Film Critique Terms

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● Critique is positive and negative

● Don’t just say “good” or “bad”

Film Study

​Content Objective: Learn the language for critiquing movies

Language Objective: In writing, define “cinematography,” “plot,” “dialogue,” “performance,” “editing,” and “sound

Grab the chromebook assigned to your number and follow these instructions
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Movie Critique

● Critique is positive and negative

● Don’t just say “good” or “bad”

● Be specific

● Be constructive

Reality

Plot

Dialogue

Character

Performance

Music

Cinematography

Editing

Sound

Plot

● the main events of a movie presented as an
interrelated sequence

● The stuff that appens

Dialogue

● Conversation between two or more people

● What the characters say

Reality

● A movie reflects the reality of the human
experience

● You see yourself, people you know, or your experiences on
screen

Character

● The complex of mental and
ethical traits
marking and often
individualizing a
person

● What makes the people unique

Open Ended

What is one detail that makes the character of Megan interesting in this scene?

Performance

● The action of representing a character

● How the actor acts

Open Ended

What is a detail of the way that Jennifer Lawrence plays this character that makes it compelling?

Music

● Music that accompanies a film

● Music you hear while you watch the movie

Open Ended

Give a detail about this song. Tell me something you observe about the feelings, genre, or character of the song.

Cinematography

● How the choices of lenses, composition, and lighting
creating the look of the
movie

● The pictures
that you see

Every choice in filmmaking is to accomplish at least one of these things:

• Tell the story

• Reveal character

• Set the mood

Why do filmmakers make their choices?

Open Ended

Connect a choice made in here about lighting, camera angles, color, or position in the frame and connect it to how the filmmakers are trying to tell their story

Editing

● To assemble film by arranging or rearranging

● How long shots last and which shots we see when

Open Ended

How do the editing choices help tell the story? Pick a detail and describe how it tells the story.

Sound

● all aspects of a film's audio track, from the dialogue and sound effects to the mix of the final track

● What we hear

Open Ended

How does the sound in this scene (background, music, effects, dialogue) establish the story, character, or mood?

The Assignment

Find a clip that you love from any kind of video. It needs to be 2-5 minutes and PG-13 or lower. You will describe it based on one of the vocabulary words

Now you practice
critiquing these scenes

Captain America: The Winter Solider

Open Ended

Critique this scene in ONE WAY (Plot, Dialogue, Reality, Character, Performance, Music, Cinematography, Editing, or Sound). Describe that aspect of the scene and connect how that affects the story, mood, or character

Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist

Open Ended

Critique this scene in ONE WAY (Plot, Dialogue, Reality, Character, Performance, Music, Cinematography, Editing, or Sound). Describe that aspect of the scene and connect how that affects the story, mood, or character

The Shawshank Redemption

Open Ended

Critique this scene in ONE WAY (Plot, Dialogue, Reality, Character, Performance, Music, Cinematography, Editing, or Sound). Describe that aspect of the scene and connect how that affects the story, mood, or character

Addam’s Family Values

Open Ended

Critique this scene in ONE WAY (Plot, Dialogue, Reality, Character, Performance, Music, Cinematography, Editing, or Sound). Describe that aspect of the scene and connect how that affects the story, mood, or character

Swingers

Open Ended

Critique this scene in ONE WAY (Plot, Dialogue, Reality, Character, Performance, Music, Cinematography, Editing, or Sound). Describe that aspect of the scene and connect how that affects the story, mood, or character

The Dark Knight

Open Ended

Critique this scene in ONE WAY (Plot, Dialogue, Reality, Character, Performance, Music, Cinematography, Editing, or Sound). Describe that aspect of the scene and connect how that affects the story, mood, or character

Fargo

Open Ended

Critique this scene in ONE WAY (Plot, Dialogue, Reality, Character, Performance, Music, Cinematography, Editing, or Sound). Describe that aspect of the scene and connect how that affects the story, mood, or character