Film Terminology

Realist Mise-en-Scene

realistic style (MS)

Stylized/ Artistic Mise-en-Scene

exaggerated style → not realistic (MS)

aspect ratio

ratio between width and height (MS)

pro-filmic elements

everything placed in front of the camera (MS)

visual effects

imagery that’s made/ manipulated after live-action shot (MS)

framing

the use of the edges of the film frame to select/ compose what’s visible on screen (MS)

horizontal positioning

moving camera left to right on horizontal plane (MS)

vertical positioning

moving camera up and down on vertical plane (MS)

positioning in depth

move camera in and out to make a shot feel 3D (MS)

proximal positioning

how close the camera is to the subject (MS)

remote positioning

camera is placed somewhere else to accentuate some aspect of scene (ex. place in top corner of big room to show how big the room is) (MS)

obstructed framing

part of subject is obstructed (MS)

composition

how elements on screen appear in respect to one another and within the frame (MS)

blocking/ staging

describes when, where, and how subjects are positioned and move within frame (MS)

depth

adding layers to a shot to give it a 3D feel → makes audience feel more immersed in film (MS)

Density

measure of how dark the film is after exposure and processing (MS)

lighting

• refers to the direction, quality, source, or color of the light

• helps guide the viewer’s attention

• creates atmosphere

• MS

color

used to set the tone of a scene (MS)

extreme close-up (ECU)

focus on small details of a character (Cinematography)

close-up (CU)

tightly frames character (Cinematography)

medium close-up (MCU)

frames subject from just above head to just below chest (Cinematography)

medium shot (MS)

• captured at medium distance from subject

• shows body language and more of the setting

• Cinematography

medium long shot (MLS)

• frames character from waist up

• shows character alone in center of empty frame

• Cinematography

long shot (LS)

shows subject from head to toe in their surroundings (Cinematography)

extreme long shot (ELS)

• frames subject from a distance

• focuses mainly on surroundings

• establishing shot for location/ setting before focusing on character/ scene

• Cinematography

one shot

one person in frame (Cinematography)

two shot

• two people in frame

• captures subjects’ interactions, distance from one another, and body language

• Cinematography

wide shot

shows entire subject in relation to their surroundings (Cinematography)

POV shot

filmed through eyes of character (Cinematography)

OTS shot

camera placed over back shoulder/ head of character → used in conversation scenes (Cinematography)

straight-on

camera place directly in front of subject on the same plane/ eye level (Cinematography)

high angle

camera points down at subject (NOT directly over subject) → creates feeling on inferiority (Cinematography)

bird’s eye shot

camera directly above subject (Cinematography)

low angle

camera below subject’s eye line → shows superiority/ intimidation (Cinematography)

worm’s eye shot

camera beneath subject (Cinematography)

canted/ dutch angle

camera is tilted/ slanted to one side → shows disorientation/ confusion (Cinematography)

shallow focus

small part of image is clear & everything else is blurry → directs viewer’s attention (Cinematography)

deep focus

everything in frame is in sharp detail (Cinematography)

soft focus

slightly blurred dream-like/ romantic atmosphere (Cinematography)

rack focus

changes focus from one subject to another within same shot → shifts viewer’s attention (Cinematography)

focal length

distance (in mm) between lens and image sensor in camera (Cinematography)

wide angle lens

• focal length less than 35 mm

• wide field of view

• Cinematography

telephoto lens

brings distant subjects closer by using a long focal length (Cinematography)

anamorphic lens

captures a wider aspect ration and creates a horizontal lens flare (Cinematography)

zoom

• ability to “zoom in” without moving camera

• changing the focal length

• Cinematography

bokeh

• the quality of the out of focus background

• blurred lights

• Cinematography

lens flare

when a lot of direct bright light hits the lens which creates spots in an image (Cinematography)

underexposure

• very small amount of light

• make images/ shots darker

• less detailed and more grain

• Cinematography

overexposure

• a lot of light

• brighter images with less detail

• Cinematography

split diopter

lens attachment that focuses on objects at different distances in frame (has two focal lengths on either side of the lens) (Cinematography)

pan

camera rotates horizontally from a fixed position (Cinematography)

tilt

camera tilts up and down from a fixed position (Cinematography)

handheld shot

camera held in had → more shaky look (Cinematography)

dolly

the track a camera moves on (Cinematography)

lateral tracking

camera moves sideways while mounted on a dolly (Cinematography)

foward tracking

camera moves towards from subject while mounted on a dolly (Cinematography)

backward tracking

camera moves away from subject while mounted on a dolly (Cinematography)

crane shot

dynamic shot from mounted on a crane (Cinematography)

drone/ helicopter shot

aerial shot → used as an establishing shot (Cinematography)

steadicam shot

handheld auto stabilizing rig worn by operator (Cinematography)

hard cut

• standard cut

• sudden change from one shot to another

• changing shot between a scene

• sounds and visuals cut at the same time

• Editing

dissolve

gradually fades from one image to another (Editing)

fade

gradually fades from an image to black (or vice versa) (Editing)

iris in/ out

circular “eye-like” transition (Editing)

wipe

replace one shot with another by moving image across the screen (Editing)

shot/ reverse shot

back and forth from one angle to another (Editing)

180-degree rule

move camera back and forth staying in the same 180 degrees (Editing)

30-degree rule

when changing camera angles there should be at least 30 degrees of a difference (Editing)

match-on-action

cutting to a different camera angle at the same time to create the visual of a continuous action (Editing)

match-on-dialogue

cutting between two shots and the dialogue is smooth (Editing)

eyeline match

switching from a character looking at a thing to the thing they’re looking at (Editing)

coverage/ cutaway

cutting away from main action to add more information and then cutting back (Editing)

intercutting

• cutting back and forth between two or more camera shots that show different actions

• usually in different scenes/ locations

• ex. cutting to and from a flash back

• Editing

crosscutting

cutting back and forth between shots in different locations that are happening at the same time (Editing)

eisensteinian (Soviet) montage

umbrella term for five types of montages (tonal, metric, intellectual, rhythmic, overtonal) → soup example (Editing)

intellectual montage

a bunch of images back to back to create one idea (Editing)

montage sequence

collection of shots to present a lot of information in short amount of time (Editing)

metric montage

cut between shots after predetermined number of frames (Editing)

overtonal montage

the cumulation of metric, rhythmic, and tonal montage (Editing)

surrealist editing

dreamy/ illogical sequence (Editing)

elliptical editing

omits certain parts of a scene to show time passing (Editing)

jump cut

a continuous shot is broken up by shots less than 30 degrees away (Editing)

temporal discontinuity

linear flow of time is interrupted (flash backs/ flash forwards) (Editing)

spacial discontinuity

disruption of visual continuity/ spacial relationships (Editing)

graphic discontinuity

disrupts the visual flow of film by creating contrasting visual elements (colors, shapes, compositions) between shots (Editing)

asynchronous sound

sound that doesn’t match up with what’s on screen (ex. Police sirens not on screen) (Sound & Music)

synchronous sound

sound that matches up with what’s on screen (ex. People talking in frame) (Sound & Music)

diegetic sound

• Sounds that originate from within the film’s world

• sound characters can hear it

• Sound & Music

non-diegetic sound

• Sounds that are added after in editing

• Sounds characters can’t hear

• Sound & Music

Internal Diegetic Sound

Sounds the audience can hear but the character cannot hear but is within the film world (ex. inner monologue) (Sound & Music)

Realistic Sound

Corresponds with actions on screen (Sound & Music)

Stylized Sound

Exaggerates on screen actions (Sound & Music)

ADR (aka, “Looping” or “Dubbing”)

• Automated dialogue replacement

• Rerecording an actor’s dialogue in a quiet location after filming

• Actor watches a looped scene of themselves to dub new dialogue

• Sound & Music

MOS

“mit-out-sound:” take where no sound is recorded (Sound & Music)

Score

a film’s original music (Sound & Music)

soundtrack

Selection of recorded songs that accompany a film that includes songs made for film and songs already made (Sound & Music)

Diegetic Music

music that’s part of the fictional world (Sound & Music)

Non-Diegetic Music

the movie’s score (Sound & Music)

Leitmotif

Short recurring music motif associated with person or place (Sound & Music)

auto dissolve

Transition technique used to smoothly blend two separate audio clips together (Sound & Music)