Talking about films (Film Language)

7/29/2019 Talking about films (Film Language)

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Sintesi della unit Livello 9 Unit 1

Talking about filmsHave you ever had to write a film review? In this unit you'll learn how to summarize information in the context of film andmovies.

Vocabolario

Vocabolario Trascrizione fonetica Parte del discorso Traduzione / definizione

action UK ['k.n] USA

['k.n] noun

things which are happening, especiallyexciting or important things

actress UK ['k.trs] USA

['k.trs] noun a female actor

aisle UK [ail] USA [ail] noun a long narrow space between rows of

seats in an aircraft, cinema or church

animation UK [,n.i'mei.n] USA

[,n.i'mei.n] noun moving pictures

applause UK ['pl:z] USA [-

'pl:z] noun

when people clap their handsrepeatedly to show enjoyment orapproval of something such as aperformance or speech

audience UK [':.di.nts] USA

[':-] noun

the group of people together in oneplace to watch or listen to a play,film, someone speaking, etc.

authentic UK [:'en.tik] USA

[:'en.ik] adjective

If something is authentic, it is real,true, or what people say it is

box office noun the place in a theatre or cinema where

tickets are sold

brilliant UK ['bril.i.nt] USA

['bril.i.nt] adjective very good

character UK ['kr.ik.tr ] USA

['ker.ik.t`] noun

a person represented in a film, play orstory

climax UK ['klai.mks] USA

['klai.mks] noun

the most important or exciting point ina story or situation, which usuallyhappens near the end

comedy UK ['km..di] USA

['k:.m-] noun

a (type of) film, play or book which isintentionally funny either in itscharacters or its action

complex adjectivedifficult to understand or find ananswer to because of having manydifferent parts

composer

UK [km'pu.zr ] USA

[-'pou.z`] noun

a person who writes music, especially

classical music

confusing UK [kn'fju:.zi] USA

[kn'fju:.zi] adjective

describes something that makes youfeel confused because it is difficult tounderstand

convincing UK [kn'vint.si] USA

[kn'vint.si] adjective

able to make you believe thatsomething is true or right

director UK [dai'rek.tr ] USA

[dai'rek.tr ] noun

a person who is in charge of a film orplay and tells the actors how to playtheir parts

documentary UK [,dk.ju'men.tr.i]USA [,d:.kj'men.`-]

nouna film, television or radio programmethat gives facts and information abouta subject

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exciting UK [ik'sai.ti] USA [-

i] adjective making you feel excited

extra UK ['ek.str] USA

['ek.str] noun

a person in a film who does not havea speaking part and who is usuallypart of the scene, for example, in acrowd

hero UK ['hi.ru] USA

['hir.ou] noun

the main male character in a book orfilm who is usually good

interesting UK ['in.trs.ti] USA [-

tris-] adjective

Someone or something that isinteresting keeps your attentionbecause they are unusual, exciting, orhave a lot of ideas

leading man noun the actor who has the most important

part in a play or a film

panic UK ['pn.ik] USA

['pn.ik] noun

a sudden strong feeling of fear thatprevents reasonable thought andaction

plot UK [plt] USA [pl:t] noun the story of a book, film, play, etc

popcorn UK ['pp.k:n] USA

['p:p.k:rn] noun

seeds of maize that are heated untilthey break open and become soft andlight, usually flavoured with salt,butter or sugar

producer UK [pr'dju:.sr] USA [-

'du:.s`] noun

a person who makes the practical andfinancial arrangements needed tomake a film, play, television or radioprogramme

romance UK [ru'mnts] USA

[rou'mnts] noun a story about love

scary UK ['ske.ri] USA

['sker.i] adjective frightening

scene UK [si:n] USA [si:n] nouna part of a play or film in which theaction stays in one place for acontinuous period of time

sciencefiction

nounbooks, films or cartoons about animagined future, especially aboutspace travel or other planets

screenwriter UK ['skri:n,rai.tr] USA

[-`] noun

someone who writes the story for afilm

setting UK ['set.i] USA ['se-] nounthe time and the place in which theaction of a book, film, play, etc.happens

stage UK [steid] USA [steid]noun

the area in a theatre which is often

raised above ground level and onwhich actors or entertainers perform

star UK [st:r] USA [st:r] noun

a very famous, successful andimportant person, especially aperformer such as a musician, actor orsports player

stunt UK [stnt] USA [stnt] noun

an exciting action, usually in a film,that is dangerous or appearsdangerous and usually needs to bedone by someone skilled

supernatural UK [,su:.p'nt.r.l]

USA [-p`'nt.`-] adjective

caused by forces that cannot beexplained by science

terror UK ['ter.r] USA [-`] noun (violent action which causes) extreme

fear




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thriller UK ['ril.r] USA [- ] nouna book, play or film which has anexciting story, often about solving acrime

thrilling UK ['ril.i] USA

['ril.i] adjective extremely exciting

Approfondimento

Participle clauses

Participle clauses are used to present information about the subject. They are used to express condition, reason, cause,result or time.

Unable to forget the past, Vito returns to Sicily and takes revenge on his Mother's killer. (cause )

Dealing with each challenge, Michael gradually finds himself more and more isolated. (cause )

Following the death of his father, Michael has become leader of the Corleone family. (result )

Participle clauses generally must be used in conjunction with a main clause that contains the subject which the participleclause refers to, a verb and object. In these sentences the participle clause is followed by the main clause.

Movie Review

A movie review usually contains a number of parts, generally in the following order:

Basic InformationThis is where you will find the name, genre and film certificate. You will usually also find the length of the movie.

Plot summaryThe plot summary contains a basic outline of what happens in the movie. For reviews of new films, it is normal for thesummary not to give away any important information that might reveal the ending or some other surprising section of thefilm. For older movies, which have been widely seen and discussed, it is acceptable for the plot to be revealed in moredetail.

Critique

The critique is where the writer gives his/her opinion about the movie. A critique can be positive or negative - it reallydepends on what the writer thinks of the film.

Listening Skills

It's not always necessary to understand every word to understand the general meaning of something you are listeningto. You will often find clues which can help you.

RepetitionYou may find that some words and phrases are said several times, indicating their importance.

ContextIf you know the subject of what you are listening to (in this case, a movie review), it may be much easier to identify keyinformation. This can also help you to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words as the context in which you hear them canhelp you to decipher meaning.

EmphasisYou will usually find that people tend to emphasize key words or phrases when they speak. This is done by stressing thekey words. The words are said at a higher pitch, louder volume and for a longer duration than less important words.

Modals of deduction

Modal verbs can be used to make deductions (guesses based on evidence).

Modal verbs always precede the main verbs of a sentence. In present and future tenses, the base form of the verbalways follows the modal verb.

John must be a doctor.

When modals are used to talk about past events, the modal is followed by the have + past participle.

Sarah couldhave stolen the car.




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Each sentence below is spoken in the context of a person who has accumulated evidence through watching events unfoldin a movie.

She couldn't just be an ordinary waitress.He must be part of the plan.Polk can't be real FBI.

Modal of deduction: pronunciation

Generally, when expressing certainty, we can expect the speaker to use falling intonation to pronounce modal verbs.

John can't be the killer. It must be Tom.In these sentences, the speaker is certain that Tom is the killer not John. Must and can't are therefore spoken with fallingintonation.

In order to express possibility (when we are not completely sure), modal verbs are generally pronounced with risingintonation.

John might be the killer.

In this example, the speaker is less certain. While he/she thinks John could be the killer, he/she is not certain. Might ispronounced using rising intonation.



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Talking about films (Film Language)