Basic Film Terms and Mise-en-scène Vocabulary
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Vocabulary flashcards covering basic film narrative concepts and mise-en-scène techniques.
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26 Terms
El argumento / la trama
plot All the events that are directly presented to us, including their causal relations, chronological order, duration, frequency, and spatial locations; opposed to story (fabula), which is the viewer's imaginary construction of all the events in the narrative.
El foco
focus Refers to the degree to which light rays coming from any particular part of an object pass through the lens and reconverge at the same point on a frame of the film negative, creating sharp outlines and distinct textures that match the original object.
El género
genre A category of film, such as the western, the horror film, the costume drama, the melodrama, and so on, with recognizable conventions and character types.
El montaje
editing The joining together of clips of film into a single filmstrip.
El plano / La toma
shot The basic element of filmmaking—a piece of film run through the camera, exposed, and developed; an uninterrupted run of the camera; or an uninterrupted image on film.
la analepsis / la vista retrospectiva
Flashback A shot, sequence, or scene that takes place in the past, before the present-day time frame established by the film.
El argumento / la trama
plot - All the events that are directly presented to us, including their causal relations, chronological order, duration, frequency, and spatial locations; opposed to story (fabula), which is the viewer's imaginary construction of all the events in the narrative.
La diégesis / diegesis
The world of the film. The diegesis includes objects, events, spaces and the characters that inhabit them, including things, actions, and attitudes not explicitly presented in the film but inferred by the audience.
La escena
scene A unit of dramatic action that takes place in one location during a single time period.
La secuencia
sequence A component of film narrative that maintains a unity of time, place, or dramatic action but introduces a discontinuity (such as changing locations or speeding up time).
La toma
/ take A single attempt to record a shot; a shot may require many takes before a director is satisfied.
El enfoque profundo
deep focus A use of the camera lens and lighting that keeps objects in both close and distant planes in sharp focus.
El enfoque superficial
shallow focus A photographic and cinematographic technique incorporating a small depth of field, where one plane of the scene is in focus while the rest is out of focus.
El espacio profundo
deep space An arrangement of mise-en-scène elements so that there is considerable distance between the plane closest to the camera and the one farthest away. Any or all of these planes may be in focus.
El espacio superficial
shallow space Staging the action in relatively few planes of depth; the opposite of deep space.
El decorado / décor
decor The objects contained in and the setting of a scene.
El mate
matte A process shot in which two photographic images (usually background and foreground) are combined into a single image using an optical printer.
El vestuario
costume The clothes that characters wear.
Fuera de campo/pantalla
offscreen space Space that exists in the diegesis but that is not visible in the frame.
La actuación / interpretación /
acting The art or occupation of performing.
La frontalidad
frontality Frontality refers to the staging of elements, often human figures, so that they face the camera square-on. This arrangement is an alternative to oblique staging.
La iluminación de tres puntos
/ Three-Point Lighting A very commonly used lighting setup, consisting of three main light sources—a key light, a fill light, and a backlight; the effect is a centrally illuminated subject seen in an evenly lit setting but separated visually from the background.
La iluminación high-key
high-key lighting Illumination that creates comparatively little contrast between the light and dark areas of the shot. Shadows are fairly transparent and brightened by fill light.
La iluminación low-key
low-key lighting Illumination that creates strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot, with deep shadows and little fill light.
La mise-en-scène / la escenografía / la puesta en escena
All of the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed: settings, props, lighting, costumes, makeup, and figure behavior (actors, their gestures, and their facial expressions).
La proyección trasera
rear projection Involves the projection of either a still or a moving picture onto the back of a translucent screen. The screen appears behind the live action being photographed, combining background and foreground into a single image.
