Looking At Movies - Final Exam Vocab

Cinematography

The process of lighting, framing, and capturing moving images on film stock or a digital medium.

Director of Photography (DP)

The director of cinematography.

Shot

A single piece of film, uninterrupted by cuts.

Take

One attempt at taking a shot.

Setup

One camera position, and everything associated with it.

Camera Crew

People who are concerned with moving and working with the camera, and the other concerned with electricity and lighting ,

Camera Operator

Someone who guides the camera, under the guise of the DP

Assistant Camerapersons (AC's)

Member of the camera crew who assists the camera operator. The first AC works directly with the camera, alongside the DP and Cam Op, and the Second AC prepares the slate.

Slate

A device used to identify the scene, shot, and take on camera

Loader

The member of the camera crew that feeds film stock into magazines to be loaded into a camera.

Digital Imaging Technician (DIT)

The DIT is responsible for managing media capture to achieve the highest image quality.

Gaffer

The chief electrician on a film set.

Best Boy

First assistant electrician to the gaffer on a film set.

Grip

All-around handyperson on set, typically work with camera and electrical crews.

Film Stock

Celluloid used to record movies. There are two types: one for black-and-white films, the other for color. Each type is manufactured in several standard formats.

Format

Also called gauges; widths measured in millimeters. Formats are for different types of film stocks: 8mm, Super 8mm, 16mm, Super 16mm, 35mm, 65mm, and 70mm

Resolution (cinematography)

Pixel size of an image.

Speed (or exposure index)

The rate at which film must move through the camera to correctly capture an image.

Pixel

The smallest unit of visual information in a digital image.

Codec

A computer program that encodes and decodes data captured by a digital camera.

Additive Color Systems

In early filmmaking, techniques used to add color to black-and-white images

Subtractive Color System

Adopted in the 1930s, this technique involved shooting three separate black-and-white negatives through three light filters, each corresponding to a primary color (red, green, or blue).

Widescreen Aspect Ratio

Any aspect ratio wider than 1.33:1, the standard ratio until the early 1950s.

Color Temperature

The variations of light wavelengths emitted by different light sources. Warmer or Cooler (Kelvin).

Color Grading

In postproduction, the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture.

Exposure

How much light is let into the camera, adjusting the latent image within it.

Lens

The piece of transparent material in a camera that focuses the image on the film or digital processor.

Aperture

The opening in an iris through which light passes to fall upon the camera.

Iris

An adjustable diaphragm that controls the amount of light.

Focal Length

The distance from the optical center of a lens to the focal point of an image.

Short-Focal Length

Wide-Angle Lens; A lens that creates the illusion of depth within a frame.

Long-Focal Length

Telephoto Lens; A lens that flattens the space and depth of an image.

Middle-Focal Length

Normal Lens; A lens that does not distort perspectival relations.

Zoom Lens

A lens that is moved toward and away from the subject being photographed.

Prime Lens

A lens that has a fixed focal length.

Depth of Field

The portion of the space in front of a camera and its lens in which objects are in apparent sharp focus.

Rack Focus

A change of the point of focus from one subject to another within the same shot.

Framing

The process by which the cinematographer determines what will appear within the borders of the moving image (the frame) during a shot.

Implied Proximity

The apparent distance between the camera (and thus the viewer) and the subject of a shot.

Extreme Long Shot (XLS or ELS)

Also referred to as a very wide shot or very wide angle shot. Traditionally used in exterior shots. Shows a large amount of the environment. Often used as establishing shot.

Long Shot (LS)

A shot from some distance. If filming a person, the full body is shown. It may show the isolation or vulnerability of the character (also called a full shot).

Establishing Shot

A shot, usually involving a distant framing, that shows the spatial relations among the important figures, objects, and setting in a scene.

Full Shot (FS)

A person's body appears in its entirety, approximately equal to the height of the screen.

Medium Long Shot (MLS)

A shot that includes the top of a subject's head to a line just above or just below the knee. Also called a knee shot or cowboy shot.

Medium Shot (MS)

The most common shot. The camera seems to be a medium distance from the object being filmed. A medium shot shows the person from the waist up. The effect is to ground the story.

Medium Close-Up (MCU)

A shot that frames a subject from the top of the head to a line just below the chest. Also called a bust shot.

Close-Up (CU)

A shot that often shows a part of the body filling the frame—traditionally a face, but possibly a hand, eye, or mouth.

Extreme Close-Up (XCU or ECU)

The image being shot is a part of a whole, such as an eye or a hand.

Deep-Focus Cinematography

The process of rendering the figures on all planes (background, middle-ground, and foreground) of a deep-space composition in focus.

Camera Angle

The angle at which the camera is pointed at the subject.

Eye-Level Shot

A shot that is made from the observer's eye level and usually implies that the observer's attitude is neutral toward the subject being photographed.

High-Angle Shot

When camera location is above normal eye-level compared to the subject, makes the subject appear small, weak, inferior, or scared.

Low-Angle Shot

When camera location is below normal eye-level compared to the subject, makes the subject appear tall, powerful, dominating, or scary.

Dutch-Angle Shot

A shot in which the camera is tilted from its normal horizontal and vertical positions so that it is no longer straight, giving the viewer the impression that the world in the frame is out of balance.

Bird's-Eye-View Shot

The camera is placed overhead or directly above the object or scene. The tops of heads or roofs of buildings are visible.

Pan Shot

The horizontal movement of a camera mounted on the gyroscopic head of a stationary tripod.

Tilt Shot

The camera tilts up (moves upwards) or tilts down (moves downwards) around a vertical line.

Dolly Shot

A shot in which the camera is moved on a wheeled dolly that follows a determined course.

Slow Disclosure

A technique that uses camera movement to allow new information into the frame that expands or changes the viewer's initial interpretation of the subject or situation.

Zoom

A shot in which the image is magnified (or de-magnified) by movement of the camera's lens only, without the camera itself moving.

Crane Shot

A shot with a change in framing accomplished by placing the camera above the subject and moving through the air in any direction.

Handheld Camera

A camera that is held by a person and not supported by any type of camera mount.

Steadicam

A camera mount, worn by the operator, that allows the camera to remain level even when the operator moves.

Viewfinder

On a camera, the little window that the cameraperson looks through when taking a picture.

Off-Screen Space

Cinematic space that exists outside the frame.

On-Screen Space

Cinematic space that exists inside the frame.

Open Frame

A frame around a motion-picture image that, theoretically, characters and objects can enter and leave.

Closed Frame

A frame of a motion picture image that, theoretically, neither characters nor objects enter or leave.

Point-of-View (POV)

A type of shot which is from the direct view of the character.

Omniscient Point-of-View (POV)

The objective truth of a situation; what the camera sees that the other characters aren't cognizant of (the camera acts as a character).

Single-Character Point-of-View (POV)

A point of view that is captured by a shot made with the camera close to the line of sight of one character.

Slow-Motion

Cinematographic technique that decelerates action on-screen.

Fast-Motion

Cinematographic technique that accelerates action on-screen.

Long-Take

A shot that continues for an unusually lengthy time before the transition to the next shot.

Mobile Framing

A technique that uses a moving camera to capture multiple viewpoints, compositions, and actions within a single shot.

Sequence Shot

An uninterrupted shot that lasts significantly longer than a conventional shot.

Special Effects (VFX)

A general term reserved for technology used to create images that would be too dangerous, too expensive, or simply impossible to achieve with traditional cinematographic approaches.

Mechanical Effect

A special effect created by an object or event mechanically on the set and in front of the camera.

Optical Effect

An effect created by manipulating an image captured on celluloid in the camera during production and/or during film stock.

Visual Effect

The processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated using computers.

Motion Capture

A system used to capture human movement into a computer by attaching sensors to an actor and tracking their location.

Major Role

A character part that is dominant in the plot of a play, having many scripted lines.

Stand-In

An actor who looks reasonably like a particular movie star (or at least an actor playing a major role) in height, weight, coloring, and so on, and who substitutes for that actor during the tedious process of preparing setups or taking light readings.

Stuntperson

Double for actors in scenes requiring special skills, hazardous actions.

Supporting Role

A part in a film that is important but is not the main part.

Bit Player

An actor who holds a small speaking part.

Extras

Actors without speaking parts who appear in the background and in crowd scenes.

Cameos

A short screen appearance by a celebrity, playing himself or herself.

Walk-On

A role even smaller than a cameo, reserved for a highly recognizable actor or personality.

Persona

In acting, a distinctive combination of mannerisms, behaviors, and qualities.

Option Contract

If the actor had made progress in being assigned roles and demonstrating box-office appeal, the studio picked up the option to employ that actor for the next 6 months and gave them a raise; if not, the studio dropped the option, and the actor was out of work.

Stanislavsky System

Encourages students to strive for realism, both social and psychological, and to bring their past experiences and emotions to their roles.

Method Acting

A style of stage acting developed from the teachings of Constantin Stanislavsky, which trains actors to act like a character in their lives, and make a connection via emotion memory.

Alienation Effect

Also known as the distancing effect; A psychological distance between the audience and the stage that limits the audience's identification with characters and events.

Improvisation

When performers engage spontaneously in a situation that is not pre-planned beyond the basic narrative parameters.

Casting

The process of choosing and hiring actors for a movie.

Script Supervisor

The member of the crew responsible for ensuring continuity throughout the filming.

Boom Operator

The member of the sound crew who operates the boom microphone.

Sound Mixer

The member of the sound crew responsible for recording dialogue on set.

Assistant Director (AD)

Member of the production crew responsible for determining and maintaining the shooting schedule.