discussion on fav movie(vocab attached)

classical Hollywood

The so-called “studio era” roughly from the advent of sound through World War II. Distinguished by an approach to filmmaking that strove for an “invisible style” that allowed viewers to become absorbed by the world of the film.

critical flicker fusion

A phenomenon in which the light of a film projector flashes so rapidly with each new frame that we do not see it pulse but instead see a continuous beam of light.

film noir

A French term for a style originating with American crime films of the 1940s and 1950s, characterized by deep shadows, night scenes, shady characters, and plots involving elaborate schemes and betrayals.

form

The visual and aural shape of a film. Form embraces all aspects of a film’s construction that can be isolated and discussed: the elements of narrative, mise-en-scène (the “look of the scene”), camera work, sound, and editing.

frame

The smallest compositional unit of a reel of film: a single photographic image; also, the boundaries of the image.

French New Wave

A group of post–World War II French directors including François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Alain Resnais, and Agnes Varda, all of whom strove to create a more spontaneous and personal style of filmmaking. Many of these directors began as film critics for the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma.

idealization

A mode of engagement with film content; something in the film resonates with our dreams and aspirations: if only our lives were quite like this!

identification

A mode of engagement with film content; something in the film reminds us of our own experience, and we tend to identify with the relevant character and his or her situation.

motif

Repeated images, lines of dialogue, or musical themes that are significant to a film’s meaning.

persistence of vision

The tendency for one image to persist or linger on our retina as the next image enters our perception, contributing to the illusion of motion pictures.

phi phenomenon

The optical illusion that accounts for the impression of movement when one image follows another at the proper speed.

protagonist

The film’s hero.

shot

A continuously exposed, uninterrupted, or unedited piece of film of any length; a basic unit of film structure with discernible start and end points.

style

The particular or characteristic use of formal elements.

Glossary

Chapter 2

A and B stories (also, kernel and satellite stories)

A narrative formula that prioritizes one of the narratives while simultaneously tracking a second narrative.

backstory

The past that characters bring with them into a film.

closure

The resolution of narrative questions and/or problems.

deus ex machina

The introduction of a contrived event to solve the problems set in motion in the story.

ellipses

The omission of significant chunks of story time in the on-screen plot.

exposition

The presentation of narrative information that provides context for the story and plot, including character development and the establishment of setting and/or location.

film genre

A category of film based on its narrative pattern and/or emotional effect.

first-person narration

Commentary on the film’s action by a character who speaks as “I.”

flash-forward

A scene that interrupts the chronological flow of story events by skipping ahead to a later time.

flashback

A scene that interrupts the chronological flow of story events by referring to an earlier time.

horror

A film genre that is recognized and understood based on the effect the narrative has on us, and how the events and characters create the desired sense of suspense and dread.

intertitle

A piece of text inserted into the film to cue the audience to the passage of time. Intertitles might also provide dialogue (in silent films), prologue, or epilogue copy.

narrator

A person who sets up the story and comments on the action.

nondiegetic

A term used to denote material within a film that comes from outside the world of the story.

plot duration

The time span encompassing only those story events that are selected for the plot.

plot order

The sequence of events adopted in the telling of a story.

screen duration

The running time of the film.

story duration

The time span encompassing all of the story events.

story order

The chronological sequence of narrative events.

third-person narration

Commentary on the film’s action by someone who is not a character in the story and who refers to all of the characters as he, she, or they.

western

A film genre that is recognized and understood based on its narrative elements: the characters (cowboys, American Indians, gunslingers, and outlaws), the setting (the wide-open spaces, the saloon), and certain narrative events (the inevitable gunplay).