Key Film Terms and Concepts in Cinema Studies

Persistence of Vision

The optical illusion that makes still images appear to move when shown in rapid succession. It's the foundation of how film works.

Mimesis

Imitation or representation of reality in art. In film, it refers to how movies try to replicate or reflect real life.

Monstration

The act of showing or displaying something on screen, often contrasted with narration.

Narration

The process through which a story is told, either by a voice, visuals, or characters within the film.

Side Show

A smaller entertainment performance, often part of a larger fair or carnival, sometimes featuring 'freak shows' or novelties. Early cinema was often shown in these contexts.

Minstrel Show

A racist American theatrical form popular in the 19th century, featuring white (and later Black) performers in blackface, perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

Variety Show

A stage or television entertainment program with a mix of music, comedy, dance, and skits—important in early film history for its influence on editing and pacing.

Kinetograph

An early motion picture camera invented by Thomas Edison and W.K.L. Dickson in the 1890s.

Cinématographe

A film camera, projector, and printer all in one, invented by the Lumière brothers. It helped popularize cinema in the 1890s.

Flip Book

A book with a sequence of images that show movement when the pages are flipped quickly. A basic animation precursor.

Kinoks

A radical Soviet filmmaking group including Dziga Vertov. They rejected fictional cinema and promoted documentary-style filming.

Kino-eye (kino-glaz)

Dziga Vertov's concept of using the camera to reveal truth that the human eye alone cannot see; film as an extension of the eye.

Invisible Editing (Continuity Editing)

Editing techniques that make cuts unobtrusive, preserving the illusion of continuous time and space.

Continuity Editing

Same as invisible editing; uses techniques like match cuts and the 180-degree rule to maintain spatial and temporal coherence.

Soviet Montage

A film movement and editing style that emphasizes the collision of shots to create meaning. Think Eisenstein and intellectual montage.

Visible Editing

Editing that draws attention to itself, often used for stylistic or political reasons (opposite of invisible editing).

Sergei Eisenstein

Soviet filmmaker and theorist who pioneered montage theory; director of Battleship Potemkin and Strike.

Vertical Integration

When one company controls production, distribution, and exhibition of films—used by major Hollywood studios in the classic era.

Oligopoly

A market dominated by a few major companies. Describes the structure of the Hollywood film industry, especially during the studio era.

Exclusive Release

A release strategy where a film opens in select theaters only, often to build word-of-mouth or prestige.

Wide Release

A film that opens in many theaters across the country on the same day.

Limited Release

A film released in a small number of theaters, often in large cities, before expanding based on performance.

Second Run

Theatrical screenings that happen after the initial release, often in cheaper or smaller theaters.

Target Audience

The specific group of people a film or ad is designed to appeal to (e.g., teenagers, horror fans, etc.).

Repeat Viewer

Someone who sees a film multiple times; often important for box office hits and cult films.

Redistribution

Re-releasing a film to theaters or other platforms after its original run, sometimes in new versions.

Cinephile

A passionate lover of cinema, often with deep knowledge of film history and theory.

Cineaste

A person involved in filmmaking or a serious film enthusiast (can be synonymous with cinephile but sometimes implies artistic intent).

NC-17

A U.S. film rating indicating no one 17 and under is admitted. Often given to films with explicit sexual content or strong violence.

R

A rating meaning 'Restricted.' People under 17 require accompanying parent or adult guardian. Common for films with mature themes, strong language, or violence.

Movie Palace

Lavish, ornate theaters built in the 1910s-1940s, designed to give movie-going a glamorous, theatrical atmosphere.

Nickelodeon Theater

Early 20th-century storefront theaters that charged 5 cents (a nickel) for short films; helped popularize cinema in the U.S.

Cult Viewer

Someone deeply devoted to a particular film or genre, often with a shared subcultural identity (e.g., Rocky Horror fans).

Preproduction

The planning phase of filmmaking, including scriptwriting, casting, location scouting, and budgeting.

Postproduction

The phase after filming: editing, sound design, visual effects, scoring, and final cut.

Principal Photography

The main period of filming when the majority of the scenes are shot.

Mise-en-scène

French for 'putting on stage'; everything visible in a shot: setting, lighting, costume, actor movement, and composition.

Set

A constructed environment for filming, whether on a sound stage or on location.

Prop

Any physical object used by actors during a scene, from a gun to a coffee cup.

Blocking

The precise staging of actors in a scene; determines movement and placement within the frame.

Setting

The time and place in which the film's story occurs.

Location

A real-world place used for filming, as opposed to a built set.

Night-for-Night Shoot

Filming night scenes at actual night time (contrast with day-for-night, where night is simulated with filters).

Frame Rate

The number of frames (images) shown per second. Standard is 24 fps for film.

Anthropomorphic Vision

Visual perspective that mimics human sight (e.g., eye-level shots or natural angles).

Linear Perspective

A system of depth in visual art where parallel lines converge at a vanishing point, creating a sense of 3D space.

Vanishing Point

The point on the horizon where parallel lines appear to converge; essential for realistic depth.

Diegesis

The film's world, including everything that belongs to the story's universe (dialogue, events, sounds, etc.).

Diegetic Sound

Sound that comes from within the film's world (e.g., a character's dialogue or a radio playing on screen).

McGuffin

A term popularized by Hitchcock: an object or goal that drives the plot but may have little actual importance (e.g., the briefcase in Pulp Fiction).

Jump Cut

A sudden, jarring cut that disrupts time or space continuity, often used for stylistic or narrative effect.

Smash Cut

An abrupt transition between scenes, typically used to create a shock or emphasize contrast.

30-Degree Rule

A continuity editing guideline: the camera should move at least 30 degrees between cuts of the same subject to avoid a jump cut.

Fade-In

A gradual transition from black to image, often used at the beginning of scenes.

Dissolve

A transition where one image slowly fades into another.

Superimposition

Two or more images layered over each other in the same frame.

Fade-Out

A transition from image to black, often used to end scenes.

J-Cut

When audio from the next scene starts before the visual cut occurs (audio leads).

L-Cut

When audio from the previous scene continues into the next one (audio lags).

Match Cut

A cut that maintains visual or thematic continuity between two shots (e.g., a bone turning into a spaceship in 2001: A Space Odyssey).

Long Shot

A shot that shows a character's full body within its environment.

Long Take

A shot held for an extended time without a cut.

Iris-Out

A transition where the screen closes in a circular mask, often ending scenes in silent films.

Iris

A circular mask used to focus attention on a part of the frame.

Wipe

A transition where one image is replaced by another through a moving line or shape.

Whip Pan (Swish Pan)

A fast camera movement that blurs the image, often used to transition between scenes.

Insert Shot

A close-up shot of a detail that was in the main scene (e.g., a clock ticking).

Master Shot

A wide shot of the entire scene, used as a reference and safety net in editing.

Establishing Shot

A wide shot at the beginning of a scene that sets the location and context.

Cut-Away

A shot that interrupts the main action to show something else, often a reaction or object.

Disjunctive Editing

Editing that calls attention to itself, disrupts narrative flow, and breaks continuity.

Verisimilitude

The appearance of being true or real; how realistic or believable a film feels.

Slow Cinema

A style of filmmaking characterized by long takes, minimal narrative, and quiet observation.

ASL (Average Shot Length)

The average duration of shots in a film. Fast editing = shorter ASL; slow cinema = longer ASL.

Eyeline Match

A continuity editing technique: a shot of a character looking is followed by a shot of what they're looking at.

Crosscutting

Editing between two or more separate actions occurring simultaneously or related by theme.

Aspect Ratio

The width-to-height ratio of the film frame. (e.g., 4:3, 16:9, 2.35:1)

Academy Ratio

The old standard aspect ratio of 1.37:1, used in classic Hollywood.

Television Ratio

Typically 4:3 (older TVs) or 16:9 (modern widescreens).

Offscreen Space

The implied space outside the visible frame that still affects the scene.

Close-Up

A tightly framed shot, usually showing just a face or object.

Extreme Close-Up

A super tight shot, focusing on something like an eye or a fingertip.

Medium Shot

Frames the subject from roughly the waist up.

Extreme Long Shot

Shows a subject from a great distance; emphasizes setting.

Medium Long Shot

Frames the subject from the knees up.

Medium Close-Up

Frames the subject from the chest or shoulders up.

High Angle

Camera looks down on the subject, often making them look weak or vulnerable.

Low Angle

Camera looks up at the subject, making them appear powerful or threatening.

Dutch Angle

A tilted camera angle that creates a sense of unease or disorientation.

Aerial Shot

A shot taken from above, usually from a drone, crane, or helicopter.

Overhead Shot

A shot looking directly down, often used for abstract or stylized effects.

Deep Focus

Everything in the frame (foreground, midground, background) is in sharp focus.

Rack Focus (Pulled Focus)

A shift in focus from one object to another within the same shot.

180-Degree Rule

A continuity rule: the camera should stay on one side of an imaginary 180° line to maintain consistent spatial relationships.

Film Suture

A theoretical concept: how editing 'stitches' the viewer into the film's perspective, making them unconsciously identify with what they see.

Fetishistic Gaze

A way of looking that objectifies a subject, often linked to sexual pleasure.

Voyeuristic Gaze

Watching someone without them knowing, typically from a position of power.

Spatiotemporal Integrity

The logical consistency of space and time in a film's world.

Interpellation

A concept from Althusser: how individuals are shaped as subjects by ideology through media, including film.

Dominant Reading

The viewer accepts the intended message or ideology of the film.