What is a Metaphor - 8 Ways to Create Meaning with Comparison
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What is a Metaphor - a complete guide to the art of metaphor, including eight different types, how they work, and how writers can use them to create meaning through comparison.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to Metaphors
00:55 - Metaphor Definition and History
03:19 - Direct/Standard Metaphor
03:47 - Simile
05:13 - Implied Metaphor
06:26 - Extended Metaphor
07:45 - Controlling Metaphor
08:48 - Mixed Metaphor
09:36 - Dead Metaphor
10:05 - Visual Metaphor
12:35 - Takeaways
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WHAT IS A METAPHOR
Metaphors are deceptively simple. We use them all the time in our everyday conversations. And yet there is a strict definition for “What is a metaphor” that most people aren’t aware of. For the average person, there is no pressing need to understand the art of metaphor, but the same cannot be said for writers. In this video, we’re going to define metaphor, the eight different types, how they work, and how writers can add them to their literary arsenal.
METAPHOR DEFINITION
Let’s start with a metaphor definition. A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares an object to another object with similar characteristics. It uses conjugations of “to be” like “I am,” “She is,” or “They are.” For example, “love is a battlefield.” Four elements are necessary to create a metaphor: the tenor, the vehicle, the ground, and the tension. The tenor is the subject in question (love), and the vehicle is the object of comparison (battlefield). The ground is what these two things have in common (both can be treacherous endeavors), and the tension makes them distinct (love is an emotion, while battlefields are sites of physical conflict).
“Love is a battlefield” is the standard, pure type of metaphor, but there are many others to explain.
TYPES OF METAPHORS
SIMILE VS METAPHOR
A simile is a type of metaphor that uses qualifiers such as “like” or “as” to make comparisons. For example, when Shrek proclaims that “Ogres are like onions.”
IMPLIED METAPHOR
An implied metaphor makes a comparison, but it’s more implicit. For example, in Whiplash, a character says, “Don’t worry about Fletcher. He’s more bark than bite.” Fletcher is being compared to a dog without saying exactly that.
EXTENDED METAPHOR
An extended metaphor is a comparison expressed over many lines. Perhaps the most famous example would be, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players…” from Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
DEAD METAPHOR
A dead metaphor is a metaphor that has been overused and turned into a cliche. Examples of these would include “You’re breaking my heart” and “Time is running out.”
CONTROLLING METAPHOR
A controlling metaphor is used throughout the story, often to speak the overall theme. In Turning Red, Mei turning into a giant red panda is a metaphor for the pains of puberty.
MIXED METAPHOR
A mixed metaphor combines two comparisons incorrectly. For example, “The early bird gathers no moss.”
VISUAL METAPHOR
Finally, a visual metaphor is simply a comparison made visually. This can be done in a single image (like fireworks exploding during a romantic moment) or between images, like Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein intercut strikers being killed with cattle being slaughtered.
As you can see, the art of metaphor has wide-ranging implications. A writer or filmmaker can inject extra layers of meaning into their dialogue and imagery, adding sophistication and nuance to their work.
#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking
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Пікірлер: 190
Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction to Metaphors 00:55 - Metaphor Definition and History 03:19 - Direct/Standard Metaphor 03:47 - Simile 05:13 - Implied Metaphor 06:26 - Extended Metaphor 07:45 - Controlling Metaphor 08:48 - Mixed Metaphor 09:36 - Dead Metaphor 10:05 - Visual Metaphor 12:35 - Takeaways
I dont know who sponsors those videos but i am truely grateful that people out there enable me and others to learn more about storytelling and other important aspects about movies with those high quality videos. I call this channel liquid Gold!
@Osmone_Everony
Жыл бұрын
This channel isn't sponsored because it's advertisement on its own for the StudioBinder software. :)
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Жыл бұрын
It's their own app. They are THE sponsor!
@LuisSierra42
Жыл бұрын
@@get_a_job_bro plot twist
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
❤❤ we are our own sponsors :)
@AlphaGeekgirl
Жыл бұрын
Why liquid gold??
“We can express our feelings regarding the world around us either by poetic or by descriptive means. I prefer to express myself metaphorically. Let me stress: metaphorically, not symbolically. A symbol contains within itself a definite meaning, certain intellectual formula, while metaphor is an image. An image possessing the same distinguishing features as the world it represents. An image - as opposed to a symbol - is indefinite in meaning. One cannot speak of the infinite world by applying tools that are definite and finite. We can analyze the formula that constitutes a symbol, while metaphor is a being-within-itself, it's a monomial. It falls apart at any attempt of touching it.” -Andrey Tarkovsky, ‘Sculpting in Time’
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Beautiful prose!
Rocket Raccoon: "His species is completely literal. Metaphors will go over his head." Drax: "Nothing goes over my head. I am too fast; I would catch it."
I think the best example of how film uses metaphor is the show 'buffy the vampire slayer' it sounds like a dumb teen show but it's so much more than that. Not only is the show meant to be slayer and understood as a metaphor for life in every way shape and form, macro to micro. The entire thing is layered heavily with metaphor and nuance in a way I've never seen before (at least not to this level) and I've seen my fair share of cinema, trust me.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Great example!
The problem with metaphors is that different languages/cultures have different metaphors for the same meaning and thus either lip-sync verbal translation gets hard or, in case of a visual metaphor, people get confused because they don't know the connection. I could tell several examples but here is just one. There's a scene in the "Airplane" movie where a piece of sh*t hits a fan. The meaning is very obvious for native English speakers but I'm German and back at that time I wasn't familiar with English metaphors and I wondered why that shot was inserted. It made no sense to me. BTW in Germany we say (literally translated) "the poop is steaming".
@wathsi99
Жыл бұрын
Same problem translating idioms. A translation of dialogue won't do justice for them, so a director probably needs to use visual language to communicate this to a broader international audience.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Interesting point!
@IgorTavern
Жыл бұрын
This whole movie probably was a challenge for translators here in Brazil, specially that "Roger/Over" joke. I don't remember how they've done it (sub and dub) but I they had to adapt more than translate. The "sh*t hits the fan" here its pretty close to translate, we say "deu merda" ou "deu ruim" (it all went wrong).
@fegoru
Жыл бұрын
But that's exactly the idea of visual metaphors -specially- in films. Saying a metaphor through dialogue doesn't compare to showing it through images. A great metaphor would be "scenified" in a movie. In this sense you don't have to know that somewhere in the world people have a saying that goes: "the sh*t hits the fan" for you to see it "scenified" and realise that it probably won't have a good outcome.
@gregorylagrange
Жыл бұрын
@@fegoru But figures of speech don't necessarily carry over well with different languages. Because figures of speech can be very specific to region and not just language. So "scenfiying" a figure of speech can easily fail.
I went into the movie turning red not knowing anything about what it was about. I ended up being so in love with that metaphor. I'm so glad that they had the gall to go there!
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
👌👌
5:55 My entire life I have thought the phrase was "Crumple under pressure". Honestly I think that crumple is a better word than crumble because I think more things literally crumple under pressure than crumble. Like a biscuit crumbles under pressure. It turns to crumbs. But anything that isn't very brittle (like a plate, which would crack) and that doesn't inevitably turn into crumbs will crumple under pressure. Importantly, a person who was put under ever increasing weight would eventually, literally crumple. So I think we should all join me and crumple under pressure.
@Vesohag
Жыл бұрын
I guess that one could count as a "mixed metaphor".😂
@leonhardeuler675
Жыл бұрын
@@Vesohag What's the other metaphor that includes "crumple"?
@Vesohag
Жыл бұрын
@@leonhardeuler675 one that we shall come up with.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
I'd rather we rise to the occasion
This subtle Schindler's list theme in the background strikes directly to the heart.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
💖💖
AI will never replace Studio Binder quality content.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Not on our watch
Been waiting this topic on What Is, as always so depth, conscience and full of examples. Since you mentioned briefly about symbolism at the end, maybe that's the topic for the next What Is? Its types and how to incorporate them into a story? This lesson meant so much sir.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
we might!
Studio Binder is my compass! Showing me the way in filmmaking just when I need it.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Happy filming
@ritvikbhuinya2620
3 ай бұрын
Metaphorically for a metaphor 🎉
This is one of the most important videos about storytelling!
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Why we made it!
This may well have been the best video from StudioBinder I've personally seen to date.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
wow! Appreciate the feedback
My Favorite Movies with the Most inspiring Metaphors are : -King Kong (1933) : Kong is a Metaphor of Great Depression of the 30th decade. -Godzilla (1954) : Godzilla is a Metaphor of the result of Atomic and Hydrogen bomb explosion and what radioactivity can create. -Matrix Franchise Many inspiring Movies and Masterpieces.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Great choices!
The most beautiful and meaningful metaphors I've ever heard of are in 'Hotel del Luna' (a tv series about being and time, in short). Definitely worth watching (in my opinion).
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Interesting example!
I love this video, and I’ve showed almost most videos to my students, my only complain is, WHY DIDN”T YOU GUYS RELEASE THIS VIDEO BACK IN SEPTEMBER WHEN I HAD ESL STUDENTS 😢……………… Big fan though, will show this video for sure this coming September😢
Studio Binder lessons make Mondays so much more tolerable 🙃🙃🙃
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Making your Mondays more cinematic 😊
with Jack and the Shining, it is showing that the maze stuff was happening in his head as he was thinking up his new novel.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Interesting theory!
Great as always! One of my most beloved channels here on YT! 💚
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
🚀🚀
You guys are fantastic. Thanks for always making my Mondays so much better.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Cheers!
This videos are simply AWESOME... Can't wait to try-out the software.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Hope it helps!
Welcome to english class with studio binder. You make it much more interesting than school did btw
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
we hope so :)
So thankful for this channel
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Thankful for our viewers
Fantastic as always. Every video you guys make helps the those who want to be a great storytelling and filmmaker. Like previous one last week, fantastic and helpful as well.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
we hope so~
11:22 North by North West's metaphor💀 Studiobinder silently slipping in adult jokes😂😂
Appreciate to your consistency 👏👏
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
🙏🙏
Awesome work buddy, thanks a lot to bring us these free.
Apart from the excellent content that Studiobinder provides us, this time I want to use this comment to appreciate the voice of this voice artist who narrates most of the episodes. Whoever you are sir, you deserve applause. Sometimes it feels like i am in a class and you are my professor. Though I cannot see you (because that's not the purpose here), i can hear your deep, wide voice. And now it's so regular to me that whenever i hear your voice, i automatically feel like I am in a class. In short, You have a really valuable voice, sir. *STUDIOBINER, please send my message to this man.*
@brandonscullion
Жыл бұрын
Divya, I showed your message to Paul (the guy who did VO for this video) and he wanted me to pass a message along: "Please reply to Divya Mani on my behalf thanking him for his kind words and tell hi I'm most appreciative for all his generous observations."
@gnlpupol
Жыл бұрын
Thank You so much Brandon.
This video deserves more views
Speechless... another masterpiece binding my mind ❤
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
StudioBinded
Metaphors create context! Great tool.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
A powerful one every filmmaker should use!
I loved this video. It's like a snowy owl with the facial disc of a harrier.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
😂
Beautifully explained as always 😊❤️
As always a great video from my favorite channel ❤️
6:02 The moment I didn't know I wanted to see but I'm glad for.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
👍👍
You guys are beyond amazing, bless u with your work.
I've been waiting for this video. I am really inspired by your work. With the importance of the Allegory, now I start to understand the importance of Metaphor in Creativity and Writing process. Thousand Thanks StudioBinder.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Happy filming :)
This is so amazing and motivating and educational
"The Feelings come back to you" Beautiful brother
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
👌👌
you folks put a lot of work into this analysis always :) 😁
StudioBinder rocks!!!!
This channel creates value ❤
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
That's the goal :)
I'm learning a lot. I hope there is also this kind of tutorial for Music Production.
Always a pleasure!
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Cheers!
Please make a video about the music of Angelo Badalementi. He is one of the most underrated composers who can give deep real emotions.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the suggestion!
This guy is the only narrator we want for these videos
That outro was epic!!
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
🙏🙏
Visual Metaphor also has subgroups: foreshadow (hawk snatching a fish from water), foreboding (raven), facsimile (a monkey in a business suit at a desk), symbol (a piece of paper blowing on the wind), mimicry (A match-cut of a man putting down a body matched to a bear putting down a fish to devour it) and mockery (a man shouting obscenities matched to a monkey making noises and throwing things).
Great video.
Cool, guys! I love it! ❤
Superb video
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching!
These guys are better than my english teachers at school
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
😮
MAN THIS CHANNEL IS HERE LAST FOR MY OWN BENEFIT
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Enjoy!
My favourite metaphor is when the camera zooms in a drain in Barton Fink, implying that things will go down the drain.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
haha that's a fun one
Actually it was a tag team handicap match between The Rock & John Cena vs The Sidemen
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
✔✔
The T-Rex could be incredibly stealthy when the plot requires it.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
It knew where the camera was
Do you have/can you make a video on symbolism in film? Especially symbolic characters or encounters? (Examples: Blade Runner - The Unicorn, or Narnia - Aslan)
could you explain ecocriticism and its approaches in film please?
Is an extended metaphor, then, one tenor with multiple vehicles that share a theme?
10:04 two words come to midn every time this song plays: Madagascar meat 🍖
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
😂
im thinking that most of the great directors aren't actually aware what they are doing. They just do it the way they want to
What book is the subject, object;tenor, vehicle stuff from?
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Not from a specific book, just concepts
good
Best way to get a load of these is to read a lot of literature.
What movie is that @ 4:15
@brandonscullion
Жыл бұрын
Blade Runner
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Names appear on the bottom left corner as the films appear!
What's the name of the film at 6:27
@jeremymullins1294
Жыл бұрын
As You Like It. (bottom right of the screen)
Wondering would this work well in movies like Godfather, American Gangster, Goodfellas etc? As soon as I asked, I realized it does.
been rapping for decades and this cleared some things up hahahahaha
Your videos are seashells in the sand.
I know this channel is kinda film school 101 but it would be cool to see some less mainstream examples of things. I feel like most of the examples y'all use in broader videos are lotr, fincher, Spielberg, marvel, and things literally everyone has seen like Shawshank. Ik that's kinda the point but yea
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Appreciate the feedback! We'll keep trying to include a more diverse palette of films
yes!!!!
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching!
Still waiting Director's Chair 1. Asghar Farhadi 2. Hayao Miyazaki
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
we covered Miyazaki in this video! kzread.info/dash/bejne/dnyj0Jidn7SdZZM.html
Next time, could you do a video on John Wick Chapter 4 and analyze the amazing cinematography and other elements of the movie that made it a masterpiece?
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
We probably will break it down in the future!
Like a Rolling Stone
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
💯
I love your videos - I have even shared them with my family multiple times. I have even tried using a lot of techniques in my own videos! If anyone wants to critique mine I would welcome it👍
Is a bullet train an unwed woman? Obviously not, that would be asinine but the bullet train is being compared to a maiden and the first trip sort of like a honeymoon (simile) or, as stated: a maiden voyage🥂 Do zombies exist? Generally, we assume not, they're an idea og fiction but the way drugs can negatively affect ambition, hygiene and motor skills is why many compare drug users to zombies (the lack of emotion, cold dead eyes and unwavering commitment for their next fix) does that make sense??
Its a thought with another thought's hat on
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Nice description haha
A metaphor.... Is.... A butterfly.... :3
Sadness is a prison 😔 😢
this video was an excuse to make a gif of tom cruise eating a cookie im sure of it
@idanlewenhoff2295
Жыл бұрын
just to add il recommend this channel to anyone i know keep up the good work
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
😎
In Trainspotting he swims through a toilet to get his fix. I’m guessing that’s a metaphor.
I shall be amongst the firsts
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Welcome!
This video reminds me of my 10th class English 😂😂
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Hopefully it was more helpful haha
@SrijanAshish
Жыл бұрын
@@StudioBinder For sure .keep going and make more director's playbook series
Watch RRR. You'll get to know how metaphor is represented with Fire and water
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
we did! we did a breakdown kzread.info/dash/bejne/maOIm9ChebbMlJs.html
I soak in your videos and let them seep into my mind, like melting chocolate on my tongue. Meaning, I think yer stuff's purdy cool. ;)
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Rad 🔥
Met-a-four...it means the eights, nines and tens were still in bed sleeping off the all night partying. Only the fours were out and about, so I met a four.
she's a wizard, Harry. lol. XD
"Love is a battlefield" is not a Metaphor - thats a parable.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
a parable is a type of story, which can't be one line
Metaphors are best left out of the writer's toolbox. Most often they just sound corny and distract from the overall flow of the pen.
@KABOBkabob
Жыл бұрын
I feel like the best ones sort of just fall into place as theme and visuals converge
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
i would say it wasn't well written then
Maybe you're getting too tied down by the notion that it sounds like metamorphosis, it does not really have to do anything with change or the prefix, meta meaning after... time stamp error
@RR_DM
5 ай бұрын
x: You're so smary! y: Your mother is very smart...
Write the names of the cinemas a bit more clear to see.
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the suggestion!
We’re all wondering what is Meta For… Only Zuckerberg can answer that.
Can I get some black flowers and a salad
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
😮
The spoon doesn't exist
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
all in your head
Metaphor: when one makes a dick joke in a figurative manner
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
It can be used in that manner
Can you Guys make 1 Video on Camara Movement and the reason behind such as building a emotional tension, realease tension and Dramatic tension. Also, Motivational and Unmotivated Camara Movement.
@orphanion9468
Жыл бұрын
They definitely already have a video on this topic
I feel like with your channel, we have no excuse anymore to produce bad movies 🤌
@StudioBinder
Жыл бұрын
haha all for the love of cinema