A visual guide to The Language Of Film: How To Read A Film

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Film, like speech and writing, has a unique language

Writing, speech, and visual images all communicate within their own particular spheres.

Film Is A Visual Art

Visual art expresses its subjects in space. The art in visual art consists of how those subjects are composed in space. A painter composes with colour, shapes, and tones. A sculptor composes with shapes and spaces. A photographer composes with real and sometimes unreal objects of light.  The visual side of the film is primarily in the hands of three members of the production team:

  • Production Designer/ Art Director: Responsible for designing sets and the total visual concept of the film.
  • Cinematographer: Who decides the lighting, and in some cases the composition of the shot to be photographed.
  • Director: Who supervises the mechanics of filming.

Film Is Also A Temporal Art

A temporal art expresses its subjects in time. The art in a temporal art consists of how those subjects are composed in time. A playwright composes with characters’ behaviour and dialogue. A poet composes with the juxtaposition of words and phrases. A novelist composes with dialogue and descriptions of words and phrases.  The temporal side of the film is the responsibility of:

  • Director: Who must keep in mind how each action relates to the actions that come before and after it.
  • Film Editor: Who puts the pieces of film into interesting and coherent rhythms. His work often influences the structure of the scenes and may change the structure of the film.
  • Screenwriter: Who works out the temporal organisation of the film, which normally precedes the visual organisation. Working from the screenplay, the art director, director, and cinematographer then create the visual organisation.

The Art Of Collaboration

The art of collaboration in filmmaking is essential for creating compelling and memorable films. Effective communication among team members ensures that everyone understands the vision and goals of the project. Building trust and respect among team members fosters a positive working environment. A unified vision helps keep everyone on the same page. It’s essential for the director and key creatives to clearly articulate the desired outcome and ensure that all team members are aligned with this vision. Filmmaking involves balancing different perspectives and ideas. By embracing the Art Of Collaboration, filmmakers can create a cohesive and dynamic team that produces exceptional films.

Have a look at this terrific scene from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and see how he masterfully manipulates the senses through visual storytelling

Visual dynamics are important in Novels as well

Here’s how J.R.R Tolkien’s used Visual Dynamics in his novel The Hobbit:

Now if you wish, like the dwarves, to hear news of Smaug, you must go back again to the evening when he smashed the door and flew off in rage, two days before. The men of the lake-town Esgaroth were mostly indoors, for the breeze from the black East and chill, but a few were walking on the quays, and watching, as they were fond of doing, the stars shine out from the smooth patches of the lake as they opened in the sky.

J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver.

F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby

In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon, I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam.

The Visual Dynamics of Film

Films are created in bits and pieces and put together in an order that the filmmaker hopes will make sense to the viewer. When the filmmaker begins to create the film itself, he or she has a choice of a great variety of techniques to tell the story or communicate the ‘bits and pieces’.

Camera Work

The basic element in all films is the shot. This is a single piece of film that may be as short as one frame or as long as the entire film. The shot continues until the filmmaker decides to change to another shot.  In a finished film, the shot becomes a scene. Scenes are the building blocks of sequences, which make up the entire film. They can be compared to sentences which make up paragraphs that create an entire story. The filmmaker uses different kinds of shots to create variations. An establishing shot often comes at the beginning of a sequence to orient the audience with the general surroundings. Other shots are the medium shot, the close shot, the point of view shot. These different shots are used to create various feelings and moods in the audience.

Another series of shots used by filmmakers involves camera angles. There are three basic angles: High-angle shots look down on the subject; low-angle shots in which the camera looks up; and flat-angle shots or eye-level shots.

Here’s Terrence Mallick’s Tree of Life, where the film becomes a meditative visual experience.

The camera can also move; there have been several developments in the area: the steadicam, the fly-cam; remote head cameras and different cranes.

Here’s the flight scene from Man Of Steel, capturing the thrill, excitement and adventure of Superman’s first flight, something we all dream about. 

Optical Effects

Filmmakers use optical effects to influence how audiences see films.

  • Fade in: At the beginning of a new segment, the scene starts out black and grows brighter until it reaches the proper exposure.
  • Fade out:  At the end of several sequences, telling us that a segment has ended; the image grows darker until it is black.
  • Dissolve: A fade-out and fade-in overlapped to create the image that appears to mix one into the other. This is used to show the passage of time from one scene to the next.
  • Slow-motion: This is used to describe details better, to emphasise violence and action sequences, to show the beauty of a subject and to highlight the emotional impact of a scene.
  • Wipes: When one scene ‘wipes’ or moves another scene off the screen.
  • Freeze frame: To emphasise a particular frame or image.
  • Swish pan: The camera pans rapidly from one character to another in a scene, creating rapid pacing and increasing tempo.

Here’s the classic fight scene from The Matrix Reloaded, using optical effects to plunge us into the action.

Point Of View (P.O.V)

The filmmaker, similar to the author of a novel, can use various points of view. 

In Witness, an 8-year-old Amish boy whose father has just died is exploring the Philadelphia Amtrack station. We see him glance towards his mother, waiting on a bench, an unfamiliar sight in her black coat and bonnet. Then the camera moves at child’s-eye level, letting us see what the boy sees. We ‘walk’ as he walks, looking at a gigantic gold-covered statue. Next, the camera cuts to an overhead shot, looking down from high up the rafters, at the statue and the small boy. We, the audience, become involved and identify with the boy.

In Road to Perdition, Sam Mendes brilliantly uses point of view to accentuate a young boy’s realisation that his father is a killer.

Editing

Next to the actual photography, editing shots into the order a filmmaker wants is perhaps the most important part of creating a film.  A group of scenes that are edited together make up the sequence. The cut is used to change our attention from one scene to another. The joining of one scene with another scene, how scenes follow one another, may seem a simple notion, but the cut in a film is one of the most powerful of the filmmaker’s techniques.

Creative editing involves cutting scenes so the action flows smoothly.

  • Matching action: We see a character walk to a door, open it, and start to go through to the other side. The viewpoint changes to inside the room, and we see the character continue on into the room. The action is smooth. There is one continuous flow of movement from outside to inside.
  • Montage: Each of the scenes passes quickly, but each scene is connected by similar ideas. One classic montage occurs in Citizen Kane. Orson Welles and Ruth Warrick, playing husband and wife, start the sequence by having breakfast at opposite ends of a conventionally sized dining table. As the sequence progresses, the table becomes longer and more stretched out. By the end of the scenes, we see the couple reading separate newspapers and obviously paying no attention to each other. The montage gives viewers a quick understanding of the couple’s growing indifference, to tell without dialogue the reason behind the marriage break-up.
  • Blind Editing: When the editor joins to scenes so that you cannot see where the cut is made. In The Color Purple several scenes are masterfully linked with visual and sound-editing.

The editor must be aware of the rhythm, tempo and pacing of the film.

  • Rhythm: The beat that we feel as we see the edited images pass by.
  • Tempo: The rate of the rhythm, or how fast the rhythm moves.
  • Pacing: The various changes in tempo and rhythm that take place in the film.

The film editor uses two basic techniques:

  • Cut-ins: Some detail of the main action is cut into the middle of another scene. For instance, a medium shot shows several characters talking. Suddenly one of them steps back in terror. At this point there is a cut-in of the actor’s face. The cut-in is also a close-up.
  • Cut-away: Cuts to another bit of action which involves the first scene. In the same shot as in the example above, one of the characters turns and looks off screen in terror. What she sees is what we see next – a cut-away to a man entering a room, holding a gun.

By juxtaposing bits and pieces of film that have been carefully planned and shot, a film editor can do all sort of tricks.

Here’s the classic shootout in Brian de Palma’s The Untouchables, an ultimate feat in editing to manipulate the physical and emotional action.

Lighting

Lighting placed low can give actors a sinister look. If it is dimmed it may make the same actors look depressed or sad. A shadow of a knife across a face and the shadow of a murderer stalking his victim are examples of shadow techniques.

Stanley Kubrick filmed Barry Lyndon using only natural light, drawing us into the world of the story.

Colour

Filmmakers can use the intensity or brightness of colour, as well as the lack of colour to paint a story.

Colour is a powerful tool in filmmaking, influencing the visual storytelling and emotional impact of a film.

  • Setting the Mood and Atmosphere – Colour can create a specific mood or atmosphere in a scene. For example, warm colours like red and orange can evoke feelings of warmth, passion, or tension, while cool colours like blue and green can create a sense of calm, sadness, or detachment.
  • Conveying Emotions – Colour can be used to represent the emotions of characters or the overall emotional tone of a scene. For example, a character experiencing anger might be surrounded by red hues, while a character in a melancholic state might be depicted in muted or desaturated colours.
  • Enhancing Visual Storytelling – Colours can be used to highlight important elements in a scene, guide the viewer’s attention, and enhance the storytelling. For example, a bright colour might be used to draw attention to a key object or character.
  • Symbolism and Themes – Colours often carry symbolic meanings and can reinforce themes within the film. For example, the use of white might symbolize purity or innocence, while black might represent evil or mystery. Filmmakers can use colour symbolism to add depth and layers of meaning to the narrative.
  • Creating Visual Contrast – Contrasting colours can create visual interest and highlight differences between characters, settings, or time periods. For example, a character dressed in bright colours might stand out against a dull background, emphasizing their uniqueness or importance.
  • Establishing Time and Place – Colour palettes can be used to distinguish different time periods, locations, or realities within a film. For example, a sepia tone might be used to represent a historical setting, while vibrant colours might indicate a futuristic world.
  • Continuity and Cohesion – Consistent use of colour can help create a cohesive visual style and enhance the overall aesthetic of the film. A carefully chosen colour palette can create a sense of unity and harmony throughout the film.
  • Eliciting Audience Reactions – Colour can evoke specific psychological responses from the audience. For example, the use of red can create a sense of urgency or excitement, while blue can have a calming effect.
  • Supporting Character Development – Colours can be used to represent a character’s journey or transformation. For example, a character might start the film dressed in dark, muted colours and gradually transition to brighter colours as they experience personal growth or change.
  • Creating Memorable Visuals – Striking use of colour can create iconic and memorable visuals that leave a lasting impression on the audience. Colourful and visually distinctive scenes can become iconic moments in film history.

Here’s the classic ‘girl with the red jacket’ scene from Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, brilliantly showing the effect war has on children. 

Composition

There is no rule in composition. Usually, the frame or image is composed so that it pleases the eye, emphasises something, or so that it will describe a tension between colours, shapes, and vertical and horizontal figures.

Composition in filmmaking is a fundamental aspect of visual dynamics, shaping how scenes are framed and presented to the audience. It involves the deliberate arrangement of elements within the frame to create a visually compelling and coherent image.

Examples of Effective Composition in Film

  • Wes Anderson: Known for his meticulous use of symmetry and color palettes, Anderson’s films like “The Grand Budapest Hotel” showcase precise and visually striking compositions.
  • Stanley Kubrick: Kubrick’s use of one-point perspective, as seen in “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “The Shining,” creates a sense of depth and visual impact.
  • Alfred Hitchcock: Hitchcock’s use of framing and leading lines, particularly in “Vertigo” and “Psycho,” guides the viewer’s eye and enhances suspense.

Composition is a powerful tool in filmmaking, allowing directors and cinematographers to craft visually engaging and emotionally resonant scenes. By mastering the principles of composition, filmmakers can create memorable and impactful visual storytelling.

Tim Burton is a master when it comes to composition. Here’s a scene from Sweeney Todd. Every frame is carefully composed to contribute to the theme of passion and desperation. 

Sound

Sound design has become an integral part of filmmaking. With the development of sound design, filmmakers can fully involve audiences in the visual action.

Sound plays a crucial role in filmmaking, significantly impacting the audience’s experience and emotional engagement.

  • Setting the Mood – Sound design, including background scores, ambient sounds, and effects, helps set the tone and mood of a scene. For example, suspenseful music can create tension, while a serene soundtrack can evoke calmness.
  • Enhancing Realism – Natural sounds like footsteps, rustling leaves, or city noises contribute to the authenticity of the film’s environment. These sounds immerse the audience in the setting, making the experience more believable.
  • Supporting the Narrative – Dialogue is a primary means of conveying the story and character development. Clear and well-executed dialogue helps the audience understand the plot, motivations, and emotions of the characters.
  • Creating Emotional Impact – Music and sound effects can evoke strong emotional responses from the audience. A powerful score can amplify the emotional intensity of a scene, whether it’s joy, sorrow, fear, or excitement.
  • Guiding the Audience’s Focus – Sound can direct the audience’s attention to specific elements within a scene. For example, a sudden sound can draw attention to a particular action or object, enhancing the visual storytelling.
  • Building Atmosphere and World-Building – Sound design helps create a unique atmosphere and world within the film. For instance, the futuristic sounds in sci-fi films or the eerie ambiance in horror movies contribute to the overall world-building.
  • Supporting Transitions – Sound bridges can smoothly transition between scenes or sequences. Music or sound effects can help maintain continuity and flow, making the film more cohesive.
  • Reinforcing Themes and Motifs – Recurring musical themes or motifs can reinforce key elements of the story. For example, a character’s theme music can signify their presence or emotions, adding depth to the narrative.
  • Creating Immersion – Surround sound and spatial audio techniques can create a more immersive experience for the audience. These techniques make the viewer feel like they are part of the action, enhancing the overall impact of the film.
  • Adding Layers of Meaning – Sound can add subtext and layers of meaning to a scene. For example, the use of contrasting music can create irony or highlight underlying emotions that are not explicitly shown on screen.

In summary, sound is an integral part of filmmaking, contributing to the overall storytelling, emotional impact, and audience engagement. It works in harmony with visual elements to create a memorable and immersive cinematic experience.

What better example than the opening from Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, where sound and image collide

Special and Visual Effects

With the advent of more realism in films of the 90s, and especially computer-generated effects,  Special Effects companies now take audiences where they have never been before.

Visual Effects (VFX)

Visual effects are created using computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other digital techniques to enhance or create scenes that cannot be achieved through traditional filming methods. VFX are often used to create fantastical elements, extend environments, or simulate complex actions.

Special Effects (SFX)

Special effects are practical effects created on set during filming, using physical methods rather than digital techniques. SFX include makeup, prosthetics, animatronics, pyrotechnics, and more. Special effects involve real physical elements, such as explosions, squibs, and fire. These effects are created and captured on camera, adding a sense of realism and tangibility. Mechanical effects include animatronics, puppetry, and mechanical rigs that create realistic movements and actions. These effects are often used for creatures, vehicles, and other dynamic elements. Stunt coordinators and performers use SFX to safely execute complex and dangerous actions, such as fight scenes, car chases, and falls. This adds excitement and authenticity to action sequences. Physical sets, miniatures, and props are created to enhance the visual storytelling. These tangible elements provide a sense of scale and detail that can be captured on camera.

Modern filmmaking often involves a combination of VFX and SFX to achieve the desired visual impact. This collaboration allows for the best of both worlds, blending digital and practical techniques to create visually stunning and immersive experiences.

Visual and special effects are integral to filmmaking, expanding the creative possibilities and enhancing the visual storytelling. By mastering these techniques, filmmakers can create memorable and impactful cinematic experiences

Watch this hilarious clip from Robert Zemeckis’ Death Becomes Her, where visual effects contribute to the delightful humour

Exposition as a Visual Dynamic

Exposition is usually, but not always achieved through dialogue; characters talk about what happened in order to establish the next direction in the storyline. Primary exposition is the telling and showing to the audience the time and the place of the story, the names and relationships of the characters, and the nature of the conflict.

Exposition, in the context of visual storytelling, is the technique used to convey background information about the characters, setting, and plot to the audience. It’s essential for providing context and helping the audience understand the story. While exposition is often delivered through dialogue or narration, it can also be conveyed visually, making it a powerful tool in filmmaking.

  • Visual Clues and Symbols -Using visual elements to provide information can be more engaging than traditional exposition. For example, showing a character’s worn-out shoes and cluttered room can hint at their struggles and personality without needing explicit dialogue.
  • Props and Set Design – The objects and environment around the characters can tell a lot about their history and situation. For instance, a room filled with family photos and mementos can convey a character’s attachment to their past and loved ones.
  • Costume and Makeup – A character’s appearance can provide insights into their background, status, and personality. For example, a character wearing an old, patched-up uniform might suggest they have been through many battles.
  • Montages – A sequence of images or scenes edited together can efficiently convey a significant amount of information in a short period. For example, a montage showing a character’s childhood, training, and journey can provide context for their current situation.
  • Flashbacks and Flash-forwards – Using visual flashbacks or flash-forwards can reveal crucial information about a character’s past or future. These sequences can be visually distinct, using different color palettes or styles to indicate the time shift.
  • Environmental Storytelling – The surroundings and setting can provide context and background information. For example, a post-apocalyptic world can be conveyed through desolate landscapes, destroyed buildings, and scattered remnants of civilization.
  • Character Actions and Behaviors – How characters interact with their environment and other characters can reveal important information. For example, a character’s hesitation before entering a particular location can suggest past trauma associated with that place.
  • Visual Metaphors – Using visual metaphors can convey complex ideas and themes. For example, showing a character trapped in a small, confined space can symbolize their feeling of being trapped in their life or circumstances.

Examples of Effective Visual Exposition in Film:

  • Up: The opening sequence of Pixar’s “Up” is a masterclass in visual exposition. Through a montage of images, it tells the entire life story of Carl and Ellie, their dreams, struggles, and love, all without a single word of dialogue.
  • Blade Runner 2049: The film’s set design, including the futuristic cityscape and decaying environments, provides rich context for the world and its social dynamics.
  • Mad Max: Fury Road: The visual storytelling in this film conveys the harshness of the post-apocalyptic world and the characters’ desperation through environmental details and character designs.

By using visual exposition effectively, filmmakers can create a more immersive and engaging experience for the audience. It allows for storytelling that is both subtle and powerful, making the information feel organic and integral to the visual narrative.

Here’s how Hitchcock uses Exposition in Spellbound (1954)

In THE WRITE JOURNEY course we fully explore VISUAL DYNAMICS in STORY: How to create Flashbacks, the description of characters, setting & worldbuilding