Eduqas GCSE Film Studies key terms

The use of weather or the natural environment to reflect human emotions.

A social system in which men hold dominant authority and women have less power.

Influence from people of a similar age or social group that encourages someone to behave in an accepted way.

The selection and arrangement of events and information presented to the spectator by a film.

A significant event that changes the direction of a narrative.

A shared issue or feature used to explain a meaningful similarity or difference between films.

The perspective through which spectators experience a narrative, shaping what they see, hear and know.

A shot that shows what a character is looking at, aligning the spectator with that character’s visual perspective.

The political issues, beliefs and power relationships reflected in a film.

A lightweight camera that can be carried and used more easily on location, including for hand-held filming.

An outlook that treats feminist gains as already achieved and often emphasises individual confidence and choice. DeRogatis questions whether Juno's appearance of empowerment conceals a less supportive message about women.

The stage after shooting when footage is edited and elements such as sound and visual effects are completed.

A physical effect produced and filmed during shooting, rather than created digitally afterwards.

The Hollywood period before strict enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code in 1934. The Code had been introduced in 1930, and other censorship pressures still existed.

A Hollywood film made before strict enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code, also known as the Hays Code.

The process of making a film, including organising its resources, filming and completing the finished work.

The money allocated to making a film, which influences the resources and production choices available.

The Motion Picture Production Code, also called the Hays Code: Hollywood’s system of rules governing acceptable screen content, including sexual content.

An inanimate object an actor interacts with in a film. A key prop has particular significance for character or narrative.

Material designed to influence beliefs or behaviour in support of a particular cause or political authority.

The central character whose experiences organise the story.

The distances and positions between characters within an image, which can suggest their relationships.

A change of focus within a shot that redirects attention between subjects at different distances from the camera.

An approach that makes a film’s characters, environments and events seem believable and recognisable as everyday life.

Providing information previously kept from spectators, changing their understanding of events.

The balance between familiar genre conventions and variations that give audiences something new.

The way a film constructs a particular view of people, groups, places or ideas through choices about what to show and how to show it.