Intro to Film - Vocabulary Flashcards (Ambience, Lenses, Lighting, Editing, Sound, and More)

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering film terminology from ambient sound to zoom, including concepts in lighting, editing, camera movement, and sound.

Ambient Sound

The sound atmosphere of a place that people tend not to notice; e.g., in a forest, mainly trees and insects; used to create mood (e.g., Lynch’s Eraserhead uses factory ambient sound for unease).

Anamorphic Lens

A lens that squeezes a wide image onto a film frame; on projection, expands back to the original wide shape; widely used from the 1950s–1980s.

Aperture

The adjustable opening in a camera lens that controls how much light passes to the film; also the rectangular opening in a projector that helps determine light size/shape on the screen.

Aspect Ratio

The proportion of width to height of an image; common examples: 1.33:1 (4:3) and 1.85:1; indicates shape, not size.

Asynchronous Sound

Sound that does not synchronize with the on-screen source; may precede or follow lip movements (also called a J‑Cut or an L‑Cut).

Backlight

Lighting from behind the subject; can obscure identity if strongest; used with other lighting to separate subject from background.

Bird’s-Eye View

A camera angle achieved from directly overhead.

Cel

A thin sheet of clear plastic on which images are painted for animation; a series of cels is photographed over a painted background.

Celluloid

Short for cellulose nitrate film stock used historically (early stock prone to decomposition and fire); also a general term for film/cinema.

Character Actor

An actor who tends to specialize in well-defined secondary roles.

Cinematographer

The person responsible for motion-picture photography during filming; often called the director of photography (DP).

Cinematography

Motion-picture photography, including technical and artistic aspects like lighting, lens choice, camera distance/angle, and movement.

Close-up

An image in which the subject fills most of the frame; emphasizes texture, detail, or facial expressions.

Composition

The arrangement of settings, lighting, and subjects within the frame.

Continuity (Editing)

Editing that preserves uninterrupted time, action, and setting within a scene.

Contrast

Difference between the lightest and darkest parts of an image (low vs. high contrast).

Crane

A mechanical device to move a camera through space or position it at height; provides varied distances, angles, and speeds.

Crop

To trim or block out parts of an image.

Cross-Cut

Editing that alternates between events at different settings, often occurring simultaneously.

Cut

The most common transition between shots; end of one shot spliced to the beginning of the next; also used as a verb meaning to edit or alter a film.

Diegetic Music

Music that is part of the film’s fictional world and heard by the characters.

Cutaway

A shot that interrupts a subject to show something else (reactions, time passage, etc.).

Deep Focus

Photography in which foreground, middle ground, and background are all in sharp focus; achieved with wide-angle lenses, small apertures, and supporting lighting.

Depth of Field

The distance range in front of the camera within which all objects are in focus.

Designer

Person responsible for the appearance of what is photographed: architecture, locations, sets, costumes, makeup, and hairstyles.

Diegetic Sound

Sound originating from within the film’s world and heard by the characters (not always on screen).

Dolly

A wheeled platform used to move the camera; also the action of filming with the camera on a dolly.

Dub

To add sound after filming or to replace dialogue in post-production (e.g., foreign-language dubbing).

Dutch Angle

A camera angle in which vertical and horizontal lines appear tilted; often used to suggest disorientation.

Edit

To select and arrange processed segments of film; determine shots, takes, ordering, and transitions.

Episodic Plot

A story structure where scenes may have little direct relation to each other; unity may come from setting or other means.

Establishing Shot

A long or extreme long shot used at the start of a scene to show where and sometimes when events occur (repeated to indicate relationships).

Explicit Meaning

A general observation about a subject in a text, revealed by narration, dialogue, title cards, etc.

Exposition

Information about characters and events that occurred before the earliest events in the plot to aid understanding.

Exterior

A scene filmed outdoors or on a set that looks like the outdoors.

Extreme Close-Up

An image that shows only a part of the subject, with little to no background.

Extreme Long Shot

A shot where the subject is very small in the frame and the surroundings dominate; typically outdoors.

Eye-level Angle

Camera angle at the subject’s eye level, creating a sense of equality with the viewer.

Eyeline Match

A transition where a character looks at something offscreen, then the next shot shows what was looked at from a matching angle.

Fade-in

An image that gradually appears from darkness to illumination.

Fade-out

An image that gradually disappears from illumination to darkness.

Fade-out, Fade-in

A transition where a fade-out is followed by a fade-in after a pause, often to imply a passage of time.

Fast Cutting

Editing characterized by many brief shots, often less than a second long.

Fisheye Lens

An extreme wide-angle lens that produces near-180-degree coverage and noticeable edge distortion.

Flashback

A shot or sequence that interrupts the current narrative to depict earlier events.

Flashforward

A shot or sequence that interrupts the narrative to depict future events.

Foley Artist

A sound designer who creates and synchronizes everyday sounds to film using objects and surfaces.

Frame

1) A single photograph on a strip of film; 2) the borders of the image; 3) to position the camera so subjects stay within the frame.

Frame Enlargement

A photograph of a single frame enlarged to reveal details for publication.

Freeze Frame

A still-like image created by duplicating the same frame repeatedly.

Hard Light

Light that is undiffused, creating sharp-edged shadows and pronounced texture.

Implicit Meaning

A generalized interpretation or symbolism inferred by the viewer rather than stated explicitly.

Interior

A scene filmed indoors or in a setting that looks indoors.

Iris-in

A transitional effect where a dark image opens into view via a widening circular/oval aperture.

Iris-out

A transitional effect where the image closes down with a contracting circular/oval aperture.

Iris Shot

A shot with part of the image masked, often in a circular or oval shape.

Lap Dissolve

A transition where one shot fades out as the next fades in, overlapping to indicate change in setting or time.

Location

Any place other than a studio used for filming; location shooting.

Long Shot

A shot where the subject is seen with much of its surroundings; not a close-up.

Long Take

A shot of long duration without interruption; not to be confused with a long shot.

Loose Framing

Subject has ample space and appears unconfined; conveys freedom or being overwhelmed; opposite of tight framing.

Low Angle

Camera looking up at the subject from below eye level; often increases perceived power.

Low-key Lighting

Lighting with dominant dark tones and minimal frontal fill, creating drama or mystery.

Masking

Blocking out part of an image to focus attention, elongate/widen the image, or censor details.

Match Cut

A cut where an object or movement at the end of one shot closely resembles the beginning of the next.

Matte

A matte is a painted or pre-planned area used to add a different image (matte painting) or to mask parts of the image; can be created in-camera or in post-production.

Medium Close-Up

Subject fills most of the frame, typically showing the head and shoulders.

Medium Shot

Subject and surrounding area given roughly equal importance; usually from the knees/waist up.

Method Acting

Acting approach where performers deeply study a character’s background and immerse themselves in the role.

Mise-en-Scène

French for staging; the arrangement of setting, subjects, and composition within the frame.

Mix

To select, adjust, and blend sounds from music, dialogue, and effects into a final soundtrack.

Montage

1) A sequence of brief shots representing a condensation of time/subjects; 2) A Soviet editing approach emphasizing juxtaposition to convey meaning.

Non-diegetic Music

Music that is not part of the film’s fictional world and is not heard by characters.

Negative

Film stock that carries inverted images (unexposed or exposed but not developed) used to make prints; colors are complementary to the subject; black-and-white negatives invert light and dark.

Non-Diegetic Sound

Sound that does not originate from within the film’s world and is not heard by characters.

Nonlinear Editing

Editing that uses computer software to assemble digitized shots non-sequentially.

Objective Camera

Camera placement that viewers perceive as outside and observing the subject rather than within a character’s perspective.

Offscreen

The area beyond the frame line; life outside the film’s world.

Offscreen Sound

Sound that does not derive from an on-screen source.

On-screen Sound

Sound that originates from an on-screen source.

Pace

A viewer’s sense of how quickly or slowly the subject or narrative unfolds; influenced by editing and subject introduction.

Panning

Moving the camera horizontally while on a stationary base to show a wide area; rapid panning can create a swish pan effect.

Parallel Editing

Editing that alternates between two or more events, often implying relation or simultaneity.

Perspective

The relative size and distance relationships between objects in an image, akin to visual depth cues.

Point-of-View Shot

Camera placement at the approximate position of a character, showing what they would see.

Rack Focus

Changing the sharpness from foreground to background (or vice versa) within a single shot.

Reaction Shot

A shot, usually of a face, showing someone reacting to an event.

Scene

A section of a narrative with continuous action in real time and space.

Sequence

A series of related consecutive scenes treated as a major narrative unit.

Shot

An uninterrupted strip of film or videotape representing a subject or action; the basic unit of filming.

Shot/Reverse Shot

A dialogue editing technique alternating between shots of two subjects from different angles, following the 180-degree rule.

Slow Cutting

Editing characterized by long-duration shots; opposite of fast cutting.

Sound Dissolve

A transition where a sound fades out as the next fades in, overlapping.

Superimposition

Two or more images photographed or printed on top of each other; used in openings or to convey instability.

Swish Pan

A rapid horizontal pan producing a blur effect, used as a transition or within a shot.

Take

A version of a shot; multiple takes are recorded to capture the best performance.

Telephoto Lens

A long lens that makes subjects appear closer and more separated; not the same as a zoom lens.

Tight Framing

A shot with little space around the subject, emphasizing confinement or constraint.

Tilting

A camera motion that pivots vertically, often revealing information gradually.

Tinting

Dyeing film with color in pre-color stock eras or to convey mood (e.g., blue for night, red for violence).