The Five Elements of Film
How to Critically Evaluate Films
References
Rhodes, B. (2013). The Five Formal Elements of Film: How to Critically Evaluate Movies. The Collinsville Library Blog. Retrieved 19 May 2017, from http://collinsvillelibrary.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/the-five-formal-elements-of-film-how-to.html
Sound
- Arguably the most subtly influential aspect of film
- There are three components of sound in film: dialogue, sound effects, and music
- Music is often the most evident and recognisable component of sound - what are some films with recognisable music?
- Dialogue and sound effects, while more subdued in effect than music, are essential in bringing us into the world of the film and suspending our belief.
Editing
- Editing has been called “the key to cinema” as it is the only formal element that is unique to the medium
- An editor uses time and continuity as tools in presenting the narrative
- It is the editor’s job to piece the whole movie together from all of the scenes and different cameras
- The editor connects one scene to the next, and sometimes several shots in the same scene, with a few different editing techniques. The most common of these is the cut, in which one shot simply transitions abruptly into the next. Other editing techniques such as the fade out, dissolve, and wipe are so stylistic that they are rarely used
(Rhodes, B, 2013)
Mise-en-scene
- Mise-en-scene is everything that appears in a frame. Sets, locations, actors, props, costumes, light, and shadow are all part of mise-en-scene.
- Can be realistic or abstract, purely background or an interpretive active element
- Contributed to by a variety of talents on the film crew – production designers, make up artists, set builders, cinematographers, actors – everything on screen in a film has been deliberately included at an artist’s direction and for a purpose.
Cinematography
Narrative
- Cinematography: Defined as “writing in movement”
- Based on photography. How something is being filmed is just as important as what is being filmed
- The way in which a shot is framed, lit, toned, and colored is a story of its own just as it is in photography.
- Includes: Camera angles, camera movements, shot sizes, lighting, composition.
- Ancient art of storytelling
- Includes the story, characters, setting
- Often the success of a film is based around the effectiveness of the narrative