Film Form

Question 1

What is film form?

Answer 1

❣️ Film form is everything that filmmakers take into consideration when making a film. It is how the content is expressed, rather than the story itself ❣️ By studying, or reading, a film, you will see what techniques filmmakers use to: • Further narrative and character • Stimulate an emotional response • Reveal further layers of meaning • Place the film within a particular genre or style

Question 2

Why study film form?

Answer 2

❣️ Studying film is to consider all the essential decisions director and key creative personnel use when planning the visual and aural elements of a film. ❣️ These elements, known as film form are • cinematography • sound • mise-en-scène • performance • editing ❣️ These elements serve to create a mood and add to the overall aesthetic of the film.

Question 3

Form and meaning

Answer 3

❣️ Meaning, in this context, is an interpretation of the narrative based on what we see and hear (form). This meaning may be explicit (what the film is about, i.e. the plot) or implicit (what is lying beneath the surface).

Question 4

The director

Answer 4

❣️ The director is responsible for the artistic and dramatic aspects of turning a written script into a film. ❣️ The director has full control over and responsibility for the myriad of tasks required in making a film and combining them to create his or her vision. ❣️ Directors with a strong aesthetic become known as auteurs ❣️ Some directors, for example Alfred Hitchcock, relish the notion of the auteur and their place within the pantheon of auteur directors; while others completely disown the auteur theory, acknowledging the input of everyone involved in the filmmaking process.