Understanding Film theory

What is Film theory?
Film Theory is a way of breaking down movies and television 
they break films and television down so they can get more meaning out of it and do more work instead of watching the whole film or movie.

Film theorists use these 

• Type of film
• shots
• angles
• lighting 
• color 
• sound
• editing 
• mise en scene 

How to read a film?

Some tips 

Make sure your paying attention

you’re looking for choices made by the director, cinematographer, and editor that clue you into the emotional response. 

What is realism

Realism is when A movie or film is real and showing the unfiltered world 

Some characteristics

Nonprofessional actors so nobody who's a pro at acting 

No special effects so just everything that is happening 

Location and the props are real

Minimal editing so Not everything is edited like movies 

Natural lighting so the lighting that is already there

Make it look documentary

Classical 

Classical film still wants to emphasize authentic moments between real people but with the manipulation of its creative production 

Some characteristics

Professional actors

Minimal effects

Use a studio 

editing use for time lapse 

lighting used to make a mood

Formalism
Formalism focuses on the Director bringing the audience an altered reality that they’ve created

Some characteristics

• Professional actors
• Relies heavily on special effects
• Editing speeds up or slows downtime
• Lighting and sound create exaggerations
• Breaks the illusion of reality

there are a lot of shots used in movies/films here are some 

Long shot

mid-close-up

wide shot

pov/ point of view 

extreme close up and many more

What are angles?

angles show what the actor is feeling 

there are 4 main angles such as

eye level

high angle 

low angle

oblique angle 

Lighting 

the lighting sets the mood and it goes with each scene like a horror movie when its pitch black that's the lighting it sets the tone

This should hopefully teach you some ideas about understanding film theory and more about what is used in a film or movie