Themes of the Film Assignment | Top Universities
Identify the components of the shot, but explaining the meaning or significance behind those components and connecting the shot to the themes of the film
1. Dominant: Where is the eye attracted first? Why?
2. Lighting key: High key? Low key? High contrast? Some combination of these?
3. Shot and camera proxemics: What type of shot? How far away is the camera from the action?
4. Angle: Is the viewer (through the eye of the camera) looking up or down on the subject? Or is the camera neutral (eye level)?
5. Color values: What is the dominant color? Are there contrasting foils? Is there color symbolism?
6. Lens/filter/stock: How do these distort or comment on the
photographed materials?
7. Subsidiary contrasts: What are the main eye-stops after taking in the dominant?
8. Density: How much visual information is packed into the image? Is the texture stark, moderate, or highly detailed?
9. Composition: How is the two-dimensional space segmented and organized? What is the underlying design?
10. Form: Open or closed? Does the image suggest a window that arbitrarily isolates a fragment of the scene? Or a proscenium arch, in which the visual elements are carefully arranged and held in balance?
11. Framing: Tight or loose? Do characters have little to no room to move, or can they move freely without impediments?
12. Depth: On how many planes is the image composed? Does the background or foreground comment in any way on the midground?
13. Character placement: What part of the framed space do the characters occupy? Center? Top? Bottom? Edges? Why?
14. Staging positions: Which way do the characters look vis-à-vis the camera?
15. Character proxemics: How much space is between the
characters?
What are the 4 distinct formal elements that make up a film’s mise en scene?
• staging of the action
• physical setting and decor
• the manner in which these materials have framed
• the manner in which they are photographed. Get English homework help today
