TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: SEEING THE FILM THROUGH THE LENS OF MEDIA LITERACY
© 2006 Frank Baker
download this page as an Adobe (pdf) document
GLOSSARY (words defined here are mentioned throughout the teacher guide)
| adaptation– taking literature and converting into a script/screenplay art director– person in charge of the “look” of the film camera– a photographic device which shoots film or records digitally character– a person portrayed in a film cinematographer– the person responsible for shooting a film closed captions– transcript of dialogue, hidden in a TV or video signal cutting (aka editing)- the process of putting the film together in a logical sequence director– the person on the set who shapes and molds the film establishing shot– a wide shot; a wide angle eyeline match– a cut that follows the axis of action principle film language– those elements of a film (i.e. camera, lights, wardrobe, sound, etc.) that help viewers understand meaning film score– the music or soundtrack written specifically for a film flashback – a technique used to reveal action that occurred earlier foreshadow– some action or clue revealing something to occur later framing– use of the edges of the film frame to select and to compose what will be seen lighting– illumination of scenes accomplished by the use of several devices media literacy– the ability to access, analyze interpret and produce communications misc-en-scene– all of the elements that the camera photographs pace– how quickly or slowly a scene or a film moves; manipulated by editing or other devices perspective– the angle at which something is viewed point of view (POV)- a shot taken with the camera placed at an actor’s eye level; showing what he/she would see producer -one who attracts financing for a film to be produced; in charge of overall production production– the organizational process of putting a film together; controlling the elements screen play/screenwriter– the written work of a film (sometimes an adaptation)/author setting– the location of a scene or of a film shooting and assembly (editing)- see cutting sound– all of the elements of a film: music, sound effects, ambient sound etc. soundtrack– see film score staging– the producing or directing of a film storyboard- artist rendering of how a scene might look, with specific details for camera, lighting etc. symbolism– words or images used to convey other meaning to an audience themes– the underlying message(s) a writing brings to a work voice over– in post production: the process of an actor recording audio which is edited over a scene wardrobe (aka costumes)- the clothes worn by actors in a production |
Recommended websites
Glossary http://scenariosusa.org/educators/makingmovies/glossary.pdf
Glossary http://members.tripod.com/~afronord/glossary.html
Glossary http://www.myschoolonline.com/page/0,1871,47839-108765-51-31073,00.html
Exploring Language Composition
http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/resources/exp_lang/composition.html for a good explanation of many film production terms
Moving Images In The Classroom (bfi)
http://www.bfi.org.uk/education/resources/teaching/secondary/miic/
