Film language quiz vocab

Extreme long shot

shows landscape & context instead of character, who is very small on screen.

Long shot

shows character head to toe

Medium shot

shows character from knees to waist up

Close-up

shows characters whole head and sometimes shoulders

Extreme close-up

shows portion of character's face like an eye

POV shot

shot from the eyeline of the character, providing a subjective view of scene.

Two shot

2 characters in the shot at the same time

Shot-reverse-shot

shot of one character followed by shot of another character taken at the reverse angle

Over-the-shoulder shot

Shot of one character with the back/shoulder of the other characters in the shot as well

Deep focus shot

Foreground, middle ground, and background in focus at the same time

Eye-level angle

the camera positioned at the character's eye level

High angle

the camera is positioned above the character's eye level, looking down.

Low angle

the camera is positioned below the eye level, looking up.

Canted angle

the camera is tilted to the side so that the character or scenery appears diagonal

Overhead shot

camera is positioned above the action from a birds eye view looking down

Full frontal

character stands facing audience

1/4 turn

character turns 1/4 away from audience

Profile

character turns half from audience and half towards scene

3/4 turn

character turns 3/4 away from audience

Full back

character shows entire back to audience

Faithful adaptation

the director attempts to adapt a novel into a movie by replicating as much of the novel as possible, thus staying faithful to the original.

Interperative adaptation

the director interprets the original - selecting what works best for the movie while discarding what she or he feels is excessive, too complicated, or unshootable - to make a loose adaptation

Resistent adaptation

the director chooses a few details from the original novel, abandoning most of it, in favor of taking the story a completely original direction

Cut

an instant shift from one shot to another. The most standard, invisible transition used to maintain rhythm or continuous action.

Fade In/Out

A shot that gradually disappears as the screen darkens. Occasionally, fade-outs brighten to pure white or to a color. Often signifies the passage of a significant time, a change in chapter, or emotional finality.

Dissolve

One shot gradually melts and blends into the next as the images overlap briefly. Commonly used to show a softer passage of time, psychological connection, or memory/hallucination

Wipe

A line or shape moves across the screen, pushing or replacing the existing shot with a new one. A deliberate, stylized tradition often signaling a distinct jump in location or tone.

Iris In/Out

Ending a scene with a closing circle that comes in from the edges of the screen. Similar to an iris of the eye contracting. Often used to focus intensely on a single detail or evoke classic silent film aesthetics.

Jump out

An abrupt, jarring cut between two shots of the exact same subject with only a slight change in camera angle or time. It disrupts continuity, creates anxiety, disorientation, or fractured time.

Graphic match

two successive joined together by similar shapes, colors, or compositional framing. Emphasizes visual metaphor and thematic links between disparate subjects.

Cutaway

A brief interruption of a continuously filmed action by cutting to an external detail, object, or onlooker, then returning to the main scene. Frequently used to show a surveillance feed, a weapon, or a character's environment to establish context.

Eye-line match

A continuity cut that shows a character looking at something off-screen, followed directly by a shot of what they are looking at from roughly their perspective. It establishes spatial logic & grounds the audience in the character's gaze.

180 degree rule

maintains the illusion of spatial reality by shooting from one side of an imaginary line

Soviet montage

An alternative to continuity editing, this style of editing was developed in silent Soviet cinema, based on the theory that editing should exploit the difference between shots to generate intellectual and emotional responses in the audience.

Impact montage

Rapid, rhythmic cutting between high-intensity shots, violent actions, or stark visual contrasts to trigger a visceral, emotional shock in the audience.

Parallel editing (cross-cutting)

Alternating back & forth between two or more scenes happening simultaneously in different locations, usually building suspense or drawing thematic comparisons

Travel montage

A series of brief, condensed shots showing a character journeying across distances (often paired with maps, road signs, or changing landscapes)

Time-transition Montage

A sequence of edited vignettes or changing visuals used to condense long periods (days, months, or years) into a brief screen time to show progress, aging, or decay.