Member Topic: How well-versed are you with the language of cinema?

The language of cinema is the use of all the elements of a film to convey information and emotion. Those element include the use of image composition, blocking, wide or close-up shots, camera movement, editing, lighting, sound, music, costume sets and more.

Is anyone here well-versed with these aspects?

Or do you watch films only for entertainment?

I am curious to know if any of you have studied cinema?

I wouldn't say that I'm well-versed but I take notice when directors go to extraordinary lengths to create their desired outcome on screen.

Mis-en-scene is the first fancy term that comes to mind. It basically means setting the stage for an act and includes the actors, the scenery, lighting, props, their placements during the act, and the overall ambience everything in front of the camera gives off.

SLB movies are fine examples of nailing mis-en-scene cuz every single piece you see in front of you is deliberate and meant to play a part in conveying cultural and aesthetic value along with the story of the movie.

Some directors capture shots filled with symbolism and sophisticated visual presentation. Bahubali was brilliant in that aspect!

Another technical aspect in movies can be a super minimalist approach in its mis-en-scenes. The director might play a lot with camera and lighting but keep the props very minimal so that our eyes don't veer from the actors in the scene, the cuts and angles. I guess Paglaitt is a good example ... or Aamir or Badla .. you get the point.

Then there are all kinds of camera angles, movements and shots to create a certain kind of effect. Horror movies mostly employ tilted camera angles or super close up angles. A lady might be showering peacefully but the camera angles might look odd or focus on a roach crawling around the ceiling ... and then the camera might suddenly jump to a black cat meowing out of nowhere with an eery music to throw people off. That's camerawork trying to build tension and unpredictability with jump cuts ... trying to replace the usual camera continuity with rapid changes to create disheveled effect to scenes.

Since bollywood movies always come with songs, musicals also come in two kinds. Backstage musical is when a song/performance does nothing to move the story forward but is only there for music/performance's sake. Most of the item songs would fall under that. And then there are straight musicals where the songs are used for narrative purposes.

I had to take a film art class in school and write lengthy paper assignments criticizing movies and the way they were shot. I had zero knowledge on film art before that, so I found it pretty fascinating just how much work goes behind all the camera angles and shots in movies that a layperson wouldn't even notice at all.

To TM: you ain't

why pretend?

Originally posted by: JackSparrowcraz

TM, you ain't

why pretend?

I never said I am

Originally posted by: SmittenKitten

I wouldn't say that I'm well-versed but I take notice when directors go to extraordinary lengths to create their desired outcome on screen.

Mis-en-scene is the first fancy term that comes to mind. It basically means setting the stage for an act and includes the actors, the scenery, lighting, props, their placements during the act, and the overall ambience everything in front of the camera gives off.

SLB movies are fine examples of nailing mis-en-scene cuz every single piece you see in front of you is deliberate and meant to play a part in conveying cultural and aesthetic value along with the story of the movie.

Some directors capture shots filled with symbolism and sophisticated visual presentation. Bahubali was brilliant in that aspect!

Another technical aspect in movies can be a super minimalist approach in its mis-en-scenes. The director might play a lot with camera and lighting but keep the props very minimal so that our eyes don't veer from the actors in the scene, the cuts and angles. I guess Paglaitt is a good example ... or Aamir or Badla .. you get the point.

Then there are all kinds of camera angles, movements and shots to create a certain kind of effect. Horror movies mostly employ tilted camera angles or super close up angles. A lady might be showering peacefully but the camera angles might look odd or focus on a roach crawling around the ceiling ... and then the camera might suddenly jump to a black cat meowing out of nowhere with an eery music to throw people off. That's camerawork trying to build tension and unpredictability with jump cuts ... trying to replace the usual camera continuity with rapid changes to create disheveled effect to scenes.

Since bollywood movies always come with songs, musicals also come in two kinds. Backstage musical is when a song/performance does nothing to move the story forward but is only there for music/performance's sake. Most of the item songs would fall under that. And then there are straight musicals where the songs are used for narrative purposes.

I had to take a film art class in school and write lengthy paper assignments criticizing movies and the way they were shot. I had zero knowledge on film art before that, so I found it pretty fascinating just how much work goes behind all the camera angles and shots in movies that a layperson wouldn't even notice at all.

Very enlightening. Thanks for this👍🏼