The term is often used generally in the Arts, but has become a familiar term in modern poetry in particular. Formalist poets may be considered as the opposite of 'Free Verse' poets, though of course these are just labels, and rarely sum up matters satisfactorily. 'Formalism' in poetry represents an attachment to poetry that recognises and uses schemes of rhyme and rhythm to create poetic effects and to innovate. To distingush it from archaic poetry the term 'neo-formalist' is sometimes used.
In film studies, formalism is a trait in filmmaking, which overtly uses the language of film, such as editing, shot composition, camera movement, set design, etc., so as to emphasise the artificiality of the film experience. Examples of formalist films may include The Seventh Seal (1957), Breathless (1959) and Moulin Rouge! (2001).
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Formalist film theory is a theory of film study that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of colour, shot composition, and editing.
A formalist might study how standard Hollywood "continuity editing" creates a more comforting effect and non-continuity or jump-cut editing might become more disconcerting or volatile.
If the ideological approach is concerned with broad movements and the effects of the world around the filmmaker, then the auteur theory is dialectically opposed to it, celebrating the individual, usually in the person of the filmmaker, and how his personal decisions, thoughts, and style manifest themselves in the material.
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