Film Language
Film Language
Film language has 4 different aspects:
1) Camera
. Frame There are 6 possible shots for the frame:
- Extreme close up - the camera zooms very close to what it focusing on (an eye of a person).
- Close up - The camera is zoomed in close to what it is focusing on (face shot).
- Mid shot - The camera is at a default length away (from the belly button upwards).
- Medium long shot - The camera is further away from what it is focusing on (just below the knees).
- Long shot - The camera is far away from whatever it is focusing on (whole body shot with some surround space).
- Extreme long shot - Just able to see what the camera is focusing on with a large background (someone standing on some hill tops).
. Angle
There are 3 possible angles:
- Low - Looking at what you are focusing on from a low position, making it look powerful.
- Level - Looking at what you are focusing on from a level position, making it look equal.
- High - Looking at what you are focusing on from a high position, making it look powerless.
. Movement
There are four possible movements:
- Tilt - The camera moving up and down the screen.
- Pan - The camera moving right and left across the screen.
- Tracking shot - The camera is following someone who is moving.
- Zoom - The camera zooms in and out of what it is focusing on.
- Crane shot - The camera moves around from a very high position using a crane.
- Static shot - A static camera has no action
2)Sound
- Music
- Contrapuntal (This is when the music doesn't make sense with the images on screen, for example a childrens sound in a horror movie)
- Parallel (This is when the music matches the images)
- Diegetic (The sounds we hear from the film set)
- Non diegetic (The sounds we hear edited in, for example, voice overs and music)
- On screen (You can see what is making the sound)
- Off screen (You can't see what is making the sound)
- Voice over (Dialogue edited in the movie, usually performed by the main character)
- Dialogue (Characters speaking)
3) Mis en Scene
- Costume (Actors costumes are very important to put across the films image)
- Lighting (Lighting can set the mood for the scene)
- Actors (Actors have to suit the role and play the role well to help the realism)
- Make up (Make up like costumes are very important to put across the films image)
- Props (Props also help put across the films image)
- Setting (Setting can set the mood for the scene and helps put across the films image)
4) Editing
- Transition (A movement from one scene to another, e.g. slide, fade, cut)
- Order of narrative (The order the story goes in, could include flashbacks to add complication)
- Pace (How quickly you cut from one image to another, action films would be very quick)
- Special effects (Effects added into the images to create things not possible in filming)
- Graphic matches (2 views of the same object)
Examples of film language in 2 different films:
1. Up
Camera:
The frame work of the camera didn't use much more than close ups and mid shots. This was to show the emotions of the characters which was important to make the death of the wife sad. The angle of the camera was all level shots. The wasn't much camera movement, just some slow panning here and there and many static shots.
Sound:
The music was the only sound included in this opening sequence which responded to what was happening on screen though out the whole clip, e.g. the music starting cheerful and happy but when the baby didn't survive it turned slow and depressing. This makes all of the sound non diegetic because it has all been edited in.
Mis en scene:
The setting for all the happy sections in the sequence all included bright colours and sunny days to set a happy mood but the setting was very dark in the hospital scene, trying to set a sad mood. The actors/characters were very contrasting people, the man was very shy whether as the woman was very outgoing which was emphasised through the families on each side of the wedding ceremony.
Editing:
There were no fancy transitions throughout the whole sequence, they were all cut, maybe to keep the flow of the sequence going smoothly. The order of the narrative is all in time order, there are no flashbacks, it all goes from young to old. The pace is quite slow, the do linger on some clips to show some important features that could crop up in the movie. The whole sequence is special effects because it is all animated.
2. Cape Fear
Camera:
The frame work varied; there were some close ups, like when it is looking at the pictures on the wall but there were some mid shots and long shots included as well. The angle of the camera stayed mainly level but when the man was walking out of the jail cell, past the camera, you did have a slightly lower angle to show that this man has power. There was a lot of camera movement, e.g. the camera tilted down whilst looking at the pictures, it zoomed out of the jail cell, it tracked the man walking out of the jail cell whilst clearly being on a crane the entire time.
Sound:
The non diegetic music in the background is quite loud and scary to add tension to the scene and also gives the audience a general impression that the man they are focusing on is dangerous. There is some dialogue in this clip where a diegetic, off screen voice who lets the man go and at the end there is some dialogue between 2 officers and the man.
Mis en Scene:
The mans tattoos which are part of his costume leads us to think that he is quite tough plus a bit dangerous due to that fact he has a tattoo of scales on his back, representing that he's obsessed with revenge and the law. The setting shows that the man is quite dangerous because he is in a prison, therefore he must have done something dangerous in order to get into the prison.
Editing:
There wasn't much editing used in this sequence. There was only one transition which was from the prison cell to the outside gate. The pace of the editing was obviously quite slow because it elongated shots taken because of the vast movement of the camera.