Some Key Concepts of Film Language by Lukas Agelastos Casablanca (1942) Film is difficult to explain because it is easy to understand. The semiotics of film is easy to explain because it is difficult to understand (Monaco 2009). How does film manage to communicate meaning? While we can instinctively recognise meanings that are conveyed through film, the study of semiotics can help us analyse them further. In his book "How To Read A Film" (2009), James Monaco refers to certain key concepts that are important to the study of the language of film. I have tried to condense these concepts and find some illuminating examples for them in order to understand them better myself. Signs The Swiss linguist and semiotician Ferdinand de Saussure defined a sign as being composed of: the signifier - the form which the sign takes; and the signified - the concept it represents. Example: the word 'Open' (when it is meaningful to someone who encounters it