Film Terms for English

Close-up: A shot that tightly frames a person’s face or an object to show detail or emotion.

Cold open: A scene that starts a film or show before the title or credits, often to grab attention right away.

Crosscutting: Editing that switches back and forth between two or more scenes happening at the same time.

Cut: A quick change from one shot to another in editing.

Establishing shot: A wide shot at the beginning of a scene that shows the setting or location.

Film editing: The process of selecting and arranging shots to tell a story.

Long shot: A shot taken from a distance that shows the full body of a person and the surrounding environment.

Medium shot: A shot that shows a person from the waist up, balancing background and detail.

Point of view (POV) shot: A shot that shows what a character is seeing, as if through their eyes.

Scene: A part of a film where the action happens in one place and time.

Sequence: A series of related scenes that form a section of the story.

Shot: A single continuous view taken by a camera without cuts.

Shot/reverse shot: A technique where two characters are shown looking at each other, often used in conversations.

Title sequence: The part of a film that shows the title, cast, and crew, usually at the beginning.

Two shot: A shot that includes two people in the same frame, often used in conversations.