Deciding whether a film is good or not is subjectable. Depending on the film genre an enjoyable film will have a suspenseful, twist and exciting plot to immerse the audience into the world and story created. Yet to create a film directors use the four basic components that are usually involved to make a film “good”. The four main components are editing, mise-en-scene, cinematography and sound, these 4 micro elements tie film production together.

The use of editing in film is to create the general idea behind the film. Editing in narrative film, is the coordination of one shot with another in order to create an artistically pleasing, meaningful whole. The
system of editing in narrative film is called continuity editing – its purpose is to create efficient, functional transitions. The editing of a film is a key feature as the transitions between shots need to be clean and sensible, following the plot of the film. Not having a good understanding of editing can make transitions choppy, making the storyline hard to understand and follow, allowing for the audience to become uninterested or bored.

Mise-en- scene is a term used to describe the setting of a scene in a play or a film. The mise en scène is a catch-all for everything that contributes to the visual “look” of a production, it means “placing on stage.” Mise-en-scene creates the look and feel of the film really piecing together the world they’ve created. It’s a brilliant way for directors to go into detail with their scene design, getting it absolutely perfect. Without mise-en-scene, films would have no personality, as every film is designed in many different ways.

Cinematography involves such techniques as the general composition of a scene; the lighting of the set or location; the choice of cameras, lenses, filters, and film
stock; the camera angle and movements; and the integration of any special effects. These components create mood and the atmosphere of a film, without it the world wouldn’t be believable, more dull and boring. Using cinematography to tell the audience how a character is feeling instead of using dialogue is a extremely effective feature as constantly using dialogue gets repetitive.

Sound is another important factor in creating the atmosphere in film. It’s a great way to make a scene tense and suspenseful in a simple and effective way. Sound in a movie includes music, dialogue, sound effects, ambient noise, and/or background noise and soundtracks. Some sort of sound is always used to enhance the movie experience.

Theses are other elements to creating a “good film” but not used as much as the four main components.

● Theme- The central idea of the film, what is the film about? The theme of the story. A specific and distinctive quality, characteristic. Or a melodic subject of a musical
composition or movement.

● Genre- Genre is the category a film is placed in regarding the narrative elements.
Film genres are important for screenwriters and film audiences because they establish a tonal expectation. Some basic movie genres include: Action: Movies in the action genre are fast-paced and include a lot of action like fight scenes, chase scenes, and slow-motion shots.

● Message or Value- A way of thinking or instruction about how to behave that the film communicates to the audience. How are we told to think about the themes? relative worth, or importance of something.

● Representation- This is the way a media text is put together. In a film this includes the editing and choice of camera angles.

● Narrative- Narrating tells a fictional or fictionalized story, event or narrative. The main features of a narrative film are story, plot, character, diegetic and non-diegetic elements, time, space, and narrative perspectives.

● Style- Style is the way a movie is filmed, as in the techniques that are used in the production process.

● Authorship- The idea was that a film is most valuable when it is the product of the director, and his personal style. The influences of the director can be seen through all of his works, often at times exhibiting aspects of their personal life portrayed throughout each film.
Looking at all of these different elements to create film shows a balance to what directors and filmmakers should be interpreting into their film. Yet with this not all directors who add all of these elements into their film, create “good” films, it’s how they use them, maybe not even using all of them.

The Diegetic gaze [3rd person]- The joker (2019) allows the viewers to sympathize for the character, to come down to their level. For this scene, coming down to this position helps us connect with him a lot more because were are too, being placed on the floor.

Intra-Diegetic gaze [first person]- Paranormal Activity (2007) using what’s called “found footage” in films are among the most popular sub-genres of horror movies. That’s because found footage movies found the key ingredient to hooking their audience in right away. Watching the movie makes one feel as if they are trapped within the confines of the forest alongside the documentary crew.

Extra-Diegetic gaze- Nightcrawler (2014) uses a subtle forth wall break. Unlike movies like Deadpool and American Psycho which talk directly to the camera, Nightcrawler uses a scene where the character Lou Bloom looks directly into the camera for a second. The use of this forth wall break separates the audience from the scene their watching. As this scene is quite an intense scene, the character making brief eye-contact mid breakdown is unexpected and take the audience by surprise, making them aware.

Diegetic Gaze [3rd Person]: The Platform [2019] allows the viewer to question the system that the characters have been placed in whilst still being engaged in the plot.

Intra-Diegetic Gaze [1st Person]: Rec [2007] uses the ‘found footage’ genre to allow the viewer to fully immerse themselves in the film and feel as though they are interacting with the characters instead of just watching the scenes play out in front of them.

Extra-Diegetic Gaze [2nd Person]: Deadpool [2016] uses a lot of 4th wall breaks which adds comedic elements to the film and involves the viewer in the world.

Diegetic Gaze – How the audience is being asked to look at the content or subjects on screen by the director.

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Intra-Diegetic Gaze – When the audience are put in the place of a character and being asked to see things from their viewpoint.

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Extra-Diegetic Gaze – When someone on screen addresses the audience directly by looking directly down the lens of the camera.

Diegetic perspective:

Diegetic perspective is when the audience looks at the events from an outside perspective. This can also be referred to as ‘This Person Perspective’

Intra-diegetic perspective:

Intra-diegetic perspective is when the audience takes the perspective of an established character. This technique is used a lot in horror films to ground the audience in the horror. This can also be referred to as ‘First person perspective’.

Example: Psycho – shower scene

Extra-diegetic perspective:

Extra-diegetic perspective is when a character directly addresses the fact that the audience is there, recognising the audience as an external entity either simply looking in or almost as a character in the world, even if for just a moment. This can also be referred to as ‘Second person perspective’.

Example: The Emperor’s New Groove

In Amélie (Jean Pierre-Jeunet, 2001), Audrey Tatou’s protagonist consistently narrates to the audience; breaking the suspension of disbelief to correlate with the light-hearted and comedic tone.

Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island (2010) allows this low angle shot could be interpreted as an implication of power; giving a clear label to the characters who in this scene appear superior in knowledge and control of their surroundings.

A rare insight into the mind of Halloween’s (1978) main antagonist, Michael Myers is given to the audience through this effective use of introspective focus.

Intra-diegetic (firstperson): ‘Hereditary’

During Charlie’s death scene; the audience is placed in Charlie’s perspective. The use of subjective camera angles creates a relationship between the character (in the film) and the audience.

Extra-diegetic (secondperson): ‘Deadpool 2’

Deadpool 2 contains scenes throughout the film where Deadpool directly addresses the audience. Breaking the 4th wall in films makes the audience feel involved, but the repetitive uses of Extra-diegetic techniques can sometimes break the immersion between the audience and the film.

Diegetic perspective (third-person): ‘her’

A perspective that presents the audience with content and subjects for them to focus on. In this example from the movie ‘her’, Theodore is dressed and positioned to stand out; from the color of the clothes he’s wearing; to the various couples who surround him. He’s essentially separated from the rest of the crowd.

Diegetic perspective or gaze – is expressed how the audience is being asked to look at the content or subjects on screen by the director. (this is third person)

Intra-Diegetic gaze – is when the audience are put in the place of a character and seeing things from their point of view. (this is first person)

Extra-Diegetic gaze – when someone on screen addresses the audience directly by looking into the lens of the character, also known as breaking the fourth wall. (this is second person)

diegetic – how the audience is being asked to look at the content or subjects on the screeby director. eg what does the director try and make the audience see.

intra diegetic– when the audience is put in place of the character and sees the scene from the characters perspective examples- reservoir dogs, toy story

extra diegetic- a character breaking the fourth wall eg by looking at the camera or speaking directly to the audience examples -ferris buellers day off, deadpool

Blade Runner (Scott, 1982) Preference- 7/10 Memorable Scene- Zhora’s death Film element focus- Mise-en-scene