English 104 - Cinema vocab

Shot

a single piece of film uninterrupted by cuts

Establishing shot

often a long shot or series of shots that sets the scene; is used to establish setting and to show transitions between locations

Long Shot

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

Medium shot

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. This effect is to ground the story

Close up

the image takes up at least 80 % of the frame

Extreme Close up

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

Two Shot

a scene between two people shot exclusively from an angle that includes both characters more or less equally. It is used in love scenes where the interactions between two characters is important.

Eye Level

a shot taken from normal height; that is, the character’s eye level. Ninety to ninety-five % of the shots seen are eye level, because its the most natural angle

Low angle

The cameras films subject from below. This usually has the effect of making the subject look larger than normal, and therefore strong, powerful, and threatening.

High Angle

The camera is above the subject. This usually has the effect of making the subject look smaller than normal, giving him or her the appearance of being weak, powerless or

Pan

a stationary camera moves from side to side on the horizontal axis

Tilt

a stationary camera moes up or down along a vertical axis

Zoom

a stationary camera where the lens moves to make an object seems to move closer or further away from the camera. * with this technique, moving into a character is often a personal or revealing movement, while moving away distances or separates the audience from the character.

Dolly/Tracking

The camera is on a track that allows it to move with the action. The term also refers to any camera mounted on a car, truck, or helicopter.

Boom/Crane

The camera is on a crane over the action. This is used to create overhead shots.

High key

the scene is flooded with light; creating a bright and open-looking scene.

Low Key

the scene is flooded with shadows and darkness, creating suspense and suspicion.

Bottem or Side lighting

Direct lighting from below or the side, which often makes the subject appear dangerous or evil

Front or Back lighting

Soft lighting on the actor’s face or from behind which gives the appearance of innocence or goodness, or halo effect

Cut

Two pieces of film are spliced together to cut to another image

Fade

Can be to or from black and white; implies the passing of time or the end of a scene

Fade in - darkness to brightness

Fade out - image gradually gets darker

Dissolve

a kind of fade in which one image is gradually replaced by another

wipe

A new image wipes off the previous image (quicker than a dissolve )

flashback

cut or dissolve to action that happened in the past

shot - reverse - shot

A shot of one subject, then anther, then back to the first; often used for conversation or reaction shots

Cross - cutting

Cut into action that is happening simultaneously; creates tension or suspense and creates a connection between scenes

Eye - line match

cut to an object, then to a person; can reveal a characters thoughts

Diegetic

sound that can logically be heard by the characters in the film (dialogue, background noise, sound of things in the scene)

Non- diegetic

sound that cannot be heard by the characters but is designed for the audience reaction only (ominous music or sounds)