Metalanguage word bank for films
Metalanguage is language that describes language. In films, we also need to consider cinematography – the technical side in the making of the film. For a detailed discussion, see What is metalanguage?
Genre
Adventure
Anime
Biographical
Cartoon
Comic
Crime
Cult
Epic
Epistolary
Fantasy
Historical
Horror
Independent
Musical
Mystery
Philosophical
Political
Romance
Satire
Science fiction
Supernatural
Thriller
War film
Western
Narrative mode
Alternating narrative view
Ellipsis
First person view
Linear narrative
Narrator
Nonlinear narrative
Second person view
Third person limited
Third person objective
Third person omnipresent
Third person subjective
Third person view
Voice-over
Narrative tense
Past
Present
Future
Character
Antagonist
False protagonist
Major character
Minor character
Protagonist
Secondary character
Supporting character
Plot
Anti-climax
Climax
Conflict
Denouement
Dialogue
Exposition
Subplot
Trope-cliché
Turning point
Setting
Culture
Historical
Geographical
Social
Dystopia
Utopia
Shot type
Aerial shot
Bridging shot
Close-up shot
Dolly shot
Extreme long shot
Long shot
Master shot
Medium shot
Over-the-shoulder shot
Point-of-view shot
Pull back shot
Shot-reverse shot
Camera lens
Normal lens
Telephoto lens
Wide-angle lens
Camera movement
Camera rotation
Crane
Pan
Rack focus
Shaking
Tilt
Tracking
Zooming
Lighting
Artificial lighting
Backlighting
Backlighting
Fill light
Frontal lighting
High-key lighting
Key light
Lighting intensity
Low-key lighting
Natural lighting
Side lighting
Three-point lighting
Top lighting
Under-lighting
Mise-en-Scene
Blocking
Framing
Offscreen space
Sound
Dialogue
Music
Sound effects
Editing
Continuity cut
Cross-cutting
Cut
Jump cut
Match cut
Montage
Optical effects
Fade-in
Wipe
Dissolve
Focus
Iris in
Iris out
Rack focusing
Other cinematic techniques
Active voice
Adaptation
Allegory
Alliteration
Allusion
Ambivalence
Ambiguity
Antithesis
Antonyms
Bildungsroman
Characterisation
Cliffhanger
Colloquialism
Complex sentence
Compound sentence
Connotation
Context
Contextual framework
Denouement
Diachronic
Dialect
Dialogue
Elision
English (American)
English (Australian)
Enjambment
Epiphany
Euphemism
Flash back
Flash forward
Foreshadowing
Formal
Hyperbole
Idiom
Imagery
Informal
Intonation
Irony
Juxtaposition
Lamb
Metaphor
Meter
Mood
Morphemes
Motif
Neologism
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Paradox
Parody
Passive voice
Pathos
Periphrasis
Personification
Pitch
Positioning
Prefix
Rhetoric
Rhythm
Simile
Simple sentence
Slang
Soliloquy
Stereotype
Symbols
Synonyms
Tautology
Tone
Tragedy
Vernacular
This guide was written by Lisa Tran, the creator and writer for VCE Study Guides. She is currently accepting Year 11 and 12 students for private tuition in 2015. Due to popular demand she is also offering 3 hour intensive courses – feel free to contact her!
Genre
Adventure
Anime
Biographical
Cartoon
Comic
Crime
Cult
Epic
Epistolary
Fantasy
Historical
Horror
Independent
Musical
Mystery
Philosophical
Political
Romance
Satire
Science fiction
Supernatural
Thriller
War film
Western
Narrative mode
Alternating narrative view
Ellipsis
First person view
Linear narrative
Narrator
Nonlinear narrative
Second person view
Third person limited
Third person objective
Third person omnipresent
Third person subjective
Third person view
Voice-over
Narrative tense
Past
Present
Future
Character
Antagonist
False protagonist
Major character
Minor character
Protagonist
Secondary character
Supporting character
Plot
Anti-climax
Climax
Conflict
Denouement
Dialogue
Exposition
Subplot
Trope-cliché
Turning point
Setting
Culture
Historical
Geographical
Social
Dystopia
Utopia
Shot type
Aerial shot
Bridging shot
Close-up shot
Dolly shot
Extreme long shot
Long shot
Master shot
Medium shot
Over-the-shoulder shot
Point-of-view shot
Pull back shot
Shot-reverse shot
Camera lens
Normal lens
Telephoto lens
Wide-angle lens
Camera movement
Camera rotation
Crane
Pan
Rack focus
Shaking
Tilt
Tracking
Zooming
Lighting
Artificial lighting
Backlighting
Backlighting
Fill light
Frontal lighting
High-key lighting
Key light
Lighting intensity
Low-key lighting
Natural lighting
Side lighting
Three-point lighting
Top lighting
Under-lighting
Mise-en-Scene
Blocking
Framing
Offscreen space
Sound
Dialogue
Music
Sound effects
Editing
Continuity cut
Cross-cutting
Cut
Jump cut
Match cut
Montage
Optical effects
Fade-in
Wipe
Dissolve
Focus
Iris in
Iris out
Rack focusing
Other cinematic techniques
Active voice
Adaptation
Allegory
Alliteration
Allusion
Ambivalence
Ambiguity
Antithesis
Antonyms
Bildungsroman
Characterisation
Cliffhanger
Colloquialism
Complex sentence
Compound sentence
Connotation
Context
Contextual framework
Denouement
Diachronic
Dialect
Dialogue
Elision
English (American)
English (Australian)
Enjambment
Epiphany
Euphemism
Flash back
Flash forward
Foreshadowing
Formal
Hyperbole
Idiom
Imagery
Informal
Intonation
Irony
Juxtaposition
Lamb
Metaphor
Meter
Mood
Morphemes
Motif
Neologism
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Paradox
Parody
Passive voice
Pathos
Periphrasis
Personification
Pitch
Positioning
Prefix
Rhetoric
Rhythm
Simile
Simple sentence
Slang
Soliloquy
Stereotype
Symbols
Synonyms
Tautology
Tone
Tragedy
Vernacular
This guide was written by Lisa Tran, the creator and writer for VCE Study Guides. She is currently accepting Year 11 and 12 students for private tuition in 2015. Due to popular demand she is also offering 3 hour intensive courses – feel free to contact her!