Chapter 5 Personal Expression and Studio Production 203Glossary
Abstract – Non-narrative fi lms and sequences that structure their images around
abstract patterns, such as those found in music and abstract painting, which
can consist of actions, shapes, colors, rhythms, and similar elements.
Associational – Non-narrative fi lms or sequences in which juxtaposed shots
are linked by themes and shared references in order to evoke emotions or
make a statement about the topic of the motion picture.
Avant-garde – Th is term from the French has come to be understood as
artistic creation that strives to develop new modes of expression that reject
conventional forms and well-established parameters of style, content, and
theme.
Categorical – Non-narrative fi lms or sequences whose structure is based
around images grouped into categories.
Comedy – In fi lm, comedy builds on the traditions of the theater in which
authors intend to create humor through the overall situations and style of
the narrative; comedy includes genres such as slapstick, screwball comedy,
and parody.
Crime fi lm – Crime fi lms are those that involve crime as the central force of the
narrative, including gangster fi lms, fi lm noir, detective fi lms, and thrillers.
Development – Term used to describe the initial stages in the creation of a
motion picture, particularly the writing of the script in which story concepts,
treatments, and draft s of the script are generated. Once fi nancing is secured,
development is completed and personnel are hired to move the fi lm into the
production process.
Documentary – A motion picture based clearly on fact dealing with real people,
places, and events in a similar fashion to literary non-fi ction. Documentaries
typically illustrate or investigate their subjects through analytical structures,
archival or primary source footage, interviews, and commentaries.
Fiction – A fi lm that is composed of imaginary characters and events or
primarily staged interpretations of events based on factual information.
Final cut – Right to have the fi nal decision over the completed edit of a fi lm.
Th is authority may be accorded to a director in a production contract.
Genre – Grouping of movies into categories in which they contain similar
settings, plot outlines, character types, themes, and visual styles.
Horror – Ty p e of fi lm fundamentally intended to cause fright, terror, or
revulsion in the audience. Th is typically involves supernatural, gruesomely
violent, or monstrous elements at the core of the story.
Montage – Editing that compresses time and space for various artistic and
storytelling eff ects, such as montage sequences which use dissolves, jump cuts,
associational cuts, and related techniques to convey information, states of
mind, memories, and other non-narrative communication to the viewer.Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).