At first glance, it would appear that movies all follow the same formula; a hook to capture the viewers attention, a climax and the ending.
However, there is much more subtler tricks going on in films.
A hook is a means of taking hold or captivating an audience. It is often used in the beginning of the movie, to entice viewers to keep watching. Often a hook is achieved by having an unusual or unexplainable scene, creating a sense of mystery. Viewers will (hopefully) be drawn into the movie and continue watching.
The establishing shot is a long (wide-angle or full) shot at the beginning of a scene, and is intended to show things from a distance. This shot is to inform the audience with an overview in order to help identify and orient the locale. The shot is usually followed by a more detailed shot that brings characters, objects, or other figures closer. An establishing shot sometimes refers to the events that happen prior to the beginning of the story, and lead to the story. Sound can also be used to help establish the location; birds chirping will indicate the country, the noise of traffic will indicate the city and the sound of bagpipes indicates Scotland. The information disclosed in the establishing shot helps to fill out the skeletal story of a screenplay or a character's background.
A montage is a French word meaning "editing", "putting together" or "assembling shots”. Montage is an editing style, or form, of movie collage consisting of putting a series of short shots or images together to form a coherent sequence to create a composite picture, or to suggest meaning or a larger idea. In simple terms, montage is the structure of editing within a film. Montage is not usually accompanied with dialogue, and is made up of dissolves, cuts, fades, super-impositions, and wipes, which are often used to link the images in a montage sequence.
Cross cutting is the editing technique of alternating, interweaving, or interspersing one narrative action (scene, sequence, or event) with another - usually in different locations or places. Cross cutting suggests parallel action (that takes place simultaneously). It is used to dramatically build tension and suspense in chase scenes, and is also known as inter-cutting or parallel editing.
A leitmotif is an intentionally repeated, recurring element or theme associated with a particular person, idea, milieu, or action. This can be a repeated sound, shot, bit of dialogue, piece of music, etc., that helps unify a film by reminding the viewer of its earlier appearance.
Foreshadowing is the act of supplying hints (in the form of symbols, images, motifs, repetition, dialogue or mood) within a film about the outcome of the plot, or about an upcoming action that will take place. This is normally used in order to prepare the viewer for later events, revelations, or plot developments. Ominous music often foreshadows danger or builds suspense.
Transition is one of several ways of moving from one shot or scene to the next, including such transitional effects or shots as a cut, fade, dissolve, and wipe; a transition focus between two scenes means the current scene goes out of focus and the next scene comes into focus.
A Macguffin is Alfred Hitchcock's term for the device or plot element (an item, object, goal, event, or piece of knowledge) that catches the viewer's attention or drives the logic or action of the plot and appears extremely important to the film characters, but turns out to be insignificant or is to be ignored after it has served its purpose.
'Macguffin' is a Scottish derivation, meaning a "lion trap" for trapping lions in the lion-less Scottish Highlands (i.e., a trap that means nothing, since it is for a place where there is no such animal).
Hitchcock explained the purpose of the MacGuffin through a joke.
-
Two men are riding on a train. One notices an oddly shaped package, wrapped in brown paper, in the overhead bin and asks his companion what it is.
"That's a MacGuffin," answers the second man.
"And what is it for?"
"It's for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands."
"But," says the first man, "there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands."
"Then," concedes the other man, "that's not a MacGuffin.“
-
We're never told what's in the package, because it isn't important. But something has to be in the package, or the joke can't proceed.
A red herring is a narrative element intended to distract the reader from a more important event in the plot, usually a twist ending. Originally a way of training of young hounds was to drag a smelly fish in front of a puppy until it knew the scent. Later, when the dog was being trained to follow an animal scent the trainer would confuse it by dragging a red herring. The dog would eventually learn to follow the original subtle animal scent.
Dissolve or Lap dissolve, fade is a transitional editing technique between two sequences, shots or scenes, in which the visible image of one shot or scene is gradually replaced superimposed or blended with the image from another shot or scene. Often the technique is used to suggest the passage of time and to transform one scene to the next.
Val Lewton noted the horror tactic, now a standard horror movie device known as “The Bus." He first used it in Cat People.
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A woman is trailed by someone as she walks through dark city streets. As she hurries along, music, sound effects, lighting and editing stress that something terribly ominous is about to happen. Suddenly, a hissing, screeching roar fills the sound track. The woman puts up one arm, as if to defend herself, and we realize the roar is a just a bus coming to a stop.
-
Homage
Within the content of the story-line of a film, a reference is occasionally made to another film. Accordingly, an homage is performed to the film and or director of the referenced film in the content of the new production. Such allusions are made in the script, sets, images or clips taken directly from the honoured/venerated work.
http://www.allmovie.com/glossary/term/homage
The climax is the highest point of anxiety or tension in a story or film in which the central character faces, confronts, and deals with the consequence(s) of all his/her actions.
Some films have a twist ending or surprise ending. This occurs when a film has an unexpected or a surprise ending that isn’t revealed until the end of the picture. This may cause us to re-evaluate the characters and narrative.
However, there is much more subtler tricks going on in films.
A hook is a means of taking hold or captivating an audience. It is often used in the beginning of the movie, to entice viewers to keep watching. Often a hook is achieved by having an unusual or unexplainable scene, creating a sense of mystery. Viewers will (hopefully) be drawn into the movie and continue watching.
The establishing shot is a long (wide-angle or full) shot at the beginning of a scene, and is intended to show things from a distance. This shot is to inform the audience with an overview in order to help identify and orient the locale. The shot is usually followed by a more detailed shot that brings characters, objects, or other figures closer. An establishing shot sometimes refers to the events that happen prior to the beginning of the story, and lead to the story. Sound can also be used to help establish the location; birds chirping will indicate the country, the noise of traffic will indicate the city and the sound of bagpipes indicates Scotland. The information disclosed in the establishing shot helps to fill out the skeletal story of a screenplay or a character's background.
A montage is a French word meaning "editing", "putting together" or "assembling shots”. Montage is an editing style, or form, of movie collage consisting of putting a series of short shots or images together to form a coherent sequence to create a composite picture, or to suggest meaning or a larger idea. In simple terms, montage is the structure of editing within a film. Montage is not usually accompanied with dialogue, and is made up of dissolves, cuts, fades, super-impositions, and wipes, which are often used to link the images in a montage sequence.
Cross cutting is the editing technique of alternating, interweaving, or interspersing one narrative action (scene, sequence, or event) with another - usually in different locations or places. Cross cutting suggests parallel action (that takes place simultaneously). It is used to dramatically build tension and suspense in chase scenes, and is also known as inter-cutting or parallel editing.
A leitmotif is an intentionally repeated, recurring element or theme associated with a particular person, idea, milieu, or action. This can be a repeated sound, shot, bit of dialogue, piece of music, etc., that helps unify a film by reminding the viewer of its earlier appearance.
Foreshadowing is the act of supplying hints (in the form of symbols, images, motifs, repetition, dialogue or mood) within a film about the outcome of the plot, or about an upcoming action that will take place. This is normally used in order to prepare the viewer for later events, revelations, or plot developments. Ominous music often foreshadows danger or builds suspense.
Transition is one of several ways of moving from one shot or scene to the next, including such transitional effects or shots as a cut, fade, dissolve, and wipe; a transition focus between two scenes means the current scene goes out of focus and the next scene comes into focus.
A Macguffin is Alfred Hitchcock's term for the device or plot element (an item, object, goal, event, or piece of knowledge) that catches the viewer's attention or drives the logic or action of the plot and appears extremely important to the film characters, but turns out to be insignificant or is to be ignored after it has served its purpose.
'Macguffin' is a Scottish derivation, meaning a "lion trap" for trapping lions in the lion-less Scottish Highlands (i.e., a trap that means nothing, since it is for a place where there is no such animal).
Hitchcock explained the purpose of the MacGuffin through a joke.
-
Two men are riding on a train. One notices an oddly shaped package, wrapped in brown paper, in the overhead bin and asks his companion what it is.
"That's a MacGuffin," answers the second man.
"And what is it for?"
"It's for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands."
"But," says the first man, "there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands."
"Then," concedes the other man, "that's not a MacGuffin.“
-
We're never told what's in the package, because it isn't important. But something has to be in the package, or the joke can't proceed.
A red herring is a narrative element intended to distract the reader from a more important event in the plot, usually a twist ending. Originally a way of training of young hounds was to drag a smelly fish in front of a puppy until it knew the scent. Later, when the dog was being trained to follow an animal scent the trainer would confuse it by dragging a red herring. The dog would eventually learn to follow the original subtle animal scent.
Dissolve or Lap dissolve, fade is a transitional editing technique between two sequences, shots or scenes, in which the visible image of one shot or scene is gradually replaced superimposed or blended with the image from another shot or scene. Often the technique is used to suggest the passage of time and to transform one scene to the next.
Val Lewton noted the horror tactic, now a standard horror movie device known as “The Bus." He first used it in Cat People.
-
A woman is trailed by someone as she walks through dark city streets. As she hurries along, music, sound effects, lighting and editing stress that something terribly ominous is about to happen. Suddenly, a hissing, screeching roar fills the sound track. The woman puts up one arm, as if to defend herself, and we realize the roar is a just a bus coming to a stop.
-
Homage
Within the content of the story-line of a film, a reference is occasionally made to another film. Accordingly, an homage is performed to the film and or director of the referenced film in the content of the new production. Such allusions are made in the script, sets, images or clips taken directly from the honoured/venerated work.
http://www.allmovie.com/glossary/term/homage
The climax is the highest point of anxiety or tension in a story or film in which the central character faces, confronts, and deals with the consequence(s) of all his/her actions.
Some films have a twist ending or surprise ending. This occurs when a film has an unexpected or a surprise ending that isn’t revealed until the end of the picture. This may cause us to re-evaluate the characters and narrative.
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