Cinematography and Film Analysis

These flashcards cover key concepts, definitions, and terms related to cinematography and film analysis.

Hot Media

Passive in engagement, provides more information with less room for interpretation.

Cold Media

Engaging with the audience, provides less information.

Basic Unit of Meaning (in film)

The shot, defined as one continuous take of the camera.

Long Shot

Shot taken from afar to show a landscape, building, or large crowd.

Close-Up

A shot of one face or object that fills the screen completely.

Extreme Close-Up

A shot of a small object or a part of a face that fills the screen.

Medium Shot

A shot that is between a long shot and a close-up, showing two people in full figure or several people from the waist up.

High Angle

The camera looks down at the subject.

Low Angle

The camera looks up at the subject.

Eye Level

The camera is positioned at eye level of the viewer, as if there is a conversation.

Pan

The camera moves horizontally on a fixed base.

Tilt

The camera moves vertically on a fixed base.

Tracking/Dolly

Camera moves through space on a dolly but stays on the same plane.

Boom

Camera moves up or down through space.

Zoom

A lens adjustment, not a camera movement; crash zoom is a fast zoom.

Cut

The most common type of transition from one shot to another.

Cross Cut

Back and forth cutting of shots happening at the same time in different locations or times.

Fade

One scene goes dark and a new scene emerges from the darkness.

Dissolve

A gradual transition where one end of the scene is the beginning of another.

Wipe

An effect that wipes the previous scene off the screen into the new one.

Theme

The central message of a film.

Narrative

The plot of a film.

Motif

The repetition of something to create meaning.

Symbolism

Objects or people that represent an idea.

Characterization

How characters are depicted.

Contrast

How two things compare.