Fiction into Film - Major Terms Exam

Theme

The large and small ideas that help to explain the actions and events in it

Story

all events that are presented to us or that we can infer have happened

Plot

the arrangement or construction of a story’s events in a certain order or structure

Narration

refers to the perspective that organizes the plot according to a certain emotional, physical, or intellectual point of view

Characters

the individuals who populate narrative; they normally focus the action and often the themes of a movie

Point of View

refers to the position from which something is seen and, by implication, the way that point of view determines what you see

Mise-En-Scène

The arrangement of the so-called theatrical elements; these include sets, lighting, costumes, props and acting style

Set/ Setting (Makes up Mise-En-Scène)

The place or location used for specific scene or shot in a film — what objects are in/on the set (Props and set dressings)

Lighting (Makes up Mise-En-Scène)

The various ways a character or an object or a scene can be illuminated

Costumes (Makes up Mise-En-Scène)

The clothes characters wear, how their hair is fashioned, makeup, etc

Acting Style (Makes up Mise-En-Scène)

The way an actor plays a part — how they talk/accents, facial expressions, body language

Shot (Camerawork)

refers to single image you can see on the screen before the film cuts to a different image

Cut (Camerawork)

Refers to the break between two shots — when the camera cuts the shot changes

Tone (Camerawork)

refers to the range and texture of the colors in a film image

Film Speed (Camerawork)

the rate at which the film is shot

Frame (Camerawork)

refers to the borders of the image or the frame of the movie screen itself — also the camera frame, which regularly changes its relationship to the objects being filmed

Deep Focus (Camerawork)

means all objects, those near the camera, those midway and those far away are all in sharp focus

Shallow Focus (Camerawork)

will clearly show only one plane in the image — most often the objects in the front will be clearly in focus

Rack Focus Shot (Camerawork)

when the plane of focus is quickly changed from one figure or object to another within the same shot (from deep to shallow or vice versa)

High Angle (Camera Shots)

when the camera is looking down at the subject

Low Angle (Camera Shot)

when the camera is looking up at the subject

Crane Shot (Camera Shots)

when a crane (or other device) is required to get a higher overhead shot looking down on the action

Long shot (Camera Shots)

an image in which full bodies are show,but from a distance because there appears to be a great distance between the camera and the subject

Tilt Shot (Camera Shot)

when the camera moves up and down without changing the position of the camera

Pan Shot (Camera Shots)

wehn eh camera moves side to side without a change in the position of the camera or the point from which the scene is viewed

Tracking/ Dolly Shot (Camera Shot)

when the camera follows the action by moving the position of the camera (often on small tracks) and thus takes the frame forward, backward, and around the subject.

Handheld Shot (Camera Shot)

when the camera is held by a camera operator and is usually jerky, which sometimes seems realistic

Long Take (Camera Shots)

when shots remain on a scene or object for an unusually long time — one continuous shot

Establishing Shot (Camera Shots)

shots that begin in a scene or sequence as a way of locating a scene clearly in a certain place before dividing that sequence into more detailed shots

Shot/ reverse shot (Camera Shots)

technically a logical cut between two shots, usually two characters or a character and an object

Editing

refers to how shots are built into larger pieces of a movie to make larger units of meaning

Continuity Editing/ Invisible Editing

when a filmmaker avoids cuts and transitions between images that would be too obvious/distracting

Editing Pace

the length of time a shot is held on screen

Scene (Editing)

is made up of a series of shots joined together — one place, one time

Sequence (Editing)

a unified group of scenes — multiple scenes, like chapter

Montage (Editing)

a rapidly cut series of images that often condenses time a space

Jump Cut (Editing)

occurs when a continuous shot is suddenly broken and the image jumps to new figures or another background — discontinuity within the action

Match Cut (Editing)

two images being edited together as parallel actions or motions

Matching on Action (Editing)

occurs when a piece of physical action that occurs in the first shot is continued in the second shot

Eye-line Matching (Editing)

relies on characters’ gazes to maintain specific relationships from shot to shot

Graphic Matching (Editing)

relies on the similarity of compositional shapes from one shot to the next to bridge the cut smoothly

J Cut (Editing)

sound begins to play before the shot it actually matches appears on screen

L Cut (Editing)

sound from one shot continues even though the next shot has changed

Types of Transitions (Editing)

Wipe, dissolve, fade in/out, iris in/out

Three Major Types of Sound

Dialogue, Music, Sound Effects

Direct sounds

Are recorded when the image is being shot

Postdubbed sounds

Are added to a film later in a studio (post-shot)

Diegetic Sound

occurs within the world of the film’s narrative, so the characters in the world of the film hear the sounds (source may be on or off-screen)

Ambient Sound

(Type of Diegetic Sound) Also known as background noises or music that surround the main action and dialogue [MUSIC IS ONLY THIS WHEN ITS BACKGROUND NOISE AND COMES FROM A SOURCE ON SCREEN AT SOME POINT]

Non Diegetic Sound

Comes from a source outside the world (meaning those in the film’s world can’t hear it) — these sounds have been added for viewer benefit

Synchronous Sounds

comes from a source that is onscreen — the sound syncs with the image on screen

Asynchronous Sound

comes from a source outside the film frame — but something that could exist within the world of the film

Nonsynchronous Sound

comes from a different time/space than what appears on screen (aka Sound Bridges)

Sound bridges

occurs when sound is used to link shots (think J-cut and L-cut)

Sound Montage

composes different pieces of sound to create disjunctions and unexpected relations between those sounds

Voice-off

features a speaker who was or will be seen onscreen but is not at the time the voice is heard

Voice-over

the voice of a narrator or commentator who typically is not part of the story or diegesis and cannot be heard by the characters

Narrative Cueing

when sound is used to support a moment or motif in the story