Film Studies and Cinematography Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, editing techniques, shot types, camera movements, and compositions from the lecture notes.

Postmodernism

Rejection of foundations, systems, and structures of how we and culture exist; associated with post-colonialism, feminism, multi-culturalism, and LGBTQ.

Mise-en-scène

Whatever appears in front of the camera, including production design, costumes, set, makeup, blocking, and performance (does NOT include dialogue or story).

Cinematography

How the camera moves.

Framing

Presentation of an artwork within a frame/canvas.

Composition

Arrangement of the colors and objects within a frame/canvas.

Blocking

Positioning and movement of actors in a scene.

Jump Cut

Cutting ahead bits of a long take; can condense time.

Smash Cut

Multiple discontinuities on both sides of an edit where missing parts of a sequence require viewers to fill in gaps.

Eyeline Match

Characters' eyes look to someone or something, then it cuts to the thing he's looking at.

Cut on Action

Follows action on part of a scene (not a match cut).

Elliptical Editing

Removing real time to make a lot of time appear short.

Overlapping Editing

Making a little time feel like a lot of time.

Kuleshov Effect

Face looking at something, then the reaction face/thing.

Match Cut

Taking two or more shots that have noticeable contrast and cutting them side-by-side.

Graphic Match Cut

The match cut has the same subject/shape on both sides of the cut in the same spot.

Parallel Editing

A style of editing used to show events that are happening at the same time.

Cross-Cutting

Cutting between two storylines that are not necessarily happening at the same time.

Axial Cut

Focuses on one subject, cuts from away to super close to them; sudden, adds impact and dramatic flair.

Dissolve

One shot "dissolves" into another shot; most commonly used as a scene transition.

Fade In / Fade Out

The shot fades in/out from/to complete black; shows passage of time.

Instant Cut

Realization (in Zuko Alone).

Long Fade

Passage of time (in Zuko Alone).

Diegetic Sound

Sounds that exist in the world of the film.

Non-Diegetic Sound

Sounds only the audience can hear.

High Angle Shot

Camera high, looking down.

Low Angle Shot

Camera low, looking up.

Dutch Angle

Basically a tilt, but it's not level (not a camera tilt movement).

Establishing Shot

Establishes the setting of a scene.

Wide Shot

Focuses on a lot of scene, but one focal point.

POV (Point of View) Shot

Sees through the POV of a character; camera movement establishes who is looking.

Two Shot

Shot that has two subjects in it; emphasizes dynamic.

Insert Shot

Close-up of an object to communicate its importance.

Reaction Shot

Self-explanatory shot showing character's reaction.

Shot-Reverse-Shot

Moving back between two angle shots.

Panning

Fixed perspective turning horizontally (NOT a tracking shot: camera is working on a axis, not moving).

Tilt

Vertical version of a pan; staying in one spot, tilting up and down.

Tracking / Trucking Shot

Tracking something with the camera physically moving.

Pedestal

Camera physically being pushed/raised up.

Arc Shot

Character in fixed position, camera arcs around subject.

Crane Shot

Camera moved by a crane.

Roll

The camera is "rolling" / rotating.

Push In

Camera pushes into a spot.

Pull Out Shot

The camera physically pulls away.

Rule of Thirds

An easy understanding of frame alignment.

Unbalanced Composition

Space not even on both sides / subject is on one half of the frame.

Symmetrical Framing

Cut it in half and it's even.

Deep Focus

Focus on all "grounds" (foreground, middle ground, background).

Racking Focus

Shifts focus from foreground to background or similar.

Long Take

One long, unbroken take; builds tension, comedy; frequently has bounds of short shots stitched together by hidden edits.