Documentary Vocabulary

establishing shot (camera shot)

used in filmmaking to set up context for a scene by showing the setting and the relationship the characters have within it

long shot (camera shot)

• normally can see a character’s entire body

• see surrounding enviorment

• can reveal distance or lack of emotional connection between characters

medium shot (camera shot)

• seeing the actor from the waist up

• Good mix of a long shot and a close-up

  • Provides more detail than a long shot while still showing the surroundings

close up (camera shot)

• able to see actor’s head from the head up

• takes up most of screen

• can reveal emotions

• emphasize important objects and details

• show intimacy or claustrophobia

two shot (camera shot)

• shot with two people in frame

point of view shot (camera shot)

• allows us to see through the character’s eyes 

• when director tries to show what a charcter is thinking

reaction shot (camera shot)

• cut away shot to indicate the reaction of a particular character

  • response to a specificaction or emotion to show the audience full traits of a particular character

static shot (camera shot)

• camera is stationary for the entire length of the shot 

eye level (camera angles)

• when we see a character straight on

• most natural angle

high angle (camera angles)

• when a director places his or her camera above the subject looking down on them

• normally gives the appreance of being small (powerless or trapped)

• Character often gets swalled by their setting becoming a part of a wider picture

low angle (camera angles)

• films subject from below

• makes subject look larger (more fpowerful, strong, and threatening)

pan (camera movements)

• stationary camera moves from left to right (or vice versa) on a horizontal axis

• normally used for setting

• allows caera to track an object or follow its movement

tilt (camera movement)

• stationary camera’s head moves up or down along a vertical axis

• often used to show the vertical significance of something

zoom (camera movement)

• the focus of a stationary camera camera changes within a shot

• getting closer normally reveals a character’s personal or revealing moment

• moving away distances the character and the audience

• when a director wants to catch a character’s reaction or to create paranoia

dolly shot/tracking shot (camera movement)

• any time the camera itself moves

• move audience with the action to engage them

boom/crane

the camera is on a crane over the action

• used to create over head shots

high key (lighting)

• scene flooded with light

• uses lots of bright, open lighting

• ndicates honesty in characters

low key (lighting)

scene is flooded with shadows and darkness

• creates suspense

• uses a lot of shadows with sharp contrasts between darks and lights 

• indicates moral dilemma or something unexpected about to happen 

bottom or side lighting (lighting)

direct lighting from below or side, making subject appear dangerous or evil

• hints there are secrets or opposing forces within a character

front or back lighting (lighting)

soft lighting on the actor’s face or from behind give the appearance of innonces or goodness

• character brightly light without shadows

• normally for heores to suggest purity and honesty

cut (editing techniques)

• two pieces of flim spliced together

• quickest way to move between between images

• editors can chose either long takes or short takes to do this

long take (editing techniques)

• feels that they unfold in real time which creates a realistic feel

• a sustained shot without cuts, typically lasting longer than one minute.

short takes (editing techniques)

• typical in quick-cutting music vids 

• can be under a second

• action films use this 

• draws audience attention quickly

fade (editing techniques)

when an image seen on screen slowly fades to black or white

• fade in- dark to bright

• fade out- bright to dark

dissolve (editing techniques)

image on screen is slowly fading away while the next image is fading in

• creates a smooth transition between scenes, allowing for a seamless progression.

wipe (editing techniques)

new image ___ off the previous image (quicker than dissolve)

flashback (editing techniques)

cut or dissolve to an action that has occurred in the pasts

shot-reverse-shot (editing techniques)

shot of one subject, then another, then back to the first

• normally for conversation or reaction shots

parallel editing/ cross-cutting (editing techniques)

cuts into actions that is happening simultaneously but in different locations 

• creates tension/suspense

• creates connection between scenes/events to emphasize themes

eye-line match (editing techniques)

cut to an object, then to a person

• can reveal a charcter’s thoughts

pacing (editing techniques)

• if a sequence makes use of a lot of cuts in a short span of time its considered fast ____

  • builds tension

• if there is a shift between fast and slow _____

  • it often marks an important narrative/ tonal shift

diegetic (sound)

sound that can be heard by the characters

• part of the film's narrative world

non-diegetic (sound)

sound that cannot be heard by the characters, but is designed for the audience 

archival footage (documentary techniques, style, and form)

material obtained from a film library and inserted into a documentary to show historical events or to add detail without needing to additional film anything else

actuality (documentary techniques, style, and form)

raw footage of real life events, places and people

• documentaries combine _____ with explanation, commentary, and perhaps dramatization

narrator (documentary techniques, style, and form)

• think

  • are they on camera?

  • what are they saying

  • what kind of voice do they have?

  • etc.

voice over narration (documentary techniques, style, and form)

commentary by the filmmaker, spoken while the camera is filming, or added to the soundtrack during production

• through this the filmmaker can talk directly to the viewer, providing information, explanations, and opinions

• doesn’t directly relate to to any text that appears on the screen 

• should support what is being viewed 

expository information (documentary techniques, style, and form)

introduces the important themes of the film at the begining

voice over exposition (documentary techniques, style, and form)

use of non-diegetic voice to introduce information to the audience

interviews (documentary techniques, style, and form)

• in what enviroment is it set in?

• what is communicated?

• what impact does it have?

• etc.

• direct- involves asking questions in a way that the responder understands the question and the intended response

• indirect- involves asking questions when the responder is unaware of tthe purpose or the intended purpose 

confessional monologue (documentary techniques, style, and form)

direct to camera confesion of a character in the film

• in documentary this is in response to a particular event/ action

dialogue (documentary techniques, style, and form)

conversation that occurs between many people in a film

doulogue (documentary techniques, style, and form)

conversation between only two characters

frankenbiting (documentary techniques, style, and form)

allows scenes with spoken dialogue to be edited into smaller sound bytes

• creats new meaning for the scene

cinema verite (documentary techniques, style, and form)

camera records an actual person without directoral imput 

• no interaction with the subject 

intercuts (documentary techniques, style, and form)

interrupts the narrative with shots from other scenes

montage (documentary techniques, style, and form)

several shots overlapped in editing so they can appear on screen at the same time

• normally linked with words the character says

text and visual graphics (documentary techniques, style, and form)

maps, subtitles, animation, statistics, graphs

cut aways (documentary techniques, style, and form)

stand-alone shots that evoke something about the truth of the situation being filmed 

• interruption of continuously filmed action through inserting a view of something else

  • normally followed by the first shot

• 3 different types

  • storytelling cutaways

  • emotional cutaways

  • general footage cutaways

storytelling cutaways (documentary techniques, style, and form)

allows the story to progress without the use of a narrator 

• “welcome to” signs

• exterior shots of buildings where interviews are filmed 

emotional cutaways (documentary techniques, style, and form)

film shots that have emotional content built into them 

• solitary person sitting on a par bench

• two people walking hand and hand 

general footage cutaways (documentary techniques, style, and form)

fillers

• filming a car race the cataway may focus on the people in the stands cheering  

still photo shots (documentary techniques, style, and form)

you have to ask:

• how are they instead into the narrative, if at all?

• what does the narrator say while it is shown?

progress footage (documentary techniques, style, and form)

filiming the making of the documentary

re-enactment (documentary techniques, style, and form)

artificial scenes of an event which has been reconstructed and acted out on film based on the information of the even

wallpaper technique (documentary techniques, style, and form)

inventing visuals that appear plausibly connected to the narration, even if they don’t show what the narrator is specifically discussing in the moment

poetic mode (types of documentaries)

chooses emotion over a straight forward narrative and focuses on the artistic expression of ideas instead of using narration solely to convey a story

expository mode (types of documentaries)

sets up a specific point of view about a subject and often feature a “voice of God” voice over style

• makes cinematographer colect footage that supports the argument in the film

participatory mode (types of documentaries)

difined by the interaction between the documentary filmmakers and their subject

• involves the cinematograher to capter both the interviewer and interviewee

observational mode (types of documentaries)

embared by the cinematographer's presence, allowing events to unfold naturally without interference (cinema verite movement). It seeks to provide a truthful, unobtrusive view of reality.

reflexive mode (types of documentaries)

focuses on the relationship between the filmmaker and the audience

• can be in the form of shooting behind the scenes footage of the entire filming process

performative mode (types of documentaries)

focuses on the filmmaker’s involvement with their subject, using their personal experience with the subject to convey emotional truth and engage the audience directly.