A satire film uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize foolishness or corruption in individuals, institutions, or society.
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.
- genre & style terms
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- starting letters
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All 330 Genre & Style Terms
Listed alphabetically, each with its one-line answer first. This page runs from Satire film to Throwback. 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 S
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A science fantasy film is a hybrid genre that blends the imaginative, futuristic technology of science fiction with the archetypal, mythic elements of fantasy.
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A narrative technique that makes an audience aware of a film’s constructed nature
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A warm brown monochrome effect that imparts a nostalgic quality to film images.
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Shake and Bake is a slang term for a style of chaotic camera movement or a very fast and simple lighting setup.
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Shaky cam is a cinematographic style characterized by intentionally unstable camera movement to convey realism or tension.
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Selective depth isolates subjects, steering attention and evoking intimacy or dreaminess.
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A silent comedy is a film genre from the silent era that relies on physical comedy, slapstick, and visual gags rather than spoken dialogue to create humor.
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A silent film is a motion picture that does not have synchronized recorded dialogue, relying on visual storytelling, intertitles, and musical accompaniment to convey its narrative.
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A production style employing one camera to shoot scenes with cinematic flexibility.
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Capturing an entire scene in a lone camera pass prioritises performance continuity over editorial fragmentation.
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The Sinhala New Wave was a pivotal film movement in Sri Lanka during the 1960s and 70s, led by director Lester James Peries, which established a distinct, art-house national cinema.
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A sketch show is a series of short, comedic scenes that has served as a vital training ground for generations of film talent and as a format for feature films.
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Slapstick comedy is a genre of broad, exaggerated physical humor characterized by mock violence, absurd situations, and choreographed mishaps.
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A slasher film is a horror subgenre defined by a killer who stalks and murders victims in graphic sequences.
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A stylistic movement characterized by minimalism, long takes and deliberate pacing.
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Over-cranking or optical tricks lengthen real time to heighten drama and perception.
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A smash cut is an abrupt and often jarring transition from one scene to another, used to create surprise, comedy, or a sudden shift in tone.
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Social realism is a broad artistic movement that uses realistic styles to depict the lives and struggles of the working class and the poor with a critical political perspective.
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A soundbite is a brief, memorable audio excerpt used for quick recall.
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South African Cinema Renaissance
The South African Cinema Renaissance denotes the dynamic period of growth and creative expression in the nation's film industry following the end of apartheid in 1994.
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Soviet Montage was a revolutionary 1920s film movement that used dynamic editing to create symbolic meaning and evoke powerful emotional responses.
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A space western is a subgenre of science fiction that transplants the narrative themes and character archetypes of the Western genre into a futuristic, outer-space setting.
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An Italian‑produced Western style known for stylized violence and moral ambiguity.
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A splatter film is a horror subgenre that distinguishes itself by its deliberate and graphic focus on visceral gore and bodily mutilation.
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Splatterpunk is a subgenre of horror film characterized by its explicit, graphic, and transgressive depiction of violence and gore.
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A split edit is an editing technique where the transition points for video and audio are separate, with either the sound (J-cut) or picture (L-cut) transitioning before the other.
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Spoken word is a performance-based art form that focuses on the rhythmic and expressive recitation of poetry, frequently used in film to voice a character's inner life.
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A genre combining athletic settings with humor, satire, and lighthearted storytelling.
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A genre that intertwines athletic competition with character-driven storytelling and emotional stakes.
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The sports film is a genre that uses a specific sport as the backdrop for its narrative, often focusing on themes of perseverance, teamwork, and redemption.
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A spy spoof is a subgenre of comedy film that satirizes and parodies the conventions of the spy thriller genre.
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A stand-up special is a feature-length film of a comedian's performance, which has evolved into a distinct and often highly cinematic genre.
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A streetwear brand is a clothing company that originates from urban youth subcultures like skateboarding and hip-hop, focusing on casual, graphic-heavy apparel like t-shirts, hoodies, and sneakers.
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Stuck in the mud is on-set slang for a camera movement that feels slow, sluggish, and lacking in energy.
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A style guide standardizes writing and formatting conventions for screenplays or publications.
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A style transfer pass is a digital post-production process where the visual aesthetic of a source image or video is algorithmically applied to a different piece of footage.
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Aesthetic associated with Super 16mm acquisition—fine grain, shallow gate weave, and high micro-contrast with widescreen extraction.
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A film movement embracing dreamlike imagery and illogical narratives
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A cinematic approach inspired by surrealism, blending dream imagery and irrational juxtapositions.
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A genre focusing on characters’ struggle to endure extreme situations and environments.
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High-spirited duels, daring rescues, and romantic bravado define the evergreen swashbuckler tradition.
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A swish pan is an extremely fast pan or tilt of the camera that blurs the image into streaks of color and motion, used as a rapid and energetic transition between shots.
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Sword and sorcery is a fantasy subgenre focused on heroic, personal adventures, visceral action, and the pursuit of immediate goals like wealth or revenge.
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A peplum film genre featuring ancient settings, heroic feats, and mythic narratives.
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Musclebound adventures set in antiquity deliver sand-scorched spectacle and moral simplicity.
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Synthpop is a genre of pop music that prominently features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument, known for its catchy melodies and often futuristic or romantic themes.
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Synthwave is a microgenre of electronic music heavily inspired by the soundtracks and aesthetics of 1980s action, sci-fi, and horror films.
Genre & style terms starting with T
12 of 23 on this page · all T entries
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The Taiwanese New Wave was a groundbreaking 1980s film movement that favored contemplative realism and personal stories to explore modern Taiwanese life and identity.
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A television format centered on conversations between a host and guests in a studio setting.
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A talkie is a colloquial term for an early sound film, a motion picture with synchronized dialogue that marked the revolutionary transition from the silent era.
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Tech-noir is a hybrid genre that fuses the stylistic and thematic elements of film noir with the futuristic settings and speculative concepts of science fiction, particularly cyberpunk.
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A color motion picture process renowned for its vibrant three-strip color reproduction.
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A techno-thriller is a subgenre of thriller where advanced technology and its potential misuse are central to the plot and suspense.
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A teen film is a broad film genre where the narrative is centered on teenage protagonists and their unique experiences, conflicts, and subcultures.
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The Thai New Wave is a movement of independent, auteur-driven filmmaking that began in the late 1990s, earning Thai cinema unprecedented international recognition for its unique artistic vision.
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Third Cinema is a Latin American film movement from the 1960s and 70s that advocated for a revolutionary, anti-colonialist cinema to fight oppression.
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Third Cinema is a post-colonial, revolutionary film movement that rejects commercial and auteurist cinema in favor of a politically liberating, socially conscious filmmaking, pioneered in Africa by figures like Ousmane Sembène.
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A thriller film uses heightened tension and suspense to engage audiences in high-stakes narratives.
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A retrospective element referencing past styles or narratives
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.
