Film Studies Summer Task
What makes a film good?
Macro elements: story, characters, plot and genre
Micro elements:
- cinematography – This refers to the ‘shot’. Filmmakers control the cinematographic qualities of a shot, including, how the shot is framed, how long the shot is held for and what it looks like in terms of colour. This control that the filmmaker has over what we as a spectator can see is a key element of how we understand and make sense of film and relates directly to both the film’s narrative development and the conveying of the film’s messages and values.
- mise-en- scène -This refers to what is in the scene and it includes setting, costume, make-up and how characters are positioned within the scene.How a filmmaker chooses to use the principal components of mise-en-scène (setting, props, costume and make-up) can generate multiple connotations and suggest a range of possible interpretations.
- editing – At its most basic editing is the placing of one shot next to another usually as a ‘cut’ however this does not cover the complexity or importance of editing which also covers the graphic relationship, the rhythmic relationship, the spatial and temporal relationships which are present in the majority of narrative filmmaking. How the shot-to-shot relationships of continuity editing can be used to create meaning and generate response for the spectator.
- sound – Film sound is often considered both as a whole and broken down into its constituent parts.
This includes:
• diegetic sound – sound that the characters within the film world can hear and react to
• non-diegetic sound – sound that is added afterwards and should generate a response
within the audience.
It will also include contrapuntal and parallel sound:
• contrapuntal sound is sound which contrasts with the mood, image and even genre of the sequence
- parallel sound fits the spectators expectations for the sequence in terms of mood, image and genre
- performance – This relates directly to the performance of the cast and how meanings and responses are generated through their individual and collective performance. It considers the staging of a scene, how the cast are positioned within a set up as well as the type of performance being given. This would include the use of acting approaches such as method acting or improvisation
The balance and combination of all of the above creates a well-produced and highly rated film.