Page 157 - Introducing Cultural Studies

Film and television have their
own language with distinct
syntax and grammar.

The simplest level of representation involves little more than the
portrayal of "real world" information - a man walking in the street. But
the language of film comes into play as soon as you want to do more:
show a close-up of his face, a front shot walking towards the camera,
a back shot walking away from the camera, a long shot to show where
he is actually walking, and so on. The composite representation will
edit all these different shots into one sequence. The sequence is
thus the basic element of the moving picture.

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