Structuralism and Semiology in Film

Structuralist Film Theory is a theory rooted from structuralism itself based on structural linguistics. This theory is about how films conveys its meaning through codes and conventions, just like how we communicate to one another. A combination of shots even without dialogue can create an additional idea to the audience and the process of unraveling its meaning can become quite complex. Through its combinations of lights, sounds, juxtapositions, angle, shot duration, cultural context and other elements can actively reinforce and undermine a sequence's meaning.

The French (post)structuralist Jacques Lacan applied structuralism to psychoanalysis...

and, in a different way, Jean Piaget applied structuralism to the study of psychology. But Jean Piaget, who would better define himself as constructivist, considers structuralism as "a method and not a doctrine" because for him "there exists no structure without a construction, abstract or genetic".

Film Semiotics is the semiotics of film, that studies signs that pertain to film in a variety of levels. It is the meaning-making of films, focusing on non-linguistic things in a movie. This theory focuses more on signs and symbolism in a film. It makes us think of things that aren't even there in the signs, making us imagine and give a whole new meaning to the film based on our own interpretation of the sign.

Ricciotto Canudo  was an early Italian film theoretician who lived primarily in France. He saw cinema as "plastic art in motion". He gave cinema the label "the Seventh Art", which is still current in French.