Media Studies Midterm

Establishing Shot

introduces new location, helps gain info on where a scene takes place, tells the audience where the action is taking place, many movies begin with this shot, extreme long shots or long shots, used to build ambiance, may give an idea of what’s to come, brings in the audience and sets the mood

Close-up

shot taken of subject or object at close range, shows greater detail, used to frame a character’s face so it fills the screen, framed from above the shoulders, shows emotions and reactions of characters

Extreme close-up (choker)

tighter shot of subject/object, usually only facial features, shows extreme detail, shows intense emotional detail

Mid-shot/ Medium shot (MS)

shot of a character showing their torso and head, used to begin most dialogue scenes, allows viewers to pick up on subject’s movement and gestures, showing the character’s faces and bodies, gives the viewer partial view of background

Wide shot (WS)

shows the entire character or object in relation to what surrounds them, shows the entire scene

Full Shot (FS)

shows entire body, makes you feel character is important, focus on their body language, character takes up most of the frame

Extreme Wide Shot

shot is so wide, you can hardly see the object, shows what is surrounding the subject

Aerial shot/ Birds Eye View shot/ Overhead shot

taken from above, allows the audience to take in view and establish the setting/location, gives the audience a deeper understanding of what is happening below, can emphasize emotional distance within the scene

Point of view shot (POV)

shows a view from the subject’s perspective/ what they are looking at

Over the shoulder shot

camera is positioned behind one and facing another, so shoulder and back of one character are facing the audience

High angle

camera looks down on the subject, makes the subject seem vulnerable, powerless, or weak

Low angle

a shot filmed down low, often up at the subject(s), subject may look large, makes the subject look strong and powerful, can show them to be heroic or menacing, intimidating

Canted angle/ Dutch angle/ tilted shot

camera is purposely tilted/slanted to one side, so the scene is on an angle, creating dramatic effect, portraying unease, disorientation, frantic or desperate action, intoxication, creates psychological uneasiness of subject being filmed, madness

Master Shot

uninterrupted shot of a scene, from start to finish, many different angles and shots, maybe used in the scene; but the camera doesn’t stop moving, one continuous shot

Camera Movement

a powerful filmmaking tool employed to modify the relationship between the subject and the camera frame, to alter the viewer’s perspective of space and time for a more impactful storytelling

Static shot or fixed shot

camera shot with no movement, emphasize the appearance and movement of your subject against its environment, and are predominantly captured by being placed on a tripod or a dolly that remains still during the shot

Pan

the camera rotates from side to side, moves horizontally, moves left to right and right to left, the camera does not move

Whip pan

fast movement of the camera left to right

Slow Pan

slow movement of the camera left to right

Tilt

camera rotates up and down, the camera itself does not move, camera moves vertically, used to low and high angles and establishing shots

Zoom

camera lens moves closer in or further, the camera does not move; it is the lens that is adjusted, so the image is either increasing or decreasing

Dolly

on tracks, moves forward or backwards, steps toward subject (in), steps backwards (out), the cameras actual position changes, moves with the subject

Dolly Zoom

when the camera is moving in the opposite direction than the zoom, when camera starts up close on an object and zooms out or vice versa, camera position and focal length of the lens are simultaneously altered to create a warping effect

Track/ Trucking/ Crab Shot

very similar to dolly, camera is moving on tracks, but camera is moving from side to side, moves along side of the subject

Crane/ Boom

used to lift camera and the camera man, camera movement will be used to look down at something, moves up, down, left, right, sweeping in or moves diagonally, to look up

Arc Shot

camera shots where the camera moves around the subject in an arc pattern, so as to show more of the surroundings

Pedestal Shot

the camera physically moves up or down

Steadicam

piece of media equipment, camera is strapped to person, enables you to move around while filming, Steadicam footage is stabilized and results is smoother footage (no jerking)

Handheld

camera is held by person, allows viewer to feel like they are in the scene, camera moves, can be shaky, used in documentaries, amateur films, news, makes it seem more real or urgent, adds drama

Film Editing

the joining together of clips of film into a single film strip

Continuity Systems

a system of editing where time and space are consistent and events occur in chronological order 

Non-continuity systems

a system of editing where time and space are interrupted

Elliptical-shot

transitions that omit parts of an event, causing an ellipses in plot and story duration

Montage

emphasizes dynamic, often discontinuous, relationships between shots and the juxtaposition of images to create ideas not present in either shot by itself

Continuity Editing

often called invisible or seamless or classical Hollywood editing as it relies on standard shot patterns (2-shot, 1-shot, over the shoulder) and the 180 degree rule is usually obeyed, aims to transmit narrative information smoothly and clearly over a series of shots

Shot reverse-shot

2 or more shots edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation, characters in one frame look left and in the other framing they look right

Eye-line Match

first shot shows a person looking off in 1 direction and the second shows a nearby space containing what they see

Point of view shot

a subjective shot that reproduces a character’s optical view, often preceded and/or followed by shots of the character looking

Establishing Shot

a shot that shows a broad view of where the subsequent action will take place as it shows spatial awareness between characters

Match on Action

a cut that splices 2 different views of the same action together, making it seem to continue uninterrupted

Dynamic Editing

impact is achieved in the cutting room rather than during the original shooting, typically through clever juxtaposition and rapid, energy is generated by using a larger number of shots intercut rapidly to an emotional conclusion

Transitions 

editing, joins shots together

Matches

techniques that join as well as divide 2 shots by making a connection between them

Duration

creating a gap between screen time and diegetic time

Cutting on Action

cutting while there is movement on screen

Match cut

cut from 1 shot to a similar shot by either matching the action or composition

Fade in/out

to or from black or sometimes white

Dissolve 

the blending of shots

Smash cut

an abrupt transition (waking up from an intense dream)

Iris

old-fashioned transition where it is a circle that opens and closes in camera

Wipes

goes from 1 side to the other

Invisible cuts

impression of a single take (a charcter or object going across a screen during action)

Cross-cutting

cutting back and forth quickly between 2 or more lines of action, indicating they are happening simultaneously

Dissolve

a transition between 2 shots during which the first image gradually disappears while the second image gradually appears

Fade

a visual transition between shots or scenes that appears on screen as a brief interval with no picture, the editor edits the vide/clip to go to black and then to the next clip, often sued to indicate a change in time and place

Cut in/away

an instantaneous shift from a distant framing to a closer view of some portion for the same space and vice versa.

Jump cut

an elliptical cut that appears to be an interruption of a single shot, either the figures seem to change instantly against a constant background, or the background changes instantly while the figures remain constant.

Eyeline match

the alteration of 2 shots, the first showing a character looking off-screen, the second showing what the character seeing

Graphic Match

Two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements. 

Diegetic Sound

Any sound that emanates from the story created during filming. Can be heard by characters in the film.

Synchronous Sound

The sound that is matched with the action that is being viewed.

Ambient Sound

Sound which is present in the scene or location naturally. Talking in a restaurant and dishes and utensils clattering in a kitchen.

Sound Effects

A sound other than speech or music made artificially. Sound added to visuals in editing.

Dialogue

Speech made for characters when talking, conversation between two or more people.

Non-Diegetic Sound

Noise that does not have a source on screen and is added in afterwards. The characters cannot hear it, like background music.

Sound Motif

A sound effect of combination of sound effects that are associated with a particular character, setting, situation, or idea through the film.

Voiceover

The voice of an unseen narrator speaking. The voice often guides or informs the external audience but can be used to push them in the wrong narrative directions.

Sound mixing

Layering of sound and tweaking levels in every video file.

Sound Bridge

Sound across one or more cuts or transitions. J-cut and L-cut.

J-cut

Used for a scene transitions or within a scene in which the audio of the next scene or shot precedes the image change.

L-cut

The audio from the preceding scene carries over the next scene.

Sound perspective

Distance of a sound source, evidenced by its volume, timbre, and pitch. A scene may cut from a long shot of a conversation to a medium short of two characters to close-up shot, the soundtrack does not reproduce these realities distances and the change in volume that would naturally occur

Single system

Audio is capture directly in the camera and records simultaneously with the image.

Dual system

Captured independently of the camera and into a digital audio recorder.

Unwanted noise types

Controllable noise and Uncontrollable noise.

Controllable Noise

Interference that can be managed like refrigerators, mobile phones, and personal electronics.

Uncontrollable noise

Originated firm forces outside one’s control like a passing car or supplant or music emanating from a nearby building.

Shot Gun Microphone

Has become the industry standard for recording film and video sound and can pick up audio without capturing excess environmental noise

Blimp or Dead Cat

Are accessories for the shot gun microphone that fit over the mic to reduce distortion.

Dynamic Microphone

What you picture when you typically thing if a mic, the same that most performances hold when singing. It is excellent for recording in loud spaces as they do not require external power and lack an internal amplifier. Because of this, they tend to be used during broadcasts or performances.

Lavalier Microphone

An omnidirectional mic that clips on to the costume of an actor.

Composition

the way the elements of a scene are arranged in a camera frame, visually appealing, direct audience attention

Rule of thirds

frame is divided into 9 imaginary sections creating reference points which act as guides for framing the image, image will be more pleasing to look at.

Mood

communicating how the scene is supposed to “feel”

Character

in a screenplay you’ll often find a brief description when a character is first introduced, has to be done visually, defines them with the spaces they occupy

Theme

audiences may not grasp every line of subtext in your dialogue, but images have the power to connect deeper, how set designs and props can reveal a deeper message

Mood Boards

a collage of your images that inspire you for your film, television pilot, graphic design agency, fashion ideas, first step before preparing a storyboard and shot list, captures and conveys emotions, set the tone for your projects

Things to Include in a Mood Board

characters-helps drive casting decisions and brings people into the world you want to create

Locations- scenes taking place in a handful of locations

Wardrobe and props are important on-screen elements

Framing

A way a shot is composed, how they are surrounded by boundaries and perimeters, camera angles contribute

Depth of field

The distance between the nearest and farthest objects that give an image judged to be in focus in a camera zone of sharpness, shallow or deep focus

Shallow focus

Focusing on a subject, whether in the background or foreground, resulting in everything else being thrown out of focus, used to direct audience attention to something or someone

Deep focus

Creates a clear image of what our eyes see in reality, whenever all subjects are in a frame, background and foreground

Focus pull

Changing focus on lens during shot

Production design

Makes sure the set matches the characters and the tone of the project, brings you into the world you’re watching, responsible for the overall look and tone of the project

Mis en Scene

a French term that means ‘to put in the scene’.

Everything that the audience can see on screen is part of it.

Costume

What a character wears can have a huge influence

over how the audience interprets that character. Clothes and

accessories must be carefully chosen.

Location

where in the world the action is to take

place. For example, in a city or on a desert island. Directors can

choose to shoot a scene on location or a purpose built studio

set. Studios are more controllable, easier to film in and likely to

be cheaper.

Setting

the specific places within the location

where scenes are set, such as a nightclub or a school. Chosing

where to set a scene can have a major impact on how the audience

views the characters.

Scenery

Set dressing, or making a particular setting look a

certain way, is an important part of the production process.

Props

objects used in the set dressing