Film Terms to Know

Allusion

a direct or indirect reference - through an image or through dialogue - to the Bible, a classic, a person, a place, an external and/or real-life event, another film, or a well-known cultural idea

Camera Angle

the point of view (POV) or perspective (including relative height or direction) chosen from which to photograph a subject. Various camera angles, compositions, or positions include front, behind, side, top, high (looking down), low (looking up), straight-on or eye-level (standard or neutral angle), tilted (canted or oblique), subjective, etc.

Costume

refers to the garments or clothing worn by actors/performers in a film; a costume (or wardrobe) designer researches, designs, and selects the costumes to be appropriate to the film's time period, the characters, their location, and their occupations, whereas the customer (or stylist) is responsible for acquiring, selecting, manufacturing, and/or handling the clothing and accessories; costume drama is a film set in a particular historical time period, often with elaborate costuming.

Dialogue

any spoken lines in a film by an actor/actress; may be considered overlapping if two or more characters speak simultaneously; in film-making, recording dialogue to match lip movements on previously-recorded film is called dubbing or looping.

Epiphany

a moment of sudden spiritual insight for the protagonist of a film, usually occurs just before or after the climax.

Flashback

a film technique that alters the natural order of the narrative; a flashback may often be the entire film; it takes the story order back chronologically in time to a previous or past event, scene, or sequence that took place prior to the present time frame of the film; the flashbacked story that provides background on action and events is often called the backstory; a contrast to flash-forward

Flashforward (or flash-ahead)

simply put, the opposite of flashback; a film technique that depicts a scene, event, or shot taking place (or imagined) or expected that is projected into a future time beyond the present time of the film or it can be a flashforward from the past to the present

Foil

an acting role that is used for personality comparison or contrast, usually with the protagonist or main character, as a means to show and highlight a character trait

 Juxtaposition

in a film, the contiguous positioning of two images, characters, objects, or scenes in sequence to compare and contrast them or establish a relationship between them; see also sequence, symmetry, and composition.

Mise en Scene

a French term for "staging," or "putting into the scene or shot"; in film theory, it refers to all the elements placed (by the director) before the camera and within the frame of the film -- including their visual arrangement and composition; elements include settings, decor, props, actors, costumes, makeup, lighting, performances, and character movements and positioning; lengthy, un-cut, unedited and uninterrupted sequences shot in real-time are often cited as examples of mise-en-scene

Montage

a French word literally meaning "editing," "putting together," or "assembling shots"; refers to a filming technique, editing style, or form of movie collage consisting of a series of short shots or images that are rapidly put together into a coherent sequence to create a composite picture, or to suggest meaning or a larger idea; in simple terms, the structure of editing within a film; a montage is usually not accompanied with dialogue; dissolves, cuts, fades, super-impositions, and wipes are often used to link the images in a montage sequence; an accelerated montage is composed of shots of increasingly-shorter lengths

Non- Diegetic Score

Non-diegetic sound, also called commentary or nonliteral sound, is any sound that does not originate from within the film’s world. The film’s characters are not able to hear a non-diegetic sound. All non-diegetic sound is added by sound editors in post-production (Examples include the film’s musical score, the sound effects, and narration/voice-over)

Opening Credits/Title (Sequence)

The presentation of the 'opening credits' (as an introduction to the audience about the film and including selected important members of the production) is known as the opening credits sequence; sometimes, it is superimposed on the action, but often exists as static letters on a solid background; since the closing or end credits usually list the entire cast and production crew, the opening credits sequence is usually positioned to set the mood of the film, and sometimes even lacks any credits except the film's title; aka front credits or beginning titles.

Stock Character

a minor character whose actions are completely predictable, stereotypical, or standard for his/her job or profession; similarly, a stock situation is a basic, recognizable plot situation (e.g., a lover hiding in the closet, twins mistaken for each other, etc.).

Subtext

is the deeper meanings of a character’s actions or spoken lines. Subtext encourages the audience to read between the lines to discern the true meaning of a film.