Film Form and Character Development After reading this section, you should be able to:
identify the qualities of character-driven cinema.
discuss the ways in which visual elements in a film serve to illuminate character.
Mise-En-Scene After reading this section, you should be able to:
discuss the ways in which stylistic elements of the classical Hollywood film provide a system of narration.
define "mise-en-scene" and name elements that comprise mise-en-scene.
identify ways in which theatrical mise-en-scene are parallel to cinematic mise-en-scene, and the ways in which both of these translate scene contents into narration.
The Camera After reading this section, you should be able to:
discuss the cinematic techniques of camera movement and camera position as elements of mise-en-scene.
define "low-angle shot" and "high-angle shot," and discuss the ways each of these can be used to convey narrative meaning, giving examples from specific films.
examine the ways in which high- and low-angle shots function in relation to their narrative contexts as elements of narration.
describe the ways in which camera angle and distance function as a system of determining meaning.
define the following terms and name what portion of a human body each of them makes visible: extreme close-up, close-up, medium close-up, medium shot, medium long shot, long shot, extreme long shot.
describe the following types of camera movements: zoom, pan, track, dolly shot, crane shot, giving examples from specific films.
Lighting After reading this section, you should be able to:
define "three-point lighting," and explain the parts played by the key light, the fill light, and the backlight in a three-point lighting system.
differentiate between high-key and low-key lighting styles, and name several of the film genres associated with each.
discuss the classical Hollywood lighting style as an example of the way in which classical Hollywood narrative represents itself as invisible, using the examples of Western lighting and "Star Lighting."
Sound After reading this section, you should be able to:
discuss sound mixing as an element of cinematic narration.
discuss the musical score of a film as an element of cinematic narration.
describe the ways in which sound continuity can serve to stabilize visual discontinuities in a film.
Editing from Scene to Scene After reading this section, you should be able to:
define "continuity editing," and describe the ways in which it works to disguise transitions or convey information.
define a "shot" and a "scene," and discuss the relationship of each of these to editing.
define the following types of transition, and describe the narrative meanings of each of them: cut, fade, dissolve, iris, and wipe.
examine the relationship between editing and narrative structures, using specific examples from the previous chapter.
define "crosscutting," and discuss the ways in which it can be used to build narrative tension, giving examples from specific films.
Editing Within Scenes After reading this section, you should be able to:
contrast the visibility of editing from scene to scene with the visibility of in-scene editing, and explain the way in which editing within scenes serves narrative logic.
define "establishing shot," and describe the way in which it is used as a basic element of a scene.
describe graphic matches, eye-line matches, and matches on action, and the relationship between "matches" and narrative continuity.
define point-of-view editing, and explain the difference between point-of-view editing and eye-line matching.
describe the axis of action and the 180-degree rule, and the relationship of each of these to representations of space.
explain the camera positions and construction of a shot-reverse-shot sequence.
discuss the semitransparency of the classical Hollywood style, with examples of both its invisibility and its visibility as well as its relationship to narrative.
