Film Terminology List Our study of film and film technique will include ...

preAP English 9 Film Study: Film Terminology List Our study of film and film technique will include terminology related to shot composition, shot transition, and shot motion. General terms: ● Cinematography: A general term for all the manipulations of the filmstrip by the camera in the shooting phase and by the laboratory in the developing phase. ● Cut: In filmmaking, to join two strips of film together with a splice. In the finished film, an instantaneous jump from one framing to another (or, in rare cases, an instantaneous jump only of time, see “jump cut”) ● Editing: In filmmaking, the task of selecting and joining camera takes. In the finished film, the set of techniques that cue the spectator’s understanding of the relations among shots. ● Exposition: The opening scenes or shots in a film that introduce characters, setting, and elements of plot. ● Frame: A single image on the strip of film; when a series of frames are projected onto a screen in quick succession, an illusion of movement is created for the spectator. ● Framing: The use of the edges of the film frame to select and to compose what will be visible on-screen. ● Mise-en-scène: French for “to make into a scene.” The mise-en-scène of a film involves all aspects of the film production except for the plot, or story, of the film. Aspects of miseen-scène include character, lighting, setting, costume, sound, and any other aspect that contributes to composition of the shot. ● Scene: A segment in the narrative film that takes place in one time and space, or which uses crosscutting to show two or more simultaneous actions. ● Shot: In shooting, one uninterrupted run of the camera to expose a series of frames. Also called a take. In the finished film, one uninterrupted image from a single static or mobile framing. ● Shot Transition: In editing, the movement from one shot to another using a variety of devices; see “dissolve,” “wipe,” “fade,” “cross cut.” ● Title Sequence: Usually appearing at the beginning of the film, the title sequence names the actors, director, producers, and other personal. It visually introduces the themes and mood of the film. Framing: ● Angle of framing: the position of the frame in relation to the subject it shows; above it, looking down (high angle), horizontal (straight on), looking up (low angle). Also called “camera angle.” ● Canted Framing: A view in which the frame is not level; either the right or left side is lower than the other, causing objects in the scene to appear slanted out of an upright position. ● Close-up: A framing in which the scale of the object shown is relatively large: a head seen from the neck up, or an object of a comparable size would fill most of the screen. ● Crane Shot: A shot with a change of framing accomplished by having the camera above the ground and moving through the air in any direction. ● Extreme Close-up: A framing in which the scale of the object shown is very large; a part of a face or a small object would fill most of the screen.

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Medium Shot: A framing in which the scale of the object shown is of moderate size; a human figure shown from the waist up would fill most of the screen.

Point of View Shot: ● Subjective shot: A shot taken with the camera placed approximately where the character’s eyes would be, showing what that character would see; usually cut in before or after a shot of the character looking. ● Authorial shot: the view cannot be attributed to any character within the film and thus is a way for the director (the “author” of the film) to give information directly to the audience without also giving it to one of the characters; similar to 3rd person omniscient point of view. ● Neutral shot: using the medium shot, the eye-level angle; similar to 3rd person narrator who observes but does not comment, intrude, or get inside characters’ thoughts. ● Dutch angle: (to be included in angle of framing) shot that is tilted sideways on the horizontal line; used to add tension to a static frame, it creates a sinister or distorted view of a character. 9. Long shot: a shot taken from some distance; shows the full subject and perhaps the surrounding scene as well. Shot Transition/Editing: ● Cross-Cutting: Editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action going on in different places, usually simultaneously. ● Dissolve: A transition between two shots during which the second image gradually appears as a superimposition until the two are evenly blended and then the first image gradually disappears. ● Jump Cut: An elliptical cut that from shot to shot either keeps the same framing on the background with the figures instantaneously changing, or keeps the figure constant and changes the background. ● Wipe: A transition between shots in which a line passes across the screen, eliminating the first shot as it replaces it with the next one. ● Fade: scene fades to black or white; often implies time has passed. ● Flashback: movement into action that has happened previously, often signified by a change in music, voice-over narration, or a dissolve; a “flash- forward” leads us ahead in time. Shot Motion: ● Dolly: A camera support with wheels, used in making tracking shots. ● Following Shot: A shot with framing that shifts to keep a moving figure on-screen. ● Pan: A camera movement with the camera body turning to the right or left on a stationary tripod; on the screen, it produces a mobile framing which scans the space horizontally. ● Tracking Shot: A camera movement with the camera body moving through space horizontal to the ground on a moving support; on the screen, it produces a mobile framing that travels through space forward, backward, or to one side. ● Tilt: A camera movement with the camera body swiveling up or down on a stationary camera; it produces a mobile framing that scans the space vertically. ● Zoom: the camera is stationary but the lens moves, making the objects appear to grow larger or smaller.

Sound: ● Diegetic Sound: diegetic sound consists of a sound or sounds that are “natural” to the action or setting of a scene. For instance, in a scene on a busy street, diegetic sound would include car horns, brakes, and the opening and closing of car doors. ● Non-diegetic Sound: non-diegetic sound consists of sounds that are additional to the “natural” sounds in a scene. Background music, narrator’s voices, or sound effects added for dramatic effect are examples of non-diegetic sound. ● Internal diegetic: if only one character can hear things, whereas it is logical that other characters would not hear these things (such as a character talking to himself or remembering sounds she heard before). Focus: ● Soft focus: when a director intentionally puts his or her object slightly out of focus to make the image look softer or unclear. ● Rack focus: when a director shifts the focus from one object to another in the same shot in order to direct the audience’s attention. ● Deep focus: when the foreground and background are equally in focus. Lighting: ● Low key: scene is flooded with shadows and darkness; creates suspense/suspicion. ● High-key: scene is flooded with light; creates bright and open-looking scene. ● Neutral: neither bright nor dark – even lighting throughout the shot. ● Bottom/side: direct lighting from below or one side; often dangerous or evil-looking, may convey split personality or moral ambiguity. ● Front/rear: soft, direct lighting on face or back of subject – may suggest innocence, creating a “halo” effect.