocusatthebottomofthe
frame)ascancharacters(assignsofintimidation,marginality,support,etc.)Thesetypesof
shotsareunbalanced.Lookalsoforshotsthatareperfectlysymmetrical.
MONTAGEEditing(cuts)withinscenesandinthefilmingeneral,creatingcontinuitiesand
discontinuities,juxtapositions,andnarrativestructure.ThestandardHollywoodpracticeistomake
cutsinvisible,andthustheyareoftendifficulttopickupwithinascene."Montage"isalsothe
termusedforaseriesofquickcutsfromavarietyoflocationsthatcoherenarrativelyor
thematically(thebaptismsceneinTheGodfatherIisagoodexample)."Acceleratedmontage"is
whatitsoundslike(theprisonescapesceneinHisGirlFriday).
Editingpacewithinasequence,fromlongtakes(theopeningcreditsofTheGraduate)to
acceleratedmontage(thechasesceneofBullit)withinthefilmingeneral,toestablish
overalltone.SincethenaturalstateofaHollywoodfilmmovement,longtakescoupledwith
astillcameracanbeusedtoincreaseintensityofashot,maketheaudienceuncomfortable,
etc.
EstablishingshotInitialshotinascenethatestablisheslocation,characters,andpurposeof
thescene.
Shot/countershotstandarddeviceusedduringdialoguebetweentwocharactersoftenstarts
withatwoshotofthetwocharacters,thenmovesbackandforth.Combinedwithcamera
angle,shotdistance,andpacetoestablishpointofview.Notewhenthisstandarddeviceisnot
used,andforwhatpurpose.Notewhenthepersonspeakingisnotviewed,oronlybackis
viewed.
ReactionshotQuickcuttopickupcharacter'sreactiontoanevent.Lackofreactionshot
whenitseemslogicalshouldbenoted.
JumpCutAcutthatoccurswithinascene(ratherthanbetweenscenes)thatremovespartof
ashot.Thisshotisoftendoneforeffectbymakingthecutobviousanddisruptingtheinvisible
editingofHollywoodstyle.
FreezeFrameAfreezeshot,whichisachievedbyprintingasingleframemanytimesin
successiontogivetheillusionofastillphotograph.
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CrosscuttingAshotinsertedinascenetoshowactionhappeningelsewhereatthesame
time.
CutawayAcutwithinashottoalocationthatlinkstheactionoftheshotandcondenses
time(forexample,areactionshotofawomanwatchingamanclimbsomestairs,cuttingouta
flightinbetweentheshots).
MatchCutAcutinwhichtwoshotsarelinkedbyvisual,aural,ormetaphoricalparallelism.
ScenesAnendofasceneisusuallymarkedbyanumberofpossibledevices,includingfade
insandfadeouts(whichmayincludeaquickcutorafadetoblacknotethelengthoftime
theblackoutismaintained,whichoftenimpliessignificanceofprecedingscene,orelsealong
passageoftime)wipe(alinemovesacrossthescreen,usuallyusedinolderfilms)dissolve
(anewshotbrieflysuperimposedonanoldshot),oftenusedtoexpresscontinuityor
connections(forexample,thestumpsceneinShane).
SequenceAseriesofscenesthatfittogethernarrativelyorrepresentationally
Acceleratedmontageaseriesofquickcutsthatrelateavarietyofshotsfromdifferent
locationsintoacoherentstoryor
SOUNDSometimesnondialoguesoundisthehardestelementtopickoutandanalyze,yetis
oftenextremelyimportantandsubjecttojustasmuchofthefilmmakersfocusasotherelements.
Notehowsoundisusedtounderscoreemotions,toalerttheaudiencetoanupcomingevent,asan
ironiccounterpoint,etc.Carefullycreatedandeditedsounds(includingtheuseofsilences)createsa
richauralimagesthesamewaythatmiseenscene,shotcomposition,andmontagecreatevisual
images.Notethatsoundisbothpartofthemiseensceneandisaseparatecategoryofediting
(sincetheaudiotrackisseparatefromthevideotrack).
DialogueIsitoverlapping,mumbled,verysoftorloud?
Soundeffectsboththeeffectsthemselves(adoorbellringing)andthemanipulationofthe
sound(stereoeffectswhichmovesoundsacrossthesoundspectrum,orbalancesoundsonone
sideortheotherfilteringandmanipulatingsounds).
Scorethebackgroundmusicusedthroughoutthefilm.Thescoreoftenmaintainsand
manipulatesasimilarthemeatvarioustimes(especiallyinolderfilms),andisoftenusedin
relationtothenarrativestructure.Particularmotifsorthemesmaybeusedinrelationto
particularcharacters.
SoundBridgeConnectsscenesorsequencesbyasoundthatcontinuesthroughthevisual
transition.
Directsoundreferstosoundthatisrecordedatthetimethesceneisshot(usuallydialogue,
althoughaudioinsertsarepossible.Allaudioinsertswouldbepostsynchronoussound.).
Postsychronoussoundreferstosoundthatisrecordedandplacedonthefilmaudiotrackafter
thesceneisshot(virtuallyallscores).Mostnondialoguesoundsareinsertedafterproduction
(forexample,footsteps),aswellasafairamountofdialoguethatiseitherinsertedwhen
charactersarenotshownspeakingonscreen,orsimplypastedoversectionsthattheare
deemedtoneedimprovement.
Diegeticsoundisheardwithinthefilm'sdiegesis(dialogue,ashotfromagunonscreen).
Offscreensoundappearswithinthefilm'sdiegesisbutnotwithintheframe(extendingoff
screenspace).
Nondiegeticsoundisheardoutsideofthefilm'sdiegesis(suchasfilmscoresandvoice
overs).Apopsongthatseemstobepartofathesoundtrackbutisfoundtobecomingfrom,
say,acarradio,isadiageticsoundandisanelementworthnoting.
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Simultaneoussoundisheardatthesametimetheactionhappensonscreen.
Nonsimultaneoussoundisheardbeforeoraftertheactionhappensonscreen.

Forlinkstodefinitionsusedinfilmtheory,CLICKHERE.
ListofEssentialFilmTermsfromBordwellandThompson,FilmArt,
CLICKHERE.
Bibliography:
DavidBordwellandKristinThompson,FilmArt,6thEd.(McGrawHill)
Monaco,James.HowtoReadaFilm:TheArt,Technology,Language,History,andTheoryof
FilmandMedia.RevisedEdition(OxfordU.Press:1981).
StephenPrince,MoviesandMeaning:AnIntroductiontoFilm
Corrigan,Timothy.AShortGuidetoWritingAboutFilm.SecondEdition(HarperCollins:
1994)
BacktoMLGHomePage
lastupdated9/14/00

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