Eduqas GCSE Film Studies key terms

A vertical camera turn upwards or downwards from a fixed position.

A South African urban residential area shaped by the history of racial segregation. In Tsotsi, township life includes poverty and basic housing, but also community and care.

A shot made while the camera moves through space, for example alongside a character or vehicle.

A recurring device, image or story pattern. A racial trope is a recurring pattern used to represent a racial group.

A shot containing two people, allowing their relationship to be expressed through their shared position within the frame.

The extent to which a feature or sequence is characteristic of a film’s wider style or of established genre conventions.

A character given limited development, complexity or independent importance in a narrative.

The appearance of truth or believable reality created by a film.

An arrangement in which a film company controls production, distribution and exhibition: making films, supplying them to cinemas and showing them.

Imagery created or altered to produce an effect in a film; digital visual effects are made using computers, usually during post-production.

An image that suggests an idea through visual comparison, such as a confined metal bin suggesting a coffin.

A recurring visual feature that develops an idea or helps establish a film’s distinctive style.

Speech heard over the images, rather than spoken visibly by a character within the shot.

A very rapid camera turn to the left or right, often producing a blurred movement between subjects.

An approach to feminism criticised for centring white women’s experiences while neglecting how racism and other inequalities shape the lives of other women.

A film format with a broad rectangular image, offering more horizontal space than earlier, narrower screen formats.

A shot that shows a broad view of the setting and the subjects within it, often allowing spectators to see whole-body movement.

Delaying information so that its later revelation can generate curiosity, suspense or surprise.

Delaying important information and later revealing it to shape curiosity, suspense or interpretation.

Delaying the disclosure of information to characters or the audience, creating uncertainty, suspense or a later revelation.

Fear, hostility or prejudice towards people regarded as foreign or outsiders.