1. Who’s who and camera angles
Film Analysis
Who’s who and camera angles

2. In the case of a film the person who gets the credit is chiefly the director. This person has overall artistic control (or is supposed to).
The person who co-ordinates the business aspects (ensuring the film meets its budget, representing the studio) is the producer.
The film will have a writer (or writers) who create the screenplay.
In writing about a film, you are not expected to refer to the producer, but may wish to mention the writer (of the screenplay). You should refer to the director; finding out who he or she is should be one of your first tasks.
Who is the author?

3. This question assumes that the film will be some kind of fictional narrative (as virtually all mainstream commercial cinema in the USA and UK is).
If your chosen film is not a narrative work, try to explain what it is.
You should summarize story but not retell it in detail; more than 300 words is excessive: if you find yourself writing "then" or "next" you are probably writing too much.
What is the film about?

4. The (fictitious) people in the story are the characters, whom you should identify by their names in the film.
When you first mention them (but not again) you should give the name of the actor/actress who plays the part, in brackets, after the character's name, in this way: Mrs. Doubtfire (Robin Williams).
Characters

5. refers to what the actor/actress or writer does to establish what the character is like: this means such things as physical actions or gestures, habits of speech or favourite sayings.
Characterization

6. As important as the human characters in many cases, and often more so, are places where the action occurs both as identifiable locations and for what they represent or the feelings associated with them.
Setting

7. Accompanying music is important for the mood of a film
Accompanying music is important for the mood of a film. This may be achieved by playing well-chosen "classic" popular music, to establish a sense of place and time or evoke nostalgia; or it may be done by original composition.
Music/Soundtrack

8. Cinematography/ Artistic Design
This refers to the "look" of the film and the way this contributes to its total artistic effect.
Look at the lighting of particular scenes; look at use of colour; consider camera technique - steadicam or hand-held, long tracking shots, reaction shots and cutaways.
Cinematography/ Artistic Design

9. SFX is the conventional abbreviation for special effects
SFX is the conventional abbreviation for special effects. These may be techniques of animation or computer graphics.
Special Effects

10. Genre This refers to the kind or category of film you are discussing.
Most directors choose to work within a recognizable convention (horror, road movie, teen romance, western, romantic comedy, costume drama, "chick-flick" and so on).
Genre

11. CAMERA ANGLES and Framing Shots

12. This can be taken from as much as a quarter of a mile away, and is generally used as a scene-setting, establishing shot.
It normally shows an EXTERIOR, eg the outside of a building, or a landscape, and is often used to show scenes of thrilling action eg in a war film or disaster movie.
There will be very little detail visible in the shot, it's meant to give a general impression rather than specific information.
1 . Extreme long shot

13. 1 . Extreme long shot

14. This is the most difficult to categorize precisely, but is generally one which shows the image as approximately "life" size ie corresponding to the real distance between the audience and the screen in a cinema (the figure of a man would appear as six feet tall).
This category includes the FULL SHOT showing the entire human body, with the head near the top of the frame and the feet near the bottom.
2. Long Shot

15. 2. Long Shot

16. Contains a figure from the knees/waist up and is normally used for dialogue scenes, or to show some detail of action.
Variations on this include the TWO SHOT (containing two figures from the waist up) and the THREE SHOT (contains 3 figures...).
Any more than three figures and the shot tends to become a long shot.
Background detail is minimal, probably because location has been established earlier in the scene - the audience already know where they are and now want to focus on dialogue and character interation
3. Medium Shot

17. 3. Medium Shot

18. This shows very little background, and concentrates on either a face, or a specific detail of mise en scène.
Everything else is just a blur in the background.
This shot magnifies the object (think of how big it looks on a cinema screen) and shows the importance of things, be it words written on paper, or the expression on someone's face.
4. Close-Up

19. 4. Close-Up

20. As its name suggests, an extreme version of the close up, generally magnifying beyond what the human eye would experience in reality.
An extreme close-up of a face, for instance, would show only the mouth or eyes, with no background detail whatsoever. This is a very artificial shot, and can be used for dramatic effect.
5. Extreme Close Up

21. 5. Extreme Close-Up

22. CAMERA ANGLES

23. This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange angle. Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognizable at first (umbrellas in a crowd, dancers' legs).
Puts the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action. People can be made to look insignificant, ant-like, part of a wider scheme of things. Hitchcock is fond of this style of shot.
1. The Bird's-Eye view

24. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview.
High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary).
The object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting - they become part of a wider picture.
2. High Angle

25. A fairly neutral shot; the camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so that eg actors' heads are on a level with the focus.
The camera will be placed approximately five to six feet from the ground.
3. Eye Level

26. These increase height (useful for short actors like Tom Cruise or James McAvoy) and give a sense of speeded motion.
Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene.
The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just sky or ceiling, the lack of detail about the setting adding to the disorientation of the viewer
. The added height of the object may make it inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer, who is psychologically dominated by the figure on the screen.
4. Low Anglee

27. Slanted/Oblique/Dutch Tilt
Sometimes the camera is tilted (ie is not placed horizontal to floor level), to suggest imbalance, transition and instability (very popular in horror movies).
This technique is used to suggest POINT-OF-View shots (ie when the camera becomes the 'eyes' of one particular character,seeing what they see — a hand held camera is often used for this.
Slanted/Oblique/Dutch Tilt