Unit 1: Lesson 2

Components of Film

Dr. Rajesh Agrawal

Associate Professor
Journalism and Mass Communication
Components of Film
 Script (Screenplay)
⚫ The script, or screenplay, outlines all of the
elements (audio, visual, behaviour, and dialogue)
that are required to tell a story through movies.
⚫ The main difference between usage in the terms
screenplay and script is the function of the
document.
⚫ Actors use the script during filming is primarily
dialogue with minimal stage direction. The
primary focus here is on telling the story, the
word and actions that convey the message.
 Script (Screenplay)
⚫ The screenplay is the extra layer with everything that
was left out of the script. A screenplay includes dialogue
as well as stage direction and character actions and
movement. The screenplay includes those aspects of
filming that are outside the actor's purview, things like
camera angles and cut or fade instructions, effects that
the audience will see but have no effect on the actor's
performance while on set.
⚫ Screenplay is a blueprint for the film. Professionals on
the set including the producer, director, set designer and
actors all translate the screenwriter's vision using their
individual talents.
 Script (Screenplay)
⚫ Screenplay writer shows what's happening in a story,
rather than tell. The nature of screenwriting is based
on how to show a story on a screen,
⚫ In the most basic terms, a screenplay is a 120 page
document written in Courier 12pt font on 8 1/2" x 11"
bright white three-hole punched paper. Wondering
why Courier font is used? It's a timing issue. One
formatted script page in Courier font equals roughly
one minute of screen time. That's why the average
page count of a screenplay should come in around
120 pages (2 hours).
 Name of the film: Jab We Met, Written and Directed by
Imtiaz Ali
⚫ Sc # 1 Day, Interiors
⚫ Corporate Office – Conference Hall
⚫ Black screen. In the background, a bass note is
heard. It is gaining volume, causing unrest.
⚫ Fade-in. Aditya’s face in close. He is staring into
the blank. Cut to mid shot. Some movements
are seen behind him and in front. Cut to
mid-long shot. We see a lawyer standing behind
Aditya, speaking vehemently. Cut to long shot.
More movement comes into view. We still hear
no sound. Some other men in suits are seen,
contributing to the tense conversation. Lots of
people talking together. Aditya is sitting at the
 Name of the film: Jab We Met, Written and Directed by
Imtiaz Ali
⚫ Lawyer 1 (continuing) …on the other hand you
should be happy that my client is not insisting
ongoing to court. Although court jaane mein
inka fayda hai. Chaar hearings mein baat saaf ho
jayegi ki ye kya deserve karti hain aur inko is
company se kya milna chahiye.
⚫ The noise attacks the senses. Aditya sits amidst
the madness for a while, then slowly gets up.
Meanwhile, the noise continues off-camera –
⚫ Raghav I don’t think we should jump to
conclusions.
⚫ Lawyer 2 Yahan milne ka matlab yehi hai ki
hum Mrs Khanna ki demands ko consider kar
rahehain.
 Elements of Screenplay
1. Scene Heading: A scene heading is a one-line
description of the location and time of day of a scene.
2. Sub-header: Sub-header is used when a new scene
heading is not necessary, but some distinction needs to
be made in the action.
3. Action: The narrative description of the events of a
scene, written in the present tense.
4. Character: When a character is introduced, his name
should be capitalized within the action.
5. Dialogue: Lines of speech for each character. Dialogue
format is used anytime a character is heard speaking,
even for off-screen and voice-overs.
 Elements of Screenplay
⚫ Parenthetical: A parenthetical is direction for the
character, that is either attitude or action-oriented.
⚫ Extension: Placed after the character's name, in
parentheses. An abbreviated technical note placed after
the character's name to indicate how the voice will be
heard onscreen.
⚫ Transition: Transitions are film editing instructions, and
generally only appear in a shooting script. Example -
CUT TO, DISSOLVE TO, SMASH CUT, QUICK CUT, FADE TO
etc.
⚫ Shot: A shot tells the reader the focal point within a
scene has changed. Example - ANGLE ON, EXTREME
 Elements of Screenplay
⚫ Spec Script vs. Shooting Script: A "spec script" literally
means that you are writing a screenplay on speculation.
That is, no one is paying you to write the script. You are
penning it in hopes of selling the script to a buyer.
⚫ Once a script is purchased, it becomes a shooting script,
also called a production script. It will include technical
instructions, like film editing notes, shots, cuts and the
like.
⚫ All the scenes are numbered, and revisions are marked
with a colour-coded system. So that the production
assistants and director can then arrange the order in
which the scenes will be shot for the most efficient use of
stage, cast, and location resources.
 Elements of Screenplay
⚫ Script Presentation and Binding: The first page is the
title page, which should also be written in Courier
12pt font. No graphics, no fancy pictures, only the title
of your script, with “written by” and your name in the
center of the page. In the lower left-hand or
right-hand corner, enter your contact information.
 LIGHT
⚫ Light is needed to expose the image
⚫ Light strongly affects the mood of the scene. The way the
scene is lit also suggest the time of the day and weather
conditions of the location.
⚫ Lighting can be used to direct the eye of the viewer to a
particular element in a frame.
⚫ Lighting is used to emphasize the area of action in a
picture.
⚫ A brightly lit area in a frame grabs our attention while a
dark area creates suspense.
⚫ Lighting also creates depth and articulate textures of
objects in the frame.
 LIGHT – Highlights and
Shadows
⚫ Highlights and Shadows are used to create contrast in the
frame that makes the frame more interesting and dramatic.
⚫ Highlights are those areas in a frame that are relatively
brighter than other parts.
⚫ Shadows are obviously the relatively darker parts.
⚫ Shadows are of two types – Attached Shadows & Cast
shadows.
Attached shadows are those which the light fails to illuminate
because of the shape of the object.
Cast shadows are shadows that are cast on a surface by an
object placed in front of the light source.
 LIGHT – Hard Lights & Soft
Lights
⚫ The Quality of Lights affects the Highlight and Shadows
immensely.
⚫ Quality is defined as the intensity of the light.
⚫ Hard lighting creates well-defined shadows and has high
contrasts. It comes from a light source that is smaller
compared to the subject.
⚫ Soft Lighting lowers the contrast, blurs contours and
textures and creates a more diffused illumination where
light is scattered. It comes from a light source that is
much bigger than the subject.
 LIGHT – Natural Lights & Artificial
Lights
⚫ Sources of natural lights are the Sun, Moon & Stars
⚫ Sources of artificial lights are different kinds of bulbs.
⚫ Documentary films mostly use Natural Lighting which
makes it look more realistic.
⚫ In fictional films, Artificial Lighting is used extensively.
 LIGHT – Key Lights, Fill Lights & Back
Lights
⚫ Key Light is the most important & dominant Light in the Setup
which casts the strongest shadows and is highly directional. It can
be directed towards the subject at any angle. To make shadows
softer the light should be diffused using diffusers or net. A key
light is usually placed to the side of the Camera and at a
somewhat high angle.
⚫ Fill Light is used to fill in the shadow areas created by the key
light. The light source used for a fill light is diffused, soft and
placed near a camera. The fill light is always weaker than the key
light. The position of fill light often varies between 0 to 30
degrees from the camera lens and lies opposite to the key light.
⚫ Back light is used to make the subject distinct from the
background. This creates an illusion of depth. The back light is
also known as hair light because it brings out the colour and
texture of a person’s hair. It is usually placed behind a subject.
 LIGHT – Three Point Lighting Technique
⚫ The most basic lighting in film is the three-point lighting
setup.
⚫ Key light, fill light and back light are the sources for three
point lighting.
⚫ Lighting from three directions shapes the subject and
sets them apart from their background.
⚫ The combined effect of three lights placed in right
positions and set at right intensity and quality gives an
optimum result.
⚫ This system is called three point lighting.
⚫ All three lights are placed after it is decided where the
camera is going to be put to record the scene.
LIGHT – Three Point Lighting Technique
 LIGHT – Properties of Light
Any source of light can be described in terms of four unique and
independently respective properties:
⚫ Intensity (Bright or Dim) - Light can range from intense (sunlight) to
subdued (match light). We measure intensity in units called foot-candles,
which define the amount of light generated by a candle flame at a
distance of one foot.
⚫ Color (Day light or Tungsten light) - Light has a color balance, or bias,
which is dependent on the source (daylight, tungsten, etc.).
⚫ Quality (Hart of Soft) - Hardness (directness) or softness (diffuseness) of
the light is referred to as quality.
⚫ Angle (Placement relative to subject) - The angle of the source, relative
to the reflective object or subject, affects intensity and quality.
⚫ Colour Temperature: The standard by which we measure the relative
reddishness or bluishness of white light is called color temperature. The
more bluish the white light looks and higher the color temperature; the
more reddish it is, the lower its color temperature.
 LIGHT – Artificial Light Sources
Some of the lights commonly used on motion picture sets are:
⚫ PAR (Tungsten and HMI) – PAR (Parabolic Aluminized
Reflector) available in various beam spreads from narrow to
wide, they allow for selective, controlled subject lighting.
⚫ Light Banks - PAR lights mounted in multi-unit configurations,
usually from 6-light up to 36-light, light large areas with
diffusion - a large soft source.
⚫ Beam Projectors - These produce a narrow parallel beam of
light that creates a shaft of light and results in sharp shadows.
⚫ LEDs - Mounted in banks, often near the camera, LEDs provide
low power, cool light that’s used for soft fill.
⚫ Tungsten, HMI, and fluorescent refer to lamp types.
 … LIGHT – Artificial Light Sources
⚫ Open face and Fresnel refer to types of fixtures that hold
lamps.
⚫ Open face tungsten lights are quartz halogen units without a
lens; they are brighter, but harder to control than units with
lenses. Open face tungsten lights are primarily used for
bouncing and through diffusion.
⚫ Barn doors on the light sources control the width of the light.
They’re used to prevent unwanted shadows or to create
shadows where we do want them.
⚫ Flags, dots, and cookies in a variety of shapes and sizes are
used to create shadow patterns. Gelatin filters, or gels, are
mounted in front of lights and used to adjust color.
 CAMERA
⚫ Cinematography is the art of visual storytelling. The
artistry of cinematography comes in controlling what the
viewer sees and how the image is presented.
Cinematography is the discipline of making lighting and
camera choices when recording photographic images for
the cinema.
⚫ The cinematographer is responsible for the technical
aspects of the images (lighting, lens choices, composition,
exposure, filtration, film selection etc.).
⚫ Film is a visual medium, and the best-shot films are ones
where you can tell what’s going on without hearing any of
the dialogue.
 CAMERA – Basic Rule of Composition
⚫ The Rule of Thirds is a technique of dividing the frame up
into a 3x3 grid, splitting the frame into nine boxes.
⚫ By positioning the subject in any of the four vertices
where those nine boxes meet, you create a balance in
your composition that feels more natural.
⚫ Relatives of the rule of thirds are Head Room and Look
Room (Nose Room) give your subject a little extra room in
wherever direction they’re facing.
⚫ Add depth to a composition. Rather than imagine the
scene taking place on a single plane, use the foreground,
mid-ground and background to create depth in a scene.
 CAMERA – Types of Camera
Movements
⚫ Panning in which moving the camera lens from left to right or vice
versa.
⚫ Tilting refers to moving the camera up or down while keeping its
horizontal axis constant like nodding your head up and down is
tilting.
⚫ Zooming involves changing the focal length of the lens to make the
subject appear closer or further away in the frame. Zoom-in
transforms the lens into telephoto, while zoom-out changes it into
wide-angle.
⚫ Dollying refers to the camera move along very much like railway
tracks. The phrase dolly-in means step towards the subject with the
camera, while dolly-out means to step backwards with the camera.
⚫ Tracking like dollying, but it involves motion left or right. Truck-left
means moves the camera physically to the left while maintaining its
perpendicular relationship.
 CAMERA – Types of Camera Angles
⚫ The Bird's-Eye view shows a scene from directly overhead, a very
unnatural and strange angle. This shot does, however, put the
audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action.
⚫ High angle help orient the viewer, because they show relationships
among all elements within the picture area and produce a
psychological effect by minimizing the apparent size or strength of
the subject.
⚫ Low angle is achieved when the camera angle is located below the
point of primary interest and pointed upward. Low angles tend to
lend strength and dominance to a subject and dramatize the subject.
⚫ Eye level angle shows subjects as we would expect to see them in
real life. It is a fairly neutral shot. It puts the audience on an equal
footing with the character/s.
⚫ Slanted: This is where the camera is purposely tilted to one side so
the horizon is on an angle. This creates an interesting and dramatic
effect and is used to demonstrate the confusion of a character.
 SOUND
⚫ Stereo Variable Area - The most prevalent current method of
recording analogue sound on a film print is by stereo
variable-area (SVA) recording. A two-channel audio signal is
recorded as a pair of lines running parallel with the film's
direction of travel through the projector.
⚫ Sound Design - Sound design is a process of experimentation
to create an audio environment that supports the on-screen
action and engages the audience.
⚫ Sound Effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or
enhanced sound used to emphasize artistic or other content
of films. In films apart from dialogue, music, sound effects
recordings are treated as separate elements.
 SOUND
⚫ Film sound specifically refers to the sound track that accompanies
the visual images on a single continuous reel of motion picture film.
⚫ Sound bridge is used to ease the transition between shots in the
continuity style. Sound Bridge can lead in or out of a scene. They
can occur at the beginning of one scene when the sound from the
previous scene carries over briefly before the sound from the new
scene begins.
⚫ Source - Most basically, this category refers to the place of a sound
in relation to the frame. A sound can be on-screen or off-screen,
diegetic or non-diegetic (including voice over). It can be recorded
separately from the image or at the moment of filming.
⚫ Diegetic/Non-Diegetic - Any voice, musical passage, or sound effect
presented as originating from a source within the film's world is
diegetic. If it originates outside the film (as most background music)
then it is non-diegetic.
 MUSIC
⚫ Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound
organized in time.
⚫ The common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody
and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo,
meter, and articulation), dynamics (loudness and softness), and
the sonic qualities of timbre and texture (which are sometimes
termed the "colour" of a musical sound).
⚫ Different styles or types of music may emphasize, de-emphasize
or omit some of these elements.
⚫ Music is performed with a vast range of instruments and vocal
techniques ranging from singing to rapping; there are solely
instrumental pieces, solely vocal pieces and pieces that combine
singing and instruments.
⚫ There are many types of music, including popular music,
traditional music, art music, music written for religious
ceremonies and work songs such as chanteys.
 MUSIC
⚫ Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound
organized in time.
⚫ The common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody
and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo,
meter, and articulation), dynamics (loudness and softness), and
the sonic qualities of timbre and texture (which are sometimes
termed the "colour" of a musical sound).
⚫ Different styles or types of music may emphasize, de-emphasize
or omit some of these elements.
⚫ Music is performed with a vast range of instruments and vocal
techniques ranging from singing to rapping; there are solely
instrumental pieces, solely vocal pieces and pieces that combine
singing and instruments.
⚫ There are many types of music, including popular music,
traditional music, art music, music written for religious
ceremonies and work songs such as chanteys.
 ACTING
⚫ Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its
enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character in
film.
⚫ Acting involves a broad range of skills, including a
well-developed imagination, emotional facility, physical
expressivity, vocal projection, clarity of speech, and the ability
to interpret drama.
⚫ Acting also demands an ability to employ dialects, accents,
improvisation, observation and emulation, mime, and stage
combat.
⚫ The vast majority of professional actors have undergone
extensive training.
⚫ Actors and actresses will often have many instructors and
teachers for a full range of training involving singing,
scene-work, audition techniques, and acting for camera.
 EDITING
⚫ Editing is the connecting of one or more shots together in a
sequence.
⚫ Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of
filmmaking.
⚫ Film editing is often referred to as the "invisible art" because when
it is well-practiced, the viewer can become so engaged that he or
she is not even aware of the editor's work.
⚫ A film editor is a person who practices film editing by assembling
separate takes into a coherent film.
⚫ The film editor works with the raw footage, selecting shots and
combining them into sequences to create a finished motion
picture.
⚫ A film editor creatively works with the layers of images, story,
dialogue, music, pacing, as well as the actors' performances to
 TYPES OF EDITING
⚫ Chronological editing - follows the logic of a chronological
narrative, one event follows subsequently from another, and time
and space are logically.
⚫ Continuity Editing - is the process of combining more-or-less
related shots, or different component cuts from a single shot, into
a sequence so as to direct the viewer's attention to a pre-existing
consistency of story across both time and physical location.
⚫ Cross-cutting or parallel editing - the linking-up of two sets of
action those run concurrently and are interdependent within the
narrative.
⚫ Match cut - is a cut between either two different objects, two
different spaces, or two different compositions in which an object
in the two shots graphically match.
⚫ Jump cut - is a technique which allows the editor to jump forward
 TYPES OF EDITING
⚫ Chronological editing - follows the logic of a chronological
narrative, one event follows subsequently from another, and
time and space are logically.
⚫ Continuity Editing - is the process of combining more-or-less
related shots, or different component cuts from a single shot,
into a sequence so as to direct the viewer's attention to a
pre-existing consistency of story across both time and
physical location.
⚫ Cross-cutting or parallel editing - the linking-up of two sets of
action those run concurrently and are interdependent within
the narrative.
⚫ Match cut - is a cut between either two different objects, two
different spaces, or two different compositions in which an
object in the two shots graphically match.
 TYPES OF EDITING
⚫ Jump cut - is a technique which allows the editor to jump forward
in time. The opposite of a match cut, the jump cut is an abrupt cut
between two shots that calls attention to itself because it does not
match the shots seamlessly.
⚫ L Cut & J Cut - L Cut editing technique means is that you are
hearing the audio from the previous shot, even though we’ve
moved on to another shot. So, the audience is looking at clip B but
still hearing audio from clip A. J Cut is the opposite of the L Cut.
Here we hear the audio before we see the video. So, the audience
is looking at clip A but still hearing audio from clip B.
⚫ Cutaways - take the audience away from the main action or
subject. These are used primarily as transition pieces to give the
audience a view of what is happening outside of the main
character’s environment.
 TYPES OF EDITING
⚫ The 30-degree rule states the camera should move at least 30
degrees between shots of the same subject occurring in
succession. Such as changing from a medium shot to a
close-up or extreme close-up.
⚫ The 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the
on-screen spatial relationship between a character and
another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line
called the axis connects the characters and by keeping the
camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene,
the first character will always be frame right of the second
character, who is then always frame left of the first. If the
camera passes over the axis, it is called jumping the line or
crossing the line.