FILM TERMINOLOGY

Bird's-Eye View

a shot in which the camera photographs a scene from directly above.

High Angle

a shot in which the subject is photographed from above.

Low Angle

a shot in which the subject is photographed from below.

Point-of-View

any shot that is taken from the vantage point of a character in the film showing what the character does.

Canted Angle (Oblique Angle/Dutch Tilt)

a shot photographed by a camera tilted on a diagonal. The image projected on the screen will appear to be tilted at a diagonal.

Flat Angle (Eye-Level)

the placement of a camera approximately 5-6 feet from the ground corresponding to the height of an observer on the scene.

High Key

a lighting design that minimizes contrast by creating a bright, even level of illumination throughout the scene.

Low Key

a lighting design that maximizes contrast by lighting selected areas of the scene for proper exposure and leaving other areas underexposed.

Three-Point Lighting

three principle sources of lighting: key, fill, and back lighting.

Establishing Shot

a type of long shot used to establish a setting or scene.

Long Shot

camera set up at a distance from the subject of the shot. A person's full body can be seen in a long shot; they are also often used to stress the environment or setting.

Medium Shot

camera is set up to record from full to half-figure shots of the subject.

Close-up

camera is set up in close proximity to an actor's face or other subject that fills the frame.

Over-the-shoulder shot

Usually contains two figures, one with his/her back to the camera, and the other facing the camera.

Green/Blue Screen

filming of live actors against a blank and colored screen for subsequent compositing with digital elements.

Panning Shots

Camera pivots from side to side on a fixed tripod or base. Used to follow action of a scene or to anticipate movement of performers.

Reaction Shot

A cut to a shot of a character's reaction to the contents of the preceding shot.

Tilt Shots

Camera pivots up or down from a fixed base. Used to follow action or reveal detail.

Dolly/Tracking Shots

Camera moves through space on a wheeled truck (or dolly) but stays at the height.

Hand-held Shots

Camera that is physically held by the operator, rather than mounted on a dolly, tripod, or other platform. Permits freedom of movement and is often deliberately shaky.

Boom/Crane Shots

Camera moves up or down through space on a boom or crane.

Zoom Lens

Not a camera movement, but a shift in the focal length of the camera. Produces the impression of camera movement making it seem as if the camera is moving closer or farther from the subject.

Aerial Shots

A variation of a boom/crane shot, usually taken from any airborne object.

Lateral Movements

Characters or objects moving side to side in a scene.

Depth Movements

Characters or objects moving either closer to or away from.

Producer

Production administrator who hires the director and supervises the film's production to ensure that it comes in under budget and on schedule.

Director

The member of the production crew who works closely with other film personnel to determine a film's organizing, creative structure: generally the key member of the production team.

Cinematographer/Director of Photography

The artist and technician responsible for the film's lighting and photography. Responsible for making the director's vision for the film a reality.

Editor

The member of the production crew who designs the order and arrangement of shots as they will appear in the finished film and splices them together to create the final cut.

Screenwriter/Script Writer

The person who adapts an existing work for production of a movie or creates a new script.

genre

A type or category of film, such as the western, musical, etc., that follows a set of visual and narrative patterns that are unique within the genre.

motif

recurring visual image commonly associated with a specific type of genre. For example: A white hat worn by the hero in a western.

icon

A dominant technique, object, or thematic idea that is systematically repeated throughout a film or repeated in a film genre. Think Jaws theme music - the use of this theme music signifies the killer shark’s impending arrival.

archetype

An original model or type after which similar things are patterned. For example: All young lovers are generally based on the archetypes of Romeo and Juliet. Or if rain appears in a scene, it could be suggesting a moment of "cleansing" or "rebirth" for the characters involved.

Editing

The work of joining together shots to assemble the finished film.

Uses of Editing

Location changes, time lapses, shot variety, emphasis of psychological and physical details, symbolic inserts, parallels, point-of-view shifts, and repetition of motifs.

Shot

The basic building block or unit of film narrative in which a length of film is exposed by turning the camera on, recording, and then turning the camera off.

Scene

A series of shots that together comprise a single, complete and unified dramatic event or block (segment) of storytelling within a film, much like a scene in a play; the end of a scene is often indicated by a change in time, action and/or location.

Sequence

A connected series of related scenes that are edited together and comprise a single, unified event, setting, or story within a film's narrative.

Transition

One of several ways of moving from one shot or scene to the next, including a cut, fade, dissolve, and wipe.

Cut

An abrupt or sudden change or jump in camera angle, location, placement, or time, from one shot to another.

Fade

A transitional device consisting of a gradual change in the intensity of an image or sound, such as from a normally-lit scene to darkness or vice versa, from complete black to full exposure.

Dissolve

A transitional editing technique between two sequences, shots or scenes, in which the visible image of one shot or scene is gradually replaced or blended with the image from another shot or scene; for an instant, one image is superimposed on or gradually blended with the other to soften the cut; often used to suggest the passage of time and to transform one scene to the next.

Wipe

A transitional technique or optical effect/device in which one shot appears to be "pushed off" the screen by another shot replacing it and moving across the existing image.

Montage

Seemingly unrelated shots that, when combined, create meaning for the viewer.

Parallel Editing

Cutting together of two or more lines or areas of interest in a story. The separate areas of interest are then edited together, and alternate with each other as the story progresses. Often implies that the two lines are occurring simultaneously.

Flashback

Editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the past.

Flash-Forward

Editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the future.

Fantasy Insert

Editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing a fantasy or something imagined by a character.

Synchronous Recording

Sound appearing to derive from an obvious source.

Non-synchronous Sound

Sound that is not in synch with a source visible on screen.

Dubbing

Addition of sound after visuals have been photographed.

Soundtrack

The music that accompanies a movie.

Diegetic

Any sound that can be logically heard by a character within the movie environment.

Non-Diegetic

Any sound that is intended only for the audience, such as voice-over, mood music, etc.

Mise en Scène

Film's overall visual design created by all of the elements placed before the camera. Including lighting, color, costumes, sets, and actors. Basically it is, everything that that the viewer sees in a scene.

Center of Frame

Area of the screen that the director feels is most important and/or normal.

Top of Frame

Area that suggests ideas dealing with power, authority, and aspiration. A person placed here seems to control all the visual elements below.

Bottom of Frame

Tends to suggest subservience, vulnerability, and powerlessness.

Left/Right side of Frame

Tends to suggest insignificance or imbalance, because they are the areas farthest removed from the center screen.

Tightly Framed

Typically a close-up, the people photographed have little or no freedom of movement.

Loosely Framed

Usually a longer shot, objects are spaciously distributed within the confines of the framed image so that the people photographed have considerable freedom of movement.