Eduqas GCSE Film Studies key terms

The use of humour, ridicule or exaggeration to expose and criticise beliefs, behaviour or institutions.

Music composed for a film to accompany its action and help create meaning and emotion.

The written plan for a film's scenes, actions and dialogue, which establishes how its narrative will be communicated.

The separation of groups, often enforced through restrictions on where people can live or which spaces they can use.

A film that draws attention to filmmaking or to its own methods of creating images and entertainment.

A film’s acknowledgement or exploration of its own medium and methods, such as showing how lighting and machinery manufacture a romantic atmosphere.

A connected series of shots forming a meaningful section of a film, such as an encounter or a performance.

Objects used to furnish or decorate a setting rather than being handled by performers.

A visual addition that expands a filmed setting beyond the physical set or location.

The time, place and environment in which a film's action takes place.

Unequal judgement of similar sexual behaviour, particularly when girls or women are condemned for behaviour that brings boys or men status.

The broad changes in attitudes towards sex and relationships associated with the 1960s and 1970s, including greater openness about sexuality.

Focus that keeps a limited area sharp while other areas, often the background, appear blurred.

One continuous image recording, presented without an intervening edit.

Editing that alternates between views of characters, commonly during a conversation, to show their exchange and reactions.

Editing that alternates between views of characters, often during a conversation, to establish their relationship and reactions.

Editing that alternates between opposing views, such as a character looking and the object they look at, or two characters facing one another.

Cinema made without synchronised recorded dialogue, relying chiefly on images, performance and editing to communicate its stories. Screenings were often accompanied by live music.

A dark outline of a person or object seen against a brighter background, with little detail visible within it.

Exclusion or separation from society, including the feeling that someone does not belong or is not valued.

Aspects of society and its structure reflected in a film, including relationships between groups and the pressures shaping people’s lives.

A style that gives attention to everyday lives and social problems, often using recognisable locations and believable details.

A softened visual appearance that reduces sharp detail and can give a face a glamorous, idealised quality.

Mutual support and a sense of shared interests or belonging between people.

Sound that continues across a change of shot or scene, connecting different images or moments.

A sound used to represent or emphasise an event or action, such as a door slam or an explosion.

Writing by a film specialist that offers ideas about filmmaking or interpretations of films. For Eduqas Section C, students use a set extract.