Visual Language: Using Language as

Cinematic Structure

Cinema uses shots, shot sequences, scenes and dramatic sequences to communicate an idea in the
same way that written language uses letters, words, sentences and paragraphs. Using language as
an organizational structure can give your video greater narrative impact and broader appeal.

Thunder rumbles over a darkened city. A woman dressed in high fashion looks up at the sky. She
opens her umbrella as raindrops fall and polka-dot the sidewalk. The woman hurries into a
nearby alley. She stops as she sees a man standing in her path. Rain drips from his wide-
brimmed hat. The man grins, showing broken yellow teeth. Lightning flashes in the sky. The
man lunges at the woman. She spins her umbrella, raking it across the man’s face. He falls back
and hits the pavement. The woman runs

This scene could be from a movie made in Hollywood, Hong Kong or almost any city in the
world. Have you ever watched a foreign film with no subtitles? Were you completely lost or
could you follow the story even though it was in an unfamiliar language? Chances are you could
get the gist of it even without the benefit of dialogue.

A language is more than a collection of words, written or spoken, based on region or ethnicity. In
the broader sense, language is a system of terms, symbols and syntax used to generate and
communicate meaning. Visual language allows us to record ideas in a way that is more universal
than spoken words.

From ancient cave paintings to modern interactive games, humans have excelled at visual
storytelling. Cinema is a relatively new media whose stories transcend geographical boundaries.
Since the dawn of moving pictures in the 1890s, cinema has evolved as a language spoken across
the globe. Fortunately, this universal language is far easier to learn than a foreign dialect.

Cinematic Syntax
Written language uses letters, words, sentences and paragraphs to convey a narrative. Cinema
uses shots, shot sequences, scenes and dramatic sequences. Using language as an organizational
structure can give your video greater narrative impact and broader appeal. They say a picture is
worth a thousand words. A moving picture is worth even more.

The language of cinema starts with the shot. In film and video, a shot is a series of still image
frames that runs for an uninterrupted period of time. Like a letter in written language, the shot is
the smallest piece of visual language. However, a shot is closer to a word because it
communicates much more than a single letter can.

Depending on its elements, a shot can tell the entire story or just a tiny piece. These elements
include the shot’s duration, camera angle and movement, sound, lighting and all the visual
design of the production that comprise its “mise-en-scène.” If an actor or actors are in the shot,
their physical performance and emotions can also communicate more than dialogue.

A shot sequence is a collection of shots that communicate an idea, just as a collection of words
form a sentence. A sequence can be long or short, using many shots or a few, sometimes using
only a single long take. Just like the order of the words matters in a sentence, the order of images
are important in cinematic syntax. Film scenes often start with a wide shot to establish the
location before moving closer to the talent or action. But this isn’t always the case.

Just like the order of the words matters in a sentence, the order of images are important in
cinematic syntax.

In our opening example, you probably pictured a wide shot of the city and storm clouds first
because that’s what was written in the first sentence. However, for a different emphasis, the
scene could open with a close shot of the woman’s fashionable shoes as she walks on the
sidewalk. The first shot sequence would include her reaction to the rain and end when she runs to
the alley. This is a new location, beginning a new shot sequence even though the action is
continuous.

In a montage sequence, shots of different locations can be combined because they are
communicating a single idea with compressed time. The boxer trains over a period of days. The
villagers build a bridge. A shot sequence can also illustrate the juxtaposition of opposing ideas or
characters in order to compare and contrast them, or establish a relationship between them. Like
a montage, a juxtaposition sequence compresses time with shorter shots.

So what’s the difference between a shot sequence and a scene? A shot sequence communicates
an idea, while a scene depicts a narrative event in the story. If a shot sequence is comparable to a
written sentence, a scene is a paragraph. The event of our opening example is a woman fighting
off an attacker. This is a complete scene, but it could continue into a dramatic sequence if the
attacker gets up and chases the woman.

A dramatic sequence is a collection of dramatically linked scenes that communicates a complete

narrative idea. It is comparable to a series of paragraphs or a chapter in a book. Scenes of
different locations and characters are intercut to tell the story. We could expand upon the
example scene with scenes of police searching for the man intercut with scenes of the wanted
man chasing the woman.

Editing for Communication

Just like in writing, the message you’re telling visually should be clear and refined. Build your
scene like a writer building a paragraph. Your cinematic structure starts with individual words
(shots) combined into sentences (shot sequences).

Think about the idea you’re trying to communicate and simplify it to a sentence. We can break
down the example scene’s shot sequences into the following sentences:

It’s starting to rain.

1. The woman has an umbrella.

2. The woman runs to an alley.
3. An unpleasant man waits in the alley.
4. The man attacks the woman.
5. The woman defends herself with her umbrella.

Consider the importance of each sentence as you combine them into a paragraph that describes
the narrative event of your scene.

“Cut to the chase” is a popular saying among filmmakers and editors. This doesn’t mean every
scene must be cut with the frantic pace of an action sequence. It means you should leave out
ideas that are not relevant to that particular scene. Stay focused on what you want each shot to
say.

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Your message can be made clear by following the conventions of cinematic language. For
example, low-key lighting makes a scene more dramatic. Soft lighting and focus creates a
dreamy atmosphere. Rapid editing ups the excitement. A tight close-up emphasizes importance.
Every image and its timing should tell a part of the overall story.

When using language as cinematic structure, you should also consider your punctuation. Does
the sentence end with a period, an exclamation point, or a question mark? This can determine the
shot sequence duration, how quickly it’s cut and the transition to the next sequence.
Becoming fluent in the language of cinema takes study and practice. Break down a scene from
your favorite movie. Observe the timing of each shot. If you changed the order of shots, how
would this change the story? Language and cinema are about communicating and expressing
ideas. Practice using language as organizational structure to better express yourself through film
and video.

Sidebar: The Long Take: When a Shot Becomes a Scene

Sometimes a scene can be a collection of shots connected by camera movement, or even a single
shot where the entire narrative is depicted without any changes to the camera or background.
Films like 2015 Academy Awards winner “Birdman” even use hidden cuts to give the illusion of
being filmed in one take.
There should be a reason for your long take. Does it depict a character’s isolation? A group of
misfits finally working together? How does it connect its images, and why? In cases where the
camera itself is a character, like found footage films, its point of view mimics the human
experience of events without unnatural cuts.

A scene filmed without cuts can still be broken down into sentences for each idea you’re trying
to communicate, and those sentences translated into shots or sequences. The long take
seamlessly connects the sentences.