LITERARY ELEMENTS DEFINITION
• Similar to the elements of text
• Reader/viewer recognizes specific qualities in the movie or novel in order to
follow the plot
• Identification
• “Who, what, when, where, why, and how”
• Symbols, Themes, Setting, Point of View
LITERARY ELEMENT CHARACTERISTICS
• Plot : The “What”, as in What is going on?–exposition, rising action, falling action, and resolution
• Setting: The “Where” and “When” –historical and physical time and place
• Point of View (P.O.V.): The “Who” –perspective from which the story is told (1st, 3rd, Omniscient)
• Symbols: a person, place, or object that is used to represent a deeper meaning within the story
• Theme: the “message” –the deep structure consisting of the film’s ideas and truths
DRAMATIC ELEMENTS DEFINITION
• The actors, actresses, costumes, make-up, and other essentials in establishing the character
and time period of the film
DRAMATIC ELEMENT CHARACTERISTICS
• Costumes/Make-Up: provides the viewer with a sense of the character’s personality social status,
and occupation
• Setting: Location, or set, helps the audience realize a sense of time and place the movie or play is
happening
• Personality: what the character is like (ex: mean, kind, happy, etc.) based on the way they act and look
• Social status: what level of wealth the character is at (ex: rich, poor) based on the way they act and
look
• Occupation: what job the character has (ex: carpenter, sailor) based on the way they act and look
CINEMATIC ELEMENT DEFINITION
• The types of shots, movements, angles, and sounds done by the camera and that are used within
the movie
CINEMATIC ELEMENTS DEFINITION
• Types of shots
• Long shot (ls)—a shot taken from a sufficient distance to show a landscape, a building, or a
large crowd; establishes the shot
• Medium shot (MS)— a shot between a long shot and a close-up that might show two people in
full figure or several people from the waist up
• Close-up (cu)—a shot of one face or object that fills the screen completely
CAMERA ANGLES
• High angle— the camera looks down at what is being photographed; looks belittling
• Point of view shot, or POV (also referred to as “eye level” shot) — a shot that estimates human
vision. Hint: we see through the character’s eyes what the character is seeing
• Low angle— the camera looks up at what is being photographed; looks empowering
CAMERA MOVEMENTS
• Pan— the camera moves horizontally on a fixed base (ex: camera follows characters throughout
a room)
• Zoom— not a camera movement, but a shift in the focal length of the camera lens to give the
impression that the camera is getting closer to or farther from the object
• Backdrop projection— not a camera movement, but footage you put on the green screened
image for the background scenery (usually when characters are in a vehicles) to make it appear
as if the vehicle is moving
TYPES OF EDITING
• Cut— the most common type of transition in which one scene ends and a new one immediately
begins
• Fade-in/fade-out—one scene gradually goes dark and the new one gradually emerges from the
darkness
• Dissolve— a gradual transition in which the end of one scene is superimposed over the
beginning of a new one
• Wipe— an optical effect in which one shot appears to “wipe” the preceding one from the screen
(very cheesy)
DIAGETIC VS. NON-DIAGETIC SOUNDS
• Diagetic sound— sounds/music from the world of the film (hint: sounds/music which
characters hear, ex: a radio playing on a kitchen countertop as two characters dance to the
music)
• Non-diagetic sound— sound/music not from the world of the film (hint: sounds/music which
characters do not hear, ex: soundtrack music)