Film 1 Quiz 2: Cinematography

Cinematography

The control of how a staged event is photographed, including tonality, framing, camera movement, and shot duration.

Analog (photochemical) image

An image recorded chemically as light strikes light-sensitive film (celluloid).

Digital image

An image recorded as data when light strikes a camera's electronic sensor.

Tonality

How light registers as tones and shades in the image.

Contrast

The difference between the darkest and lightest areas of the frame.

High-contrast image

Stark whites and deep blacks with few midtones; looks dramatic and harsh.

Low-contrast image

Many intermediate grays or muted shades with no true black or white; looks soft.

Photochemical filmmaking (film-stock sensitivity)

Film came in stocks of varying light sensitivity, chosen to control contrast and suit shooting conditions.

Exposure

How much light reaches the film or sensor.

Overexposed

Too much light reached the image, so bright areas wash out ("blown-out").

Underexposed

Too little light reached the image, so detail falls into shadow.

Digital grading

Adjusting an image's color and tone digitally in postproduction.

Digital colorist

The person who adjusts color and tone digitally in postproduction.

Light filters

Glass or gel over the lens that alters the amount or quality of light recorded.

Diffusion filters

Filters that soften the image, long used to add glamour to close-ups.

Colored filters

Filters that tint the recorded light a specific color.

Tinting

Early-era technique of dyeing the entire black-and-white image one color.

Toning

Early-era technique of chemically coloring the dark areas of a black-and-white image.

Frame rate (fps)

The number of frames shot or projected per second.

Standard 24 fps

The standard shooting and projection rate, set when synchronized sound arrived in the late 1920s.

Slow motion

Shooting at a higher frame rate than projection, so action appears slowed down.

Fast motion

Shooting at a lower frame rate than projection, so action appears sped up.

Ramping

Changing the frame rate during the shot, so speed shifts within one continuous take.

Time-lapse cinematography

Shooting frames far apart in time so long spans compress into sped-up footage.

High-speed cinematography

Shooting at a very high frame rate to capture fast events in smooth slow motion.

Perspective

The image's spatial relations organized around a single viewing point, the lens acting as our eye.

Focal length

The distance from the lens center to the focus point; it sets field of view and apparent depth.

Wide-angle lens (short focal length)

A lens with a wide field of view that exaggerates depth and bulges edge lines.

Normal lens

A lens that renders space naturally, avoiding perspective distortion.

Telephoto lens (long focal length)

A lens with a narrow field of view that magnifies and flattens the planes.

Zoom

A lens of variable focal length that changes framing without moving the camera.

Depth of field

The range of distances that appear in sharp focus at a given setting.

Why depth of field is not the same as deep space

Deep space is how action is staged on planes; depth of field is which planes the lens keeps in focus.

Selective focus

Keeping only one plane sharp and blurring the rest to guide the viewer's eye.

Deep focus

Depth of field and focus combined so all planes stay sharp across the frame.

Pulling focus (rack focus)

Shifting focus between planes during a shot.

Framing

How the frame's edges shape and direct what and how we see the event.

Static composition

A fixed, unchanging composition.

Dynamic composition

A composition that changes or moves.

Aspect ratio

The ratio of frame width to frame height.

Masks

Blocking part of the frame to change its shape, such as an iris that opens or closes.

Multiple images (split screen)

Showing more than one image in the frame at once, as in a divided split screen.

Superimposition

Layering images over one another within the frame, often for dreams or memories.

Straight-on angle

Filming the subject at eye level, a neutral viewpoint.

High angle

Filming from above, looking down on the subject.

Low angle

Filming from below, looking up at the subject.

Level (of framing)

Whether the framing is upright or tipped to one side.

Canted framing

A frame deliberately tipped to one side, creating unease or stylization.

Camera height

How high or low the camera is placed, independent of its angle.

Extreme long shot

Framing so wide the human figure is tiny or lost, used for vistas.

Long shot

Framing that shows the full human figure within its surroundings.

Medium shot

Framing the human body roughly from the waist up.

Close-up

Framing just the face, a hand, or a single significant object.

Extreme close-up

Framing only a portion of a face or a small detail.

Rudolf Arnheim's claim about camera angle

A film angle forces keener spectator interest, so the subject "gains in reality."

Mobile framing

Framing that moves during the shot, continually changing the viewer's vantage point.

Pan

Swiveling the camera horizontally on a vertical axis, like turning your head side to side.

Tilt

Rotating the camera vertically on a horizontal axis, like nodding your head up and down.

Tracking shot

The whole camera traveling along the ground through space.

Crane shot

Moving the camera through the air on a crane arm; today often done with a drone.

Dolly

A camera mounted on wheels, often on tracks, for smooth movement.

Steadicam

A camera on a body-strapped stabilizer that allows smooth movement while walking.

Handheld camera

A hand-held camera producing a deliberately bumpy image, tied to documentary immediacy.

Long take

A single shot that runs uninterrupted with no visible editing.

Zoom vs. camera movement

A zoom changes focal length while the camera stays fixed; camera movement relocates the vantage point.

The key question to ask of any technique

Why is this technique employed, and what does it achieve?

Camera movement as a substitute

It stands in for our own movement while we sit still watching th