A throwback is a modern film that deliberately imitates the style, tone, and conventions of a specific, older era of filmmaking as an homage.
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
- 330
- of the whole glossary
- 11%
- starting letters
- 26
Page 6 of 6
All 330 Genre & Style Terms
Listed alphabetically, each with its one-line answer first. This page runs from Throwback to Zoom. 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 T
11 of 23 on this page · all T entries
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Horizontally scrolling text or graphics that emulate financial tickers, often used diegetically or as motion-graphics overlays.
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A TikTok hack is a viral trick shared on the platform, whose associated rapid-fire editing style has begun to influence modern cinematic language.
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Vertical rotation of the camera reveals height, power dynamics, or dramatic revelations.
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Interval recording compresses hours or years into mesmerizing cinematic seconds.
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A film coloring technique that applies uniform hues to entire scenes to convey mood or time of day.
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A chemical process that alters dark areas of black-and-white film with colored silver compounds.
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Camera movement along rails or rigs follows subjects to immerse viewers in dynamic space.
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Transgressive cinema is a confrontational style of filmmaking that uses shocking content and taboo subjects to challenge social norms and artistic conventions.
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Trap music is a subgenre of hip-hop characterized by its aggressive, ominous sound, deep 808 sub-bass drums, and intricate hi-hat patterns.
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Framing two subjects together establishes relational dynamics and expedites dialogue coverage.
Genre & style terms starting with U
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An Ultra-con release print is a rare and highly stylized black-and-white film print made on special high-contrast stock, resulting in a stark, graphic image with virtually no gray tones.
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A video format showcasing the opening and initial review of a newly purchased product.
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Urban fantasy is a subgenre where fantastical and magical elements are placed within a contemporary, real-world urban setting.
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Urban vinyl refers to a movement of limited-edition, artist-designed collectible figures that blend influences from street art, graffiti, and pop culture.
Genre & style terms starting with V
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The vampire film is one of the oldest and most versatile subgenres of horror, centering on the myth of undead creatures who subsist on the blood of the living.
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Vaporwave is a retrofuturistic aesthetic and music genre that blends 1980s and 1990s visual motifs, influencing film set design and soundtrack choices.
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An entertainment program combining multiple performance genres into a single broadcast.
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A visual album merges a musical album's tracks with a feature-length film, creating a single, cohesive narrative or thematic audio-visual experience.
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A pattern of visual elements that recurs to enhance thematic or emotional impact.
Genre & style terms starting with W
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A continuous shot following characters in motion while they converse to convey dynamism.
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A werewolf film is a horror subgenre focusing on the myth of lycanthropy, in which a human is afflicted with a curse that causes them to transform into a wolf.
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The Western is a classic film genre that is typically set in the American West during the late 19th century, exploring themes of civilization versus wilderness.
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A broad frame showcases scale, geography, and body language within the setting.
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An animated line or shape replaces one image with another, lending overt stylistic flair.
Genre & style terms starting with Y
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A visual and cultural style reflecting early 2000s design trends
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A subgenre of Japanese cinema that dramatizes the underworld of organized crime syndicates and their codes of conduct.
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The Yugoslav Black Wave was a radical and subversive film movement (c. 1963-1972) that used dark humor, modernist aesthetics, and social critique to challenge the official optimism of the Yugoslav socialist state.
Genre & style terms starting with Z
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A zombie film is a horror subgenre centered around a widespread plague of reanimated, flesh-eating corpses that threaten the collapse of civilization.
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Changing focal length mid-shot magnifies or widens perspective without moving the camera.
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.
