| A | B |
|---|
| allegory | type of storytelling in which the characters and events stand for other ideas |
| ambiguity | situation, sequence of events, scene, character, etc. that does not have a clear meaning |
| catharsis | purging of emotional tension that an audience is meant to experience at the climactic moment |
| characters | individuals who appear in or are part of the narrative of the story |
| climax | highest point of anxiety or tension in the story |
| dramatic irony | effect created when the viewer, and perhaps another character in the film, knows something that another character does not know |
| ellipses | editing transition, which, while it leaves out a section of the action, and signifies that something has been skipped over |
| epiphany | moment when a character experiences sudden self-discovery that usually leads to a change in action or attitude |
| exposition | explanation (usually by dialogue or action) of important background information for the events of a story |
| flashback | image, scene, or sequence that appears in a narrative in "present time" to describe a past action or event |
| motif | a thematic element in a film that is repeated in some memorable way, sometimes to the point of creating a pattern |
| narrative | the construction or telling of a story through a particular point of view and arrangement of events |
| parallel action | plot technique in which two or more actions are linked by the film to appear simultaneous, often achieved with cross-cutting |
| plot | arrangement of events in a story in a certain order or structure |
| point of view | position from which an action or subject is seen, often determining its significance |
| realism | approach to storytelling that attempts to show how the world really is |
| situational irony | an effect created when something happens that the viewer does not expect to happen |
| story | all the events shown to us on the screen along with what the audience assumes to happen in the parts left out |
| voice-over | voice of someone not seen in the narrative image who describes or comments on that image |
