Film Studies key terms

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

The written plan for a film's scenes, action and dialogue, which establishes how its narrative will unfold.

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 deliberate attention to its own construction or to the processes of filmmaking.

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 only a limited area or distance sharp, directing attention towards selected details.

One continuous image recording, presented without an intervening edit.

An editing pattern that alternates between views of characters, often during a conversation, to establish their interaction and reactions.

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, such as class divisions, family relationships and gender roles.

A style of filmmaking that presents recognisable social conditions and everyday experiences, often focusing on working-class lives.

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 an edit, connecting the images or scenes on either side.

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

Writing by a critic or film specialist that offers ideas about how films work, what they mean or how they should be understood.

Visually or aurally striking display that engages spectators through its sensory impact, rather than only through the events of the story.

An individual member of a film's audience.

The way a film brings viewers close to a character’s experiences or perspective. This need not mean that viewers approve of the character’s actions.