Film Studies key terms

A character whose similarities or differences help reveal aspects of another character.

The creation of sounds by performing actions in synchronisation with filmed images, for example recording footsteps to accompany a character walking.

A detail that hints at an event which will happen later in the story.

A character's acknowledgement of the audience, breaking the imaginary boundary between the fictional world and its spectators.

A story that surrounds another story, establishing the circumstances in which it is told.

An outer narrative that introduces and surrounds another story.

The selection of what appears within the boundaries of a shot, shaped by camera distance, angle and position.

A surrounding situation that provides a way into other events, such as an interrogation that prompts accounts of the past.

A series of related films, often sharing characters, a fictional world and recognisable conventions.

A movement associated with a new generation of French directors from the late 1950s, whose filmmaking included the use of portable cameras and experimental techniques.

Social and cultural identities and expectations associated with being a woman, a man or another gender.

An expectation about how someone should behave because of their gender.

Conflict between people of different generations over their expectations, values or behaviour.

A recognisable feature commonly associated with a category of film, which helps audiences identify its genre and form expectations.

A category of film recognised through shared conventions, such as characteristic settings, characters, narratives and themes.

A recognisable feature associated with a film genre, such as a typical character, setting, narrative situation or kind of music.

A film that combines conventions from more than one genre.

The combination of conventions from different genres within one film.

The increasing connections between countries through business, technology, media and cultural exchange.

A tradition of stories featuring threatening or decaying settings, secrets and supernatural danger, often bringing the past into conflict with the present.

The visible texture of an image, which can make it appear less smooth or polished.

Filming with a camera held by its operator rather than fixed to a stable support, allowing mobile, often visibly unsteady images.

Filming with the camera held by the operator rather than fixed to a support such as a tripod; the image may show the operator’s movements.

A shot filmed with the camera held by an operator, which may show visible shake.

The assumption that heterosexual relationships are the normal or expected pattern of romantic life.

A shot filmed from above its subject, looking downwards.

Bright, relatively even lighting with limited contrast between light and dark areas.