Music Terms
Chapter 2
Casual Plot- Regular movie plot with exposition (background), complications, a climax,
and a resolution in order
Episodic Plot- Similar to casual plot but the plot doesn’t build off of each event. There is
no series of complications that lead to a resolution
Flashback- can interrupt the chronological flow of the story, bringing new insights to the
current situation
Linear- A story that maintains a strict chronological timeline
Nonlinear- A plot that incorporates either logical or illogical jumps of time
Epic Story- Tend to have a long string of complications that lead to a number of climaxes,
while conveying a larger story of a person’s life or a major event.
Protagonist- The principle character that we follow throughout the movie. We follow the
movie through their eyes
Antagonist- Generally creates a conflict that sets a series of complications in motion
Setting- The location and time frame that the movie takes place in
Period Film- The specific time period that a movie takes place in
Genre- categories based on similar stories and other conventions
Cinematography- a photographer that takes moving pictures
Mise-en-scene- arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play
or movie is enacted.
Point of View- Refers to the perspective of the camera eye
Omniscient Point of View- usually a part of a narrative film, because it is shot from a
distance
Subjective Point of View- When the cinematographer lets us see through the eyes of one of
the characters
Postproduction- the whole process of finalizing the film by adding sound and music
Editing- the shots created during production are joined together
Shot- an uninterrupted length of film
