CINEMATIC LANGUAGE 61language creates meaning: how close-ups have the
power to change our proximity to a character or
low camera angles usually suggest that the subject
of the shot is superior or threatening.
All of the following chapters of this book will
expand on this introduction to the language of cin-
ema; and although they will focus mainly on the
conventional meanings and methods of that lan-
guage, you will also see exceptions. Soon you will
understand how these and other elements of cine-
matic language help set movies apart from the
other arts. Even as the technology used to make
and display movies continues to evolve, the princi-
ples of film art covered in this book will remain
essentially the same, and the knowledge and skill
you acquire by reading this book will help you look
at motion pictures intelligently and perceptively
throughout your life, no matter which medium
delivers those pictures to you.
Using cinematic conventions, filmmakers trans-
form experiences—their own, others’, purely imagi-
nary ones, or some combination of all three—into
viewing experiences that can be understood and
appreciated by audiences. In addition to bringing
our acceptance and understanding of conventions to
looking at movies, we bring our individual experi-
ences. Obviously, these experiences vary widely
from person to person, not only in substance but also
in the extent to which each of us trusts them. Per-
sonal observations of life may not be verifiable, quan-
tifiable, or even believable, yet they are part of our
perception of the world. They may reflect various
influences, from intellectual substance to anti-intel-
lectual prejudice; as a result, some people may
regard gladiator movies as more meaningful than
scholarly books on the subject. Thus, both cinematic
conventions and individual experiences play signifi-
cant roles in shaping the “reality” depicted by films.Cinematic LanguageLooking at this single image,
without even knowing what movie it is from or anything
about the various characters pictured in the frame, we can
immediately infer layers of meaning and significance. If we
think of cinematic language as akin to written language,
we can think of this single image from Cary Fukunaga's
Jane Eyre(2011) as a richly layered "sentence" that
communicates by combining and arranging multiple visual
elements (or "words" in this analogy), that include lighting,
composition, depth, design, cinematography, and performance.