Basic Terms

shot

One continuous piece of film footage, ending with an edit, or cut to the next shot.

sequence

A series of shots combined to represent a discrete set of actions or a coherent narrative section.

scene

Similar to a “sequence,” a series of shots combined to represent a set of actions happening within the same time and place.

motif

Anything repeated more than a few times in a film. Can be visual (an image or cinematic technique), sonic (a sound or piece of music), or rhetorical (a word, phrase, metaphor, etc.).

cinematography

A term used to define the ways in which the camera captures the shot. We speak of such things as the different lenses used by the camera, how the camera frames the shot, the angle of the camera relative to the action, and how the camera moves.

editing

Refers to how the individual shots are spliced together. The norm here is “continuity editing,” in which shots are put together to achieve narrative continuity—to make the action appear to flow logically and naturally from shot to shot.

mise-en-scène

Literally meaning “put into the scene,” this term refers to the arrangement of actors and objects in front of the camera. Setting, lighting, costuming, and acting are aspects.

sound

Refers to both the sounds that come from the scene itself, such as spoken dialogue or ambient noise, and the sounds that are imposed on the scene, such as voice-overs or musical scores.