film terms

shot

single, uninterrupted piece of film that is seen on-screen until it is replaced by another image through some type of editing technique. defined by how much a human is in frame

extreme long shot / establishing shot

taken from a great distance and so it is nearly always an exterior shot and the object on the screen appears to be small. spatial frames of reference. sistances subject in frame, making them seem powerless.

long shot

It can provide different planes of visual interest. can act as an establishing shot and distance the subject from the viewer. ranges correspond approximately to the distance between the audience and live theater. They allow the viewer to decide where to look since there is so much to be seen on the screen

full shot

closest range of long shot, which just barely contains the human body in full. allow you to see the full body and its movement, and even large facial expressions.

medium shot

This shot contains a figure from the knees or waist up. It is a functional shot: it carries exposition, dialogue, or movement. most common and naturalistic of the three types of shots because it is the most reflective of how we see things in real life

close up shot

shows very little locale and concentrates on a relatively small object, such as the human face and its subtle expressions. magnification elevates the importance of things, often suggesting a symbolic significance.

extreme close up shot

show just a person's eyes, mouth, or, in this case, eyelash. llows for symbolism. They are one of the most powerful tools a filmmaker has: they are intimate and revealing, though somewhat intrusive and authoritative

bird's eye view

involves photographing a subject from directly overhead. This can make characters seem powerless and insignificant, ant-like, to viewers. sense of possibility/potential in this angle as we don't know how fate will work out

high angle

not as extreme as bird's-eye views and not so disorienting. tend to slow movement and reduce the height of the objects. capture a character's self-contempt.

low angle

increase height and are useful for suggesting verticality. possibly making the viewer feel threatened, and—especially in violent scenes—increase the sense of confusion.

eye level angle

filmed from eye level, from five to six feet off of the ground, approximately the way an actual observer might view a scene. clearest view of an object and does so most objectively.

oblique/dutch angle

involve a lateral tilt of the camera. When the image is projected it appears sideways to one extent or another. point-of-view shots, to suggest the imbalance of a drunk, perhaps. tension, transition, impending movements, violence, visual anxiety

mise en scene

All of the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed: the settings and props, lighting, costumes and makeup, and figure behavior.

dominant contrast

area of an image that most immediately attracts our attention. achieved through color, spacing, size, movement, and lighting effects.

subsidary contrast

artist has arrange as counter balancing devices after scanning the dominant

top frame

suggest ideas dealing with power, authority, and aspiration.

bottom frame

subservience, vulnerability, and powerlessness.

left/right of frame

insignificance, because they are farthest removed from the center.

central framing

Can have a lighthearted comedic effect - that of the absurd. But it can also feel somewhat unsettling.

proxemics

distance between the camera and the subjects affects the significance of the subject

intimate distance

Skin contact to about 18 inches away. This corresponds to the close-up and the extreme close-up. This can reflect love, comfort, or tenderness, or suspicion, hostility, and fear, depending on the viewer's relation to the subject

personal distance

18 inches to 4 feet away. The medium shot captures this distance. These distances tend to be reserved for family and friends, yet do not exclude outsiders as intimate distances do.

social distance

4 feet to 12 feet away. Full shot ranges corresponds to this distance. distances reserved for impersonal business and casual gatherings.

public distance

12 feet to 25+ feet away. The long shot and the extreme long shot correspond to this distance. This range suggests detachment and a lack of emotional involvement.

key light

principle source of light on a movie set and other lights balance, soften, and shade

low key lighting

distinguished by its darkness, shadows, and patches of bright key light. can create moods of suspicion, mystery, and danger

high key lighting

distinguished by its brightness, openness, and lack of shadows or contrasts between light and dark. allows characters to be seen without misunderstanding or threat

high contrast

distinguished by harsh shafts of light and dramatic streaks of blackness. Tragedies and melodramas tend to be lit

neutral lighting

even and balanced lighting. Most television shows are neutrally shot. Used to emphasize the exposition of the narrative

bottom/side lighting

distinguished by strong shadows and patches of high-key light on either the side of or bottoms of the subject. has the effect of creating characters that may be evil, are hiding something, are morally ambiguous, or are conflicted in some way

front lighting

distinguished by even light illuminating a character's face so that no shadows appear, the characters hair may have created a bit of a "halo effect". shows innocence, essential for most Hollywood actresses

saturation palette

color scheme using very intense, vivid, highly pigmented colors. Films with saturated palettes often feel energetic, emotional, dreamy, or stylized because the colors appear bold and rich.

monochrome palette

built mainly from different shades, tints, and tones of a single color. This creates visual unity and can emphasize a certain mood or emotion throughout a scene.

selected saturation palette

style where most colors are muted or desaturated except for a few specific colors that remain vivid. This draws the viewer's attention to important objects, emotions, symbols, or characters.

triadic palette

color scheme using three colors spaced evenly around the color wheel (for example: red, yellow, and blue). In film, this creates strong visual contrast while still feeling balanced and harmonious.

jewel toned palette

palette using rich, deep colors inspired by gemstones such as emerald green, sapphire blue, ruby red, and amethyst purple. Jewel tones often create a luxurious, dramatic, elegant, or fantasy-like atmosphere.

purple

Mystery, royalty, ambition, fantasy, spirituality, luxury, or emotional complexity. It can also suggest something magical or unnatural.

yellow

Happiness, warmth, youth, hope, energy, or nostalgia. In some films it can also represent danger, sickness, madness, or caution because bright can feel unsettling.

white

Innocence, purity, peace, simplicity, cleanliness, or new beginnings. Sometimes it can also feel empty, cold, or sterile.

black

Power, death, evil, mystery, sophistication, grief, or fear. Black is commonly used in thrillers and dramas to create tension or authority.

green

Nature, growth, wealth, envy, greed, illness, toxicity, or corruption. Depending on the shade, green can feel calming or eerie.

pink

Romance, sweetness, innocence, femininity, playfulness, or youth. Bright may feel energetic or artificial, while pale can feel soft and nostalgic.

orange

Warmth, enthusiasm, adventure, creativity, comfort, or chaos. lighting is often used for sunsets, heat, or emotional intensity.

blue

Sadness, loneliness, calmness, intelligence, isolation, trust, or coldness. dark often create emotional distance or seriousness

red

Passion, love, anger, violence, danger, power, or desire. immediately attracts attention and often signals strong emotion or conflict.

brown

Earthiness, stability, age, realism, poverty, ruggedness, or comfort. tones are often used in historical films or grounded, natural settings.

sound

music and sound move us emotionally; they are considered by some to be a filmmaker's most powerful asset

diegetic sound

any sound that could logically be heard by a character within the movie environment

nondiegetic sound

sound that could not be heard logically by characters within the film; any sound that is intended only for the audience and is not part of the environment of the film

internal diegetic sound

when only one character and the audience can hear a sound

production sound mixer

responsible for ensuring that dialogue recorded during filming is suitably clear, tries to avoid unwanted noises and works around the camera which might hamper the placement of microphones.

wild tracks

recordings are made on the set when the camera is not running.

automated dialogue replacement (ADR)

used to record new dialogue if the live track is distorted, if it contains unwanted sounds, or if the director wants to change lines of dialogue or even an entire performance after filming is completed.

foley

Creating sound effects by watching picture and mimicking the action, often with props that do not exactly match the action.

sound effects editor

responsible for all sounds that are not dialogue or made in Foley. Sound effects are either manufactured in the recording studio, retrieved from a sound library or recorded in the real world by the sound effects editor.

rerecording mix

balancing of all audio tracks, including dialogue, effects and music. sets the level of each sound element to highlight the most important sounds.

realism

Eye level-medium and full shots. The script does the talking - story focused, Steady image. Music and sound grounded in the image and time period. Real world mise en scène

formalism

Varied shot distances and editing. "Director" does the talking - narrative shows the viewer what to see; may often subvert expectations. Figurative camera movement. Music and sound used in imaginative ways. mise en scène is grounded in director's vision

theory of organic form

form and content are mutually dependent in any art form.

upward movement

seems freeing, positiveAspiration, joy, power, and authority

downward movement

seems grounding, negative Grief, death, insignificance, and weakness

movement left/right

left to right: natural. right to left: uncomfortable

pan

when the camera pivots along a horizontal axis. often goes left to right because for Western readers/viewer this is more natural. It is often used from the point of view of characters as they take in their surroundings or situations

tilt

when the camera pivots along a vertical axis. an effective way to communicate distance, size, and strength. Used to capture point-of-view shots and to suggest psychological changes within characters. It can show power—It has a history of being part of the objective male gaze toward female sexuality

tracking/dolly shots

when the camera moves along on a track, helicopter, car, or even the operators hands, etc, in tandem with the subject. allows the audience to become part of the action by actually moving viewers through the imaginative space. POV shot emphasizes a character's destination. As an objective shot it can emphasize the fluidity or duration of a movement

zoom

when the focal length of the lens changes, thus making a subject appear to move closer or farther away. direct the audience's attention to a detail that the director does not want us to miss

handheld shot

Allow more real, less smooth, movements. Often jumpy and confused, especially from close ranges - horror films. Can feel immersive and naturalistic

fade

when the image on-screen slowly fades away and the screen itself is entirely black (or some other color) for a noticeable period of time, and then a new image slowly fades in. denote the end of a scene like an author ending a chapter, show that some time has passed, slow transition and not very realistic

dissolve

when the image slowly begins to fade out, but instead of fading all the way to black, it is replaced by another image that is slowly fading in. way to make a connection between two objects or characters that the viewer may not have made without its use. slow transistion

crosscut/parallel editing

when events that are occurring in different spaces are occurring simultaneously. create suspense and links between characters, themes, or plots

flashback/flashforward

connecting shots designed to give the viewer important information about what has happened in the past or the future. create tension or as foreshadowing

POV shot

A shot that depicts the point of view of a character so that we see exactly what they see. used to reveal what character is thinking, create empathy or connection to selected chracters