English CFT Vocabulary

• Decoding - To convert code into plain text and to extract the underlying meaning from a text.
• Deconstruction - To break down into components; dismantle and to write about or analyse.
• Angle of Shots- The direction and height from which the camera takes the scene.
• Framing - Invites the viewers to see a particular point-of-view (POV) and introduces connotations of power and frailty
• Low Camera Angle - Places the subject above the eye-level of the audience. Creates the impression that the subject in the scene is bigger and more powerful or threatening. Often used for the villain to make them seem scary, dominant, cruel or nasty
• High Camera Angle - Opposite effect of the low angle. The audience looking down on the subject creates vulnerability. Filmmakers use this if they want the subject to seem innocent, weak, inferior, helpless, or under threat from another character or situation
• Close up - Show the expressions on a subject's face, filling the frame. Reveals emotions or highlights important moments in the film's plot. The subject being focused on could be a character or an object of relevance
• Establishing Shot - A shot that shows a scene's setting. Usually, a long / wide / aerial shot shows a lot of a film's setting for context. It tells you the "where" and possibly the "when" of a film.
• Long / Wide Shot - A shot that shows all or most of a fairly large subject (e.g. a person) along with much of the surroundings. Often used to establish the characters within a setting.
• Medium / Mid Shot - A shot that shows the subject occupying roughly equal areas of the frame with the setting. Usually, it shows the subject from the waist or knees up; there is space for hand gestures to be seen. Used to display characters' actions or objects acting on a character.
• Symbolism - The use of symbols to represent an idea.
• Colour Symbolism - There is a lot of subjective meaning that cultures and societies place on colours.
• Sound - Music, speech, and sound effects that are recorded and used to accompany a film.
• Silent Films - No dialogue used. The only sound would come from a pianist providing loud music.
• Dialogue - A conversation between two or more people.
• Sound-over - Music, voiceover
• Sound within - Noises, actions
• Score - Music that is played during the scenes of a film to reinforce a mood or theme being shown / emphasized on screen.
• Power of Sound:

  • Generally introduced to make a scene more realistic
  • Birds singing in the background, curtains flapping in the breeze, phones ringing, passing cars on the street... these all help immerse the audience into the setting and its atmosphere
• Lighting - In a film, this is when light is set up to guide one's eye to a specific actor, prop, or part of a scene.
• Colour - In a film, this is more than just aesthetics - it helps to evoke a mood or set the tone for a scene.
• The Effect of Lighting:

  • Can be used to reflect the characters' psychology > the amount, size, colour, and harshness cam be adjusted to match emotions
  • Helps to define and support the genre of a film, e.g. horror vs. comedy
• The Effect of Colour:

  
  

  Adjusted through one of three ways:

  • Brightness (how dark or light it is)
  • Saturation (the intensity of the colour)
  • Hue (the colour combination)
  • A colour palette can help set a film's primary theme but often a film will have different colours for different kinds of scenes
• Mise-en-scène - The stage design and arrangement of actors, props, and sets that help with storytelling and direction.

  French - "Placing on stage"
• Why does it matter?

  It is all arranged for a reason.

  It is comprised of many elements that come together to create an intended effect on you, the viewer.
• Composition - How the actors, scenery, props, etc. appear in respect to each other and within the frame of the shot.
• Rule of Thirds:

  • Breaking down the image into thirds both horizontally and vertically
  • The grid of NINE (9) imaginary sections can help you "frame" points of interest within a shot
  • A good guiding rule for creating balanced and interesting shots
• Considering Composition:

  • What is the viewer supposed to be focusing on in the center of the shot?
  • What's happening at the edges of the shot?
  • What's happening in the background of the shot?

  • Could create a sense of warning or hope
  • Could create suspense or mystery
• Gestures - When an actor draws attention to a specific action through hand gestures, body language / movements, and facial expressions.
• Music - The use of music in the background. Try to analyse the sounds in detail and how they emphasise a particular mood in the scene. Useful words for this are:

  • String / wind / percussion / brass
  • Loud / quiet
  • Gradually / suddenly
  • Low pitch / high pitch
  • Fast tempo / slow tempo
  • Chaotic / orderly
  • Playful / stern
  • Violent / calm
• Contrast - When two things are strikingly different.
• Facial Expressions - How are a character's emotions conveyed through their facial expression?
• Posture and Gesture - How does a character's physical movement demonstrate their feelings?


  Body language
• Metaphor - Comparison between two unlike things.
• Simile - A comparison that use like or as
• Personification - Human qualities to objects or animals.
• Hyperbole - Exaggerated figure of speech.
• Imperative Verbs - When a verb is used as a command, e.g. "Stop that at once!"
• Personal pronouns - When a word is used in place of a noun to address someone, e.g. I, you, he / she, they, we. Often, these can be used to create familiarity and a bond with someone else, or they could be used in a way which emphasises accusation, e.g. "We must all stand together."
• Foreshadowing - Hints at future events in a story.