2024_EAL111A_T1W4L1 NOTES & ACTIVITIES

METALANGUAGE

TERM DEFINITION
Cinematography The use of the camera images on film. Cinematography determines what we see and
how we see it; for example, as a close-up, from a distance, as a static shot (when the
camera doesn’t move) or as a tracking shot (when the entire camera moves).
Cut The most common type of edit. One shot ends and the next begins immediately, usually
with the sound continuing over the cut. E.g. in one conversation there might be cuts
between shots of different characters.
Director The person who interprets the script, tells the actors what to do and runs the film shoot.
Dissolve A kind of edit. Two shots overlap briefly as the shot that is ending ‘dissolves’ into the
next.
Edit A way of joining two shots. Often the edit is so smooth, the audience cannot tell where
one shot ends and the next begins.
Fade The screen fades to black between shots. This often indicates a significant change of
pace or time.
Mise en scène A French term meaning all the visual elements within the frame of the shot, such as
setting, costumes and lighting.
Set The scenery and props as arranged for shooting a film.
Shot A continuous section of a film. Most shots do not last for more than ten seconds.
Wipe A type of edit that creates a clear dividing line on the screen between one shot and the
next. We see the new shot appear in part of the screen to ‘wipe away’ the shot that it is
replacing.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Type of shot Example Effects

Long shot - establishes the setting
The main focus of the shot is - emphasises the vastness
far away and background of a scene
scenery is included in the shot - can create an
impression of isolation

Medium shot - gives some detail while

Shows most of the main keeping the focus on
subject, e.g. a person from the the subject
waist up, with some scenery.
Close-up
Shows the subject matter in
detail, e.g. a face another part
of the body or an important
object.
Tilt-up shot
The camera is placed below
the subject and faces upwards
at an angle.
Tilt-down shot
The camera is placed above
the subject and faces
downwards at an angle.
Tracking shot
The camera moves along
with, away from or towards
the subject.
Panning shot
A fixed camera moves in a
horizontal motion from left to
right or vice versa.
Crane shot
The camera is placed on a
crane so it can move down
and in towards the subject
matter, or back up and away.
- draws viewers in and
makes them pay close
attention to what is
being shown
- indicates what the
director wants the
viewer to see and
important (e.g. a gun on
the table)
- can emphasise the
height and power of the
subject
- creates suspense
- can create an
impression of the
subject as small and
vulnerable
- makes the viewer really
feel part of the scene
- can show the vastness
of a scene
- can show the movement
of the subject
- brings the audience into
the scene in a smooth
motion
- draws the audience
away from the
characters or location
- often used at the end of
a film
Aerial shot - establishes a scene
The camera films the subject - emphasises the vastness
matter from above (e.g. from of a scene
an aeroplane). - can create an
impression of isolation
or distance
- often used in ‘chase’ or
‘battle scenes

LIGHTING, SOUND EFFECTS, MUSIC AND SETS

(Title)
Technical element Effect
Shots
Lighting
Sound effects/Music
Set
Other elements
(e.g. voice over, costumes)

FILM SUMMARY

TITLE: LION / DIRECTOR: Garth Davis

MAIN CHARACTERS
Saroo Brierly

MINOR CHARACTERS
Sunny Pawar
Dev Patel
Abhishek Bharate
Khushi Solanki
Rohini Kargaiya
Priyaka Bose
David Wenham
Nicole Kidman
Rooney Mara
Divian Ladwa
Saroo
Saroo Brierley (adult)
Guddu
Young Shekila
Shekila
Kamla
John Brierley
Sue Brierley
Lucy
Montosh Brierley

Basic details of the plot (five to ten key events).

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Is the story chronologically told?
Are flashbacks (jumps back in the timeline) used/
Are flashforwards (jumps forward in the timeline) used?
What is the effect of any flashbacks or flashforwards used?

OPENING SCENE
What happens: Saroo and his older brother, Guddu, live with their mother and little sister in Khandwa, India. They
do not have much money and Guddu takes Saroo with him to work lifting bales of hay. On the way there, Saroo
falls asleep on a train platform bench and gets separated from his brother. The five-year-old Saroo ends up on a
train to Calcutta, and when he arrives there, he has no way of finding his way back home.
Lighting:
The weak lighting and dark background which emphasize the empty train station with wide shot of Saroo,
highlights how small and young he is as the shot slowly pans from his spot on the chair to standing at the edge of
the platform calling his brother’s name.
Sound effects/music:
Important quotations: The minimalist words that Saroo says “Guddu” and the diegetic sounds of the nightlife
create an eariness to the scene.

CRISIS POINT
Saroo goes back to his hometown and finds an interpreter who speaks English so that he can communicate with his
birth mother. She always believed that he was still alive and that he would one day come to find her, and so never
left the village. He reunites with his sister, but learns that his brother Guddu was hit by a train and killed the night
that he went missing.
Lighting: The dim but also bright lighting focuses on Saroo and his mother, highlights the shallow depth of field
and the close up of Saroo’s mother, Kamla allows the audience to see the emotion in the 25 years reunion of mother
and son.
Sound effects/music:
Important quotations: The quiet voice of Kamla in shock seeing what she almost thinks is the ghost of her son
and Saroo’s “Mummy” makes the reunion a shock to both son and mother, and emphasizes their disbelief that they
finally found each other.

FINAL SCENE
What happens:
Lighting:
Sound effects/music:
Important quotations:

THEMES/VALUES
1.
2.
What is the film-makers’ POV on these?
Find three pieces of evidence related to characters, plot, structure or setting to support your opinion about what the
film-makers are trying to say. E.g. does a drug-dealing character die a gruesome death to convey the message that
crime does not pay? Or does the plot end on an upbeat note to indicate that the film-makers believe in the power of
hope and redemption?
1.
2.
3.
Now find pieces of evidence related to features of film (cinematography, lighting, sound effects/music and
costumes) to support your opinion about what the film-makers
are trying to say.