English 1A: Introduction to English Studies ENGL5121/w

Key Film Techniques

In order to engage in any level of film analysis, there are a number of key film
techniques that need to be understood, both in terms of their definitions, and in relation
to their use in films.

What follows is an explanation of various key film techniques arranged under aspects of
mise-en-scene, cinematography (composition, camera angle, lighting, camera
movement, lens work), and post-production (editing). Please ensure that you learn
both the definition of each technique described below and find examples of its use in the
prescribed BBC Sherlock episode, “The hounds of Baskerville”.

Mise-en-scene
This term (meaning “setting the stage” in French) refers to everything that occurs on
screen during the filming process, including everything that is visible and audible in any
given shot. It involves the purposeful framing and positioning of actors and props, the
actions and sounds that are used, as well as the camera work, lighting, costuming, colour
schemes, and overall set design and location. Mise-en-scene directly influences the style,
tone, atmosphere, and messaging of a film by creating a realistic or theatrical/fantastical
(and everything in-between) landscape and soundscape for the audience, shot by shot,
and scene by scene.

Cinematography – Composition
The composition of a shot is what the viewer sees through the frame of the camera lens
at any moment. This is dictated by the distance of the camera from the people/objects in
each shot:

Extreme close-up – The camera frames a specific body part, usually the eye(s), mouth,
hand(s), or foot/feet, in order to focus the audience’s attention on specific emotions or
actions of a character on screen.

Close-up – The camera frames a person’s head, usually cutting off mid-neck. Used for
capturing a full range of facial expressions and emotions, often during intimate or tense
scenes and conversations.

Medium close-up – The camera frames a person’s head and shoulders, usually cutting
off mid-chest. Reveals a little of the surroundings, but keeps audience focus on the
character, and is most commonly used for conversations and interviews.

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Medium shot – The camera frames a person/people from the waist up. Reveals some of
the surroundings to contextualise the characters, but keeps the focus on facial
expressions and body language. A two shot is a specific type of medium shot where the
camera frames two specific people within the shot, often for dialogue scenes.

Medium long shot – The camera frames a person/people from the knees up. Reveals a
good deal of the background set/location, and is often used to situate a
character/characters in their surroundings.

Long shot – The camera frames a person/people from head to toes. Used to
demonstrate action rather than emotion, with a focus on how a person/people interact(s)
with their surroundings, or other people.

Extreme long shot – The camera frame reveals a wide area and sets the context of the
scene by showing where it takes place, i.e., outdoors, in a building, etc. If any people are
present, they are viewed at a distance.

Please note: extreme close-ups and close-ups usually focus on one person at a time,
medium close-ups usually focus on either one or two people at a time, two shots focus on
two specific people, medium shots and medium long shots generally focus on one to
three people, and long shots and extreme long shots can focus on any number people on
the screen at the same time, framed accordingly.

Cinematography – Camera angle

A second element of cinematography is the angle or direction in which the camera is
positioned during any particular shot. This affects how the audience perceives the
people/objects framed in that shot:

High-angle shot – The camera is positioned above the person/object, looking down
onto them/it. Often used to make the person/object seem ‘smaller’ and more vulnerable,
or to show the distance between the person and their goal.

Low-angle shot – The camera is positioned on the floor, or below the person/object,
looking up at them/it. Often used to make the person/object seem ‘larger’ and more in
control, powerful, ominous, etc.

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Eye-level shot – The camera is positioned straight-on at the eye-level of the

character(s) being filmed. This type of shot most closely mimics the way in which we
generally view the world, and so its use in film tends to humanise the character(s) and
make them more relatable to the audience. Eye-level shots most often appear in close-
up, medium close-up or medium compositions.

Point-of-view (POV) shot – Also known as a first-person shot. The camera is

positioned in the ‘space’ of an onscreen character, such that the shot frames what that
character would be seeing in that moment. Used as an immersive tactic to illustrate a
character’s unique perspective.

Reverse-angle shot – This is the shot of a person/object taken in the opposite direction
to the shot that immediately preceded it. Most often used in a dialogue scene, where the
camera focuses on each dialogue participant in turn to enable the audience to identify
who is speaking, or to show what a character is looking at. Also used to produce a
reaction shot, where the camera shows the reactions of the audience or dialogue
participant(s) while another character is speaking.

Cinematography – Camera movement

A third aspect of cinematography is the movement of the camera during the filming
process:

Tracking shot – The camera moves through the scene, often following a
character/object’s own movement on screen (e.g. walking, driving, flying, etc.). A
tracking shot can go up, down, forward, backward, left, right, or diagonally. The slower
the camera movement, the more dreamlike the scene can seem to the audience, while
the faster the movement, the more chaotic and urgent the scene seems.

Pan – Short for ‘panorama’, this is where the camera stands on a fixed point, but swivels
left to right, (or vice versa) to reveal more of the scene in terms of people and
surroundings. The speed of the movement produces the same effects as a tracking shot.

Tilt – The camera stands on a fixed point but tilts up or down. Often used to
demonstrate the height or depth of something. The speed of the movement again
produces the same effects as a tracking shot.

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Cinematography – Lens work

A fourth aspect of cinematography involves manipulating the camera lens to achieve a
specific effect while filming:

Zoom – During a zoom shot, the camera does not move, but rather the focal length of
the lens is adjusted to focus on one specific person/object, creating the ‘effect’ of moving
towards the person/object (or away from it when zooming out). A zoom usually ends or
begins in a close-up (or extreme close-up) and is used to heighten the emotion and
drama of a scene.

Depth of focus – By adjusting the level at which a camera lens opens or closes,
filmmakers can prompt the audience to focus on specific elements or details within a shot
or scene. Deep focus is when objects/people closer to the camera and objects/people
far away from the camera are all in focus at the same time. This can create a richly
detailed shot in which all elements of the mise-en-scene can be viewed clearly by the
audience. Shallow focus is when only part of a shot (either in the foreground, middle
ground, or background) is in focus at any one time, with the rest of the shot appearing
blurry or indistinct. Shallow focus can emphasise the importance (or insignificance) of an
action, person, or object.

Cinematography – Lighting
A fifth aspect of cinematography is the choice of lighting within any particular shot during
the filming process:

Three-point lighting – This is the most common lighting

set-up in filmmaking. It consists of the key light, which is the
primary source of illumination on set, the fill light, which is
used to soften/reduce the shadows created by the key light,
and the backlight, which is used to illuminate the scene from
behind, emphasising the background and silhouetting the
object/person in focus. High-key lighting is used to brightly
illuminate a set to ensure that all or most aspects of the scene are visible in the shot,
and to the audience. Low-key lighting is used to create a more atmospheric shot,
where the key light is dimmed to allow for shadows to take prominence in the scene.

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Narrative editing
After the filming is complete a film is edited in a studio. During this post-production
process, the film’s shots are ordered and often enhanced/altered to achieve a particular
style or tone, or to emphasise or downplay certain parts of the narrative:

Cut – The joining of two separate shots together within a film. A cut is the most common
method of illustrating a scene change by marking a transition between one time and
space and another in the film’s world. Sometimes, specific types of cut are used to
enhance a film’s style, such as the dissolve, in which one shot slowly merges into
another shot/scene, and the fade, where a shot gradually dims or brightens to a
completely blank, black or white screen (fade out), before a new shot/scene emerges
from the blank screen (fade in).

Match cut – A purposeful means of ensuring there is a spatial-visual logic between the
differently positioned shots within a scene; as such, a match cut can be considered the
opposite of a jump cut. A common type of match cut is the eyeline match, in which a
shot showing a character looking at something off-screen is followed directly by a shot of
what is being looked at. Another common match cut is the graphic match, which is used
to compare/contrast two scenes by matching the composition of two successive shots,
either in terms of visual shapes, colours, and/or the overall mise-en-scene.

Cross-cutting – A purposeful intersplicing of two film scenes, where the action

continually cuts from one scene to the other for a period of time. This is often used to
relate or contrast the two scenes, or to show that the events of the two scenes are
occurring at the same time within the film world.

Superimposition – This technique overlays an image or text on top of another image to

show the audience two sets of visual information at the same time. Common examples of
this in contemporary film/television series are to overlay screenshots of a person’s mobile
phone use/chats onto shots of a person using their phone to simulate dialogue or
voiceover to enhance audience understanding of what is happening in a particular scene.

Flashforward or flashback – Sometimes shots are purposefully placed out of order

and, as such, are the filmic equivalent of foreshadowing in that they provide the audience
with insight into what has happened, or what is going to happen in the story. Flash-
forwards or flashbacks are also often used to visualise a character’s thoughts, memories,
or dream sequences.

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Montage – A collection of different shots placed together in a particular order, often in

rapid succession, that add meaning to a scene by showing the audience an overview of
the film’s characters and their actions in a short space of time. Montages are often used
to introduce a scene, or to fast-forward time between scenes.

References

Pennsylvania State University. n.d. Film Terminology and Other Resources. [Online].
Available at:
https://americanhistorythroughfilm.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/1/4/10143675/film_term
inology.pdf [Accessed: 27 November 2023].

Ramaeker, P. 2014. Explainer: Film Lighting. [Online]. Available at:

https://theconversation.com/explainer-film-lighting-30658 [Accessed: 27
November 2023].

University of Wisconsin Whitewater. 2023. Film analysis guide. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.uww.edu/cls/film-studies/film-analysis-guide [Accessed: 27 November
2023].

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