Film Terms

This set of flashcards covers key terms and concepts from a film studies lecture, including cinematography, mise-en-scène, editing techniques, sound theory, and broader analytical frameworks.

Cinematography

The overall visual look of a film created through camera work, framing, movement, lenses, focus, and lighting.

Extreme Close-Up (ECU)

Presents only part of the face or an object.

Close-Up (CU)

Fills the screen with an object or figure of significance.

Medium Close-Up (MCU)

Presents the human figure from the mid-chest up.

Medium Long Shot (MLS)

Begins to isolate one or more figures; body visible from knees or ankles up.

Long Shot (LS)

Renders central characters as small figures relative to their surroundings.

Extreme Long Shot (ELS)

Shows a wide view of the setting and places characters in space.

Zoom

Traverses space by changing the focal length rather than moving the camera.

Two Shot

Shows two people framed together, usually from the waist up.

Camera Angle

The position from which a camera films a subject; includes high, low, level, and canted angles.

Deep Focus

Keeps objects at different distances in focus using wide-angle lenses and lots of light.

Shallow Focus

Isolates one plane of focus while the rest of the image remains blurred.

Pan

Horizontal movement of the camera left or right.

Tilt

Vertical movement of the camera up or down.

Tracking / Dolly

Camera moves through space with the subject, often on a wheeled platform.

Crane / Boom

Camera moves vertically through space for expressive movement.

Steadicam vs Handheld

Steadicam smooths human motion; handheld keeps natural shakiness.

POV Shot

Shows what a character sees from their position.

Mise-en-scène

French for 'put in the scene'; everything arranged in front of the camera.

Editing

The process of arranging shots into a meaningful sequence.

Fade (In / Out)

Image gradually appears from or disappears to black.

Jump Cut

Abrupt cut that disrupts continuity of time or space.

Establishing Shot

First shot revealing overall space of a scene.

180-Degree Rule

Camera stays on one side of the action axis to maintain direction.

Diegetic Sound

Sound originating in the story world.

Non-Diegetic Sound

Sound added from outside the story world, such as music or narration.

Kuleshov Effect

Viewers create meaning from the relationship between shots.

Montage (Hollywood System)

Condenses time and space through editing patterns.

Third Cinema

Political, anti-imperialist, collective cinema of liberation.

Observational Mode

Fly-on-the-wall recording style in documentary filmmaking.

Male Gaze

Camera aligns with male power and objectifies women.

Hegemony

Power made to seem normal and worth defending.

Decolonization

Resistance and removal of colonial control.

Radical Form / Content

Cinema that challenges dominant style and ideas.

Shot Duration

The length of time a shot lasts before cutting.

Match on Action

A cut during movement that continues smoothly.

Eyeline Match

Character looks off-screen, and next shot shows what they see.

Graphic Match

Links shots by similar shapes, colors, or compositions.

Shot / Reverse Shot

Alternates views of characters in conversation.

Parallel Editing

Cross-cuts between two spaces to show simultaneous action.

Discontinuity Editing

Jarring editing that calls attention to cuts.

Soviet Constructivism

Theory that meaning is created through editing and the relationship between shots.

Graphic Clash

A cut between two visually opposing shots that disrupts continuity and draws attention to the edit.

Dissolve

One image overlaps into another to signal a change in time or space.

Wipe

One shot replaces another by sliding across the frame.

Mask

Covers part of the camera’s field of vision.

Iris (In / Out)

Circular opening or closing around the image.

Pure Cinema (Hitchcock)

Storytelling through images and montage rather than dialogue.

Hitchcock’s Single Set

Restricting space to intensify suspense and attention.

Visual Patterning

Repetition of visual elements across a film.

Parallel Narrative Structures

Multiple storylines unfolding across spaces.

Story

All events in chronological order.

Plot

How the film presents those events.

Eisenstein’s Dialectical Montage

Meaning arises from the collision of opposing shots.

Metric Montage

Cutting based on absolute shot length.

Rhythmic Montage

Cutting based on movement in the frame.

Tonal Montage

Editing based on mood and emotional tone.

Associational Montage

Links images emotionally or symbolically.

Intellectual Montage

Editing that communicates abstract ideas and ideology.

Sequence Shot (Roma)

A long, continuous take with little or no cutting that allows time and space to unfold naturally.

Static Shot

A shot in which the camera does not move, with action happening within the frame.

Cybernetic Camera

A camera style that actively explores space through movement.

Internal Focalization

The camera aligned with a character’s perception.

External Focalization

The camera observes neutrally from outside characters.

Unmatched POV

a point of view shot that is not followed by a reverse shot of the character looking, creating a freer, less anchored perspective

Components of Mise-en-scène

Set design, props, costuming and makeup, composition and space, character blocking, and performance

Set design

the physical environment where the scene takes place

Props

Objects used in the diegesis hat support story and action

costuming and makeup

clothing and appearance that expresses the character

Composition and space

How elements are arranged within the frame

Character blocking

where and how the actors move and stand in a scene

Performance

How actors use body, voice, and emotion to express character

3 point lighting

lighting system using key, fill and backlight

High Key

Bright lighting with low contrast and minimal shadow

Low Key

Dark lighting with strong contrast and shadow

natural lighting

Lighting that appears to come from real sources in the scene rather than obvious studio lights, creating realism

Depth of Field

the span of distance over which the image remains in sharp focus

film

creates meaning through shots and editing

Theater

creates meaning through continuous space and performance

Flashback/flashforward

Jumps backward or forward in narrative time

biographical analysis

interpreting the film through the filmmaker’s life

Historical analysis

reading film through social and historical context

Thematic Analysis

Studying recurring ideas and meanings in a film

italian neorealism (formal)

Long takes, real locations, non-actors, natural light

italian neorealism (social)

focus on working class life and post war struggle

Imperfect cinema

committed cinema valuing social change over polish

Formal analysis

analysis of how a film’s style works (camera, editing, sound, mise-en-scène)

Social analysis

Analysis of how a film represents society, power, race, gender, class, and ideology

Non-fiction film

Film referring to the historical world but still mediated

Documentary

Telling stories with evidence and argument

Nichols’ 3 Cs

Credible, compelling, convincing

Expository Mode

uses direct address and argument

Poetic Mode

Emphasizes mood and pattern over story

Participatory Mode

Filmmaker interacts with subjects

Reflexive mode

a documentary style that draws attention to the filmmaking process itself

Ethnographic Film

Studies culture and people through film

Documentary Modes of Address

Different ways documentaries communicate with their viewers

Film as microcosm

film reflects social realities and ideology

realism

hides construction

formalism

exposes style