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 

Contrast

Points to discuss:

What are the ways directors can contrast in a film?

The director can have scenes that are black and white and mostly dim and scenes that are bright and colorful

What is contrasted in Spike Jonze’s ad?

It was showing the mood of someone who is sad and showing the mood when someone is happy or excited

Why did he contrast these things?

To show how someone is when they are around strangers compared to when they are at home and feel free to do anything they want.

Establishing shot

Points to discuss:

What is an establishing shot?

It is the beginning of a sequence or scene

Why is it used?

Because it helps us get a feel for the area that the characters are in

Why are establishing shot usually the most expensive?

It shows every shot and makes it better, people use it in films to show a new location in a scene

POV in films

Points to discus.


What is a POV shot?
A point of view shot in when you can see what the character can see through his eyes.

What is a Point of Thought shot?
A point of thought shot is when it is showing the thoughts or feelings by a character.

Why are they important?
Because they help us emphasize what the character can see.

Film tone in English

Points to discuss:

What else can we call tone in a film?

language and how the person feels

What are the 3 main elements of tone?

Playful, Threatening and Sad

How and why does Coppola use tone in the classic film ‘The Godfather’?

To make the actor show what they are feeling

How can directors control the feelings of the scenes?

From there actions and how they are speaking

Production Design

What is the production design? 

over all overlook and vision of the design, props

What makes up production design? 

Props and the Overlook

What are the 3 main things production design can help reveal?

How they feel

Dreamy

Uplifting

Types of Camera Shots

What are the purposes of the whip pan and the slow pan?

Whip pan: quickly turning to see something

slow pan: gives us time

What is the purpose of the tilt shot?

It reveals something to read our attention

What does the reverse dolly zoom help show? 

Funny kind of punctuation to nature

What the difference between a Steadicam and a dolly shot?

on track to give us a different version 

What can the hand-held shot help create for the viewer? 

Raw shaky feeling

What should directors ask themselves with their camera movement

What will this bring to the viewers

Camera movement should be doing what?

showing viewers what's happening