Cinematography Terms

Pan

When the camera pivots left or right while the base of the camera stays in the same position

Tilt

When the camera pivots up or down while the base of the camera stays in the same position

Handheld Shot

A shot taken with the camera being supported only by the operator's hands and shoulder

Lateral Tracking Shot

A lateral movement where the camera moves on a track to the right or the left while following a subject

Backwards Tracking Shot

A shot where the camera is placed in front of the subject and goes backwards

Forward Tracking Shot

A shot where the camera is placed behind the subject and goes forwards

Dolly Shot

A shot taken where the camera is on a dolly and moves towards, away from, or alongside your subject, which can be an actor, location setting, product, etc.

Steadicam Shot

A shot where the camera is operated by someone holding it with a rig

Forward Zoom

Camera zooms in

Backwards Zoom

Camera zooms out

Crane Shot

A shot taken using a crane

Focal Length

The distance between the optical center of a lens and the camera image sensor

Wide Angle Lens

Wide shot that fully captures the entire object or figure and places it in its surroundings

Telephoto Lens

A lens with a longer focal length than standard, giving a narrow field of view and magnified image

Anamorphic Lens

A lens that stretches the image vertically to cover the entire film frame, resulting in a higher resolution but distorted image

Zoom

A shot very close up to something so you can see all the details, or a zoomed in shot from far away to convey the distance something is or how small it is

Bokeh

The visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image

Lens Flare

A photographic phenomenon in which bright light enters the camera lens, hits the camera's sensor, and scatters

Short Take

A shot that is typically 1-2 seconds long

Medium Take

A shot that frames the actor from the chest up

Long Take

A single shot with a much longer duration than the pace of a movie

Sequence Shot

A method used to capture a scene from various distances

Soft Focus

A focus that blurs the background or the foreground

Shallow Focus

A focus that involves part of the image being focused on and the background being blurred

Deep Focus

A focus that keeps everything in focus

Rack Focus

A focus that changes the focus during continuous shots to help transition or emphasize a specific detail, focusing on one thing to another

Establishing Shot

A shot that sets up the context for the scene ahead, informing the audience where the action will be taking place

One Shot

A shot that has only one character in it

Two Shot

A shot that has only two characters in it

Over The Shoulder Shot (OTS)

A shot in which the camera is positioned behind one character, looking over their shoulder at another character

Point of View Shot (POV)

A shot in which the camera is positioned to show the scene from the perspective of a particular character

180 Degree Rule

A cinematographic principle that states that the camera should maintain the same left-right relationship with the characters in a scene

Extreme Low Angle (Worm's Eye)

Camera is pointing from bottom of the characters to top

Low Angle Shot

Camera must be positioned down low at an angle looking up at the subject but is not directly on the ground

Straight On (Level)

Camera is facing the subject on the same level and is straight

High Angle Shot

Camera looks down on the character or subject from an elevated perspective

Extreme High Angle (Bird's Eye)

Camera is positioned like a drone view of the character where the angle is from top down and makes characters look small

Canted Angle Shot (Dutch)

Camera is positioned where the horizon line isn't parallel with the bottom of the frame and vertical lines are at an angle to the side of the frame

Match on Action Cut

A cut where two scenes transition when movement such as punching into the camera or jumping into the air happens

Match on Dialogue Cut

A cut between two different scenes where two characters say the same sentence or finishes each other sentences

Eyeline Match Cut

A cut that allows the audience to see from a character's perspective

Underexposure

Not enough light hitting the film strip or camera sensor, making images darker than the actual scene

Overexposure

Looks very bright, and it's very hard to see detail, appearing washed out

High Key Lighting

Creates a low contrast, bright shot where almost everything is lit and there are not many shadows

Low Key Lighting

Creates a high contrast, dark shot where it looks like there's only one light source

Top Lighting

The lighting is placed above the subject and is shining down

Under Lighting

The lighting is placed below the subject and is shining up

High Contrast

A full range of tones, from very dark shadows to very light highlights

Low Contrast

A lack of tones, having no dark shadows or bright highlights, generally being medium tone

Dissolve

A gradual editing transition that moves from one image to the next

Fade

A transition that can either start with a solid color fading into the video, or starting with the video then fading into a solid color

Hard Cut

Basic cut where it is simply moving from one shot to the next with no transitional effect

Wipe

A transition where one shot replaces another shot by moving or wiping from one side of the frame to another