This document provides an overview of key elements for analyzing films: story, setting, sound, color, character, and camera. It explains that story can be linear or non-linear, setting provides the context, sound conveys emotion, color impacts mood, character is revealed through appearance and behavior, and camera acts as the storyteller through shots and angles. Examples are given for each element to illustrate their roles in film analysis.

1. Write down the name of your favourite film.
Write a quick couple of sentences outlining what you like most about your choice.
I have chosen this film/movie because……
I would recommend that you watch it for……
What’s your favourite film?

2. How to read a film
THE THREE Cs AND THE THREE Ss

3. Story The two main types of story are:
• Linear – This has a beginning, middle and end –
usually chronological (in the order it might happen in
the real world).
• Non-linear – Where the story leaps backwards and
forwards in time.
The story of a film
provides its structure
and shape. It is
sometimes called the
narrative. Stories can
sometimes be told
from a particular
point of view, like a
character telling his or
her side of the story.
Boyhood (2014) – a linear film that follows a boy from childhood to adulthood in
chronological order

4. Setting A setting is the place in which the action of a film, or a
scene in a film, takes place. The setting can help you to
tell if the story takes place in a particular time in history or
where it takes place in the world.
The setting can help to show the mood or situation quickly to help the
audience to understand the actions and emotional lives of characters.
How do these two settings show the difference in the lives of the characters pictured?

5. Sound
The soundtrack may contain several different sections and each one helps to
tell the story. These can be music, sound effects, the characters’ dialogue
(talking) and effects such as traffic noise or wind. Sound can make the
audience feel different emotions such as joy or fear.
In the clip, the woman is
driving. Does your idea of
where she is going/what she
might be looking for change
when the music changes?

6. Colour
Colour affects how a film looks, and helps to tell the story in several ways; it
can affect the mood depending on whether the colours are bright or sombre,
or in a particular range of shades. Colour can also help show time passing, for
example the colours may change as the film’s action moves from day to night.
The darkness makes the figure seem more menacing.
The Dark Knight (2008)
The eye is drawn to the light shining through the crucifix.
There Will Be Blood (2007)

7. CharacterFilms can tell us what the people in them (the characters) are like in a
number of different ways. The way they look, the way they stand or the
expression on their faces can tell us a lot about them, as can their clothes,
hair and make up.
How do you think this
character feels at this
moment?
Is he rich, or is he poor?
Does he fit in with his
surroundings/the setting, or
is he out of place?
What has made you form
these opinions?

8. Camera
The camera in a film acts as the
storyteller, leading the viewer
through the story.
It is important to think about when
and why certain shots are used.
Close-up shots can be used to show
emotions, while medium or long
shots are used to show where the
action is taking place.
Angles of the camera can be used
to show whether a character is
scary (low angle) or powerless
(high angle).
Camera movement is sometimes
used to move closer to make a
scene more emotional.

9. This is an example of a point-of-view shot.
TASK: Through whose eyes are you seeing? Write a short paragraph
explaining what happened to your character before you ended up here.