A brief cut into a portion of the action to emphasize a character’s gesture or an object’s movement.
Genres
Genre & Style Terms, A to Z
Discover the rich variety of movie genres and filmmaking styles that define how stories are told on screen. From classic genres like comedy, drama, and horror to stylistic categories like film noir, found footage, and surrealism, this section explores what makes each category unique. Learn how visual aesthetics, narrative tone, and audience expectations come together to shape the identity of a film.
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All 330 Genre & Style Terms
Listed alphabetically, each with its one-line answer first. This page runs from Cut-In to Haptic Feedback. S is the busiest letter here, with 48 entries. Jump to a letter to see only the genre & style terms that start with it.
Genre & style terms starting with C
3 of 32 on this page · all C entries
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An insert to related action or object interrupts the main shot to provide context or pacing relief.
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1960s surge of inventive, satirical films blending realism and absurdism under a state studio system.
Genre & style terms starting with D
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A social media trend in which participants learn and perform a choreographed dance routine.
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A genre that integrates dance performance with narrative storytelling and emotional expression.
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Dance films translate kinetic expression into cinematic language, turning choreography into narrative.
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Dark fantasy is a subgenre that blends fantastical elements with the tone, themes, and imagery of horror.
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A television format airing during daytime hours focused on lifestyle, advice, and interviews.
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Maximizing depth-of-field keeps foreground and background equally sharp for layered storytelling.
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A documentary movement prioritizing unobtrusive observation and minimal intervention.
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A genre that depicts large-scale calamities threatening human survival and societal order.
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A gradual overlap of outgoing and incoming images signals passage or associative logic.
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A dramatized reenactment of real events blending factual storytelling with narrative film techniques.
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Docufiction is a cinematic genre that blends documentary with fictional elements, blurring the line between reality and narrative invention.
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A non-fiction film genre that documents reality for education or historical record.
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A Danish filmmaking manifesto advocating purity through strict production rules.
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Simultaneous dolly movement and counter-zoom distort depth, evoking vertigo and revelation.
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Dramedy is a portmanteau of 'drama' and 'comedy' used to describe a film or television show that intertwines serious, dramatic plots with comedic elements.
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Intentional horizon tilt unsettles viewers and signals psychological dissonance.
Genre & style terms starting with E
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Eco-horror is a subgenre of horror film in which the natural world, or a monstrous aberration of it, becomes the primary antagonist, often as a form of retribution for humanity's environmental sins.
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An eco-thriller is a subgenre of the thriller that uses environmental crises or ecological disasters as the basis for its suspense plot.
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EDM, or Electronic Dance Music, is a broad umbrella term for percussive electronic music genres produced primarily for nightclubs, raves, and festivals.
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An ensemble film features a large cast of characters whose interconnected or parallel storylines contribute to a single, overarching narrative or theme.
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A film built around multiple principal characters sharing equal narrative weight.
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A grand-scale film noted for sweeping scope, scale and production values.
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Ethnofiction is a documentary subgenre that blends factual ethnographic observation with fictional narrative elements, often featuring non-actors playing versions of themselves.
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Experimental film is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-traditional forms of expression, often outside of mainstream commercial practice.
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Low‑budget cinema emphasizing sensational content to attract niche audiences.
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A film style that distorts reality to convey emotional or psychological states
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A shot that magnifies a small detail to convey heightened emotion or narrative significance.
Genre & style terms starting with F
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Gradually brightening from black introduces a scene with gentle temporal or tonal entry.
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The progressive darkening to black offers closure, ambiguity, or contemplative pause.
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A family film is a genre of motion picture intended to be appropriate and enjoyable for a wide range of ages, from children to adults.
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A fantasy comedy is a hybrid genre that places fantastical elements, characters, or settings into a comedic narrative framework.
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A fantasy film is a broad genre that features magical, supernatural, or mythological elements that do not exist in the real world.
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A fashion film is a short, art-driven motion picture that showcases a clothing collection or brand through narrative, mood, and aesthetic rather than direct advertising.
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Feminist film is a category of cinema that critiques patriarchal power structures, challenges traditional gender roles, and explores female perspectives and experiences.
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The Filipino New Wave broadly refers to two major periods of cinematic innovation in the Philippines: the politically charged auteur movement of the 1970s and the independent digital filmmaking boom of the 2000s.
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The visible texture in motion pictures caused by randomly distributed silver halide crystals in the film emulsion.
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Film noir is a style of crime film defined by its moody visuals and moral ambiguity.
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A flat lay is a photographic composition featuring objects arranged on a flat surface, used to showcase props, costumes, and set design elements.
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Folk horror is a subgenre of horror that is rooted in folklore, the occult, and the terrifying power of a rural landscape and its pagan traditions.
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Formalist cinema is a style of filmmaking that emphasizes aesthetic form, visual design, and technical craft over the pursuit of realism.
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Found footage is a filmmaking subgenre where the narrative is presented as if it were discovered video recordings.
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An experimental film movement known for its innovative techniques and youth-centric narratives.
Genre & style terms starting with G
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A broadcast program where contestants play games or quizzes to win prizes.
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A self‑aware, absurdist comedic style popular among Generation Z
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A genre convention is a recurring element, trope, character type, or narrative device that is commonly associated with and helps to define a particular film genre.
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A genre cycle is a historical period in which a particular film genre experiences a surge in popularity and production, often followed by a decline.
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Genre subversion is a storytelling technique where a filmmaker deliberately inverts, challenges, or satirizes the common conventions and audience expectations of a particular genre.
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An early 20th-century movement characterized by stylized visuals and thematic distortion.
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German Expressionism was a silent-era film movement that used distorted, stylized visuals to represent inner psychological states and social anxieties.
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Postwar movement that reshaped West German film with auteur voices, political critique, and formal experimentation.
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Spectral tales leverage unseen dread and cultural afterlife lore to haunt audiences across eras.
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Giallo is a uniquely Italian film genre that combines the elements of a mystery thriller with stylish eroticism and brutal horror.
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The Greek Weird Wave is a 21st-century film movement characterized by bizarre allegories, deadpan performances, and an unsettling tone reflecting national crisis.
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A gross-out comedy is a subgenre of film that derives its humor from shocking, crude, or vulgar gags often involving bodily functions.
Genre & style terms starting with H
3 of 18 on this page · all H entries
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Half Straw is a pale yellow lighting gel used creatively to simulate the warm, golden quality of late afternoon sunlight, distinct from the orange hue of a CTO gel.
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A handheld shot is a filmmaking technique where the camera is held in the operator’s hands, creating a natural, unstable look.
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Tactile cues delivered through devices to enhance immersion in XR film experiences and venue screenings.
Other categories
The Other Seven Categories
The rest of the glossary, each with its own A to Z index: filmmaking craft, characters and tropes, storytelling, industry and awards, pop culture and fandom, general terms, and the odd ones out.
