Film Terms Ch3

Front 1

editor

Back 1

shapes and arranges shots, scenes, and sequences, putting together the pieces of the film into its final form

Front 2

rushes or dailies

Back 2

the first positive prints of take, uncut rolls of film taken directly from the camera and processed as the shooting of the film proceeds

Front 3

rough cut

Back 3

an early edited version of the best takes (much like the rough draft of a manuscript)

Front 4

fine cut

Back 4

a version much tighter than the rough cut and nearly ready for approval

Front 5

final cut

Back 5

final version. includes such elements as special effects, laboratory-produced transitions, and the mix (all sounds at their proper volume levels).

Front 6

cutting/editing

Back 6

process of joining pieces, process of editing

Front 7

continuity

Back 7

acknowledges that visuals and sound come together in a unique way to create a narrative

Front 8

cut

Back 8

One shot simply replaces another on the screen without any apparent transition

Front 9

match cut

Back 9

A cut that blends shots so carefully that the switch is unobtrusive and natural

Front 10

jump cut

Back 10

If continuity is broken by a cut calling attention to itself from an unnatural jump in space or time

Front 11

dissolve (or lap dissolve)

Back 11

gradually merges two images by showing both shots simultaneously for a few seconds. As the second shot becomes stronger, the first becomes less and less visible, gradually disappearing completely

Front 12

fade out

Back 12

shows the screen gradually dimming until it is black

Front 13

fade in

Back 13

restores light to the screen until a bright image arrives

Front 14

wipe

Back 14

One image will "disappear" by being taken over and replaced by another image moving in a pattern across the screen.

Front 15

flip

Back 15

shows an image flipping as if someone turned over a coin or a playing card

Front 16

iris

Back 16

gradually and softly darkens an image in a circular pattern from the edge of the frame until only a peephole remains visible (similar to wipe)

Front 17

mask

Back 17

darkens areas of the screen for optical effects, not transitional, overlays action with shape, like peephole, telescope etc

Front 18

swish pan

Back 18

blurs details by sending the camera spinning on its vertical axis

Front 19

split screen

Back 19

offers two or more frames of action simultaneously, with the multifaceted action interrelated by being on the screen at the same time

Front 20

rack focus

Back 20

moves the focus from one subject to another during a single shot, changing a viewer's attention from one part of the screen to another (blurring the previous point of attention)

Front 21

180-degree rule or the imaginary line

Back 21

shots to be taken from one side of an imaginary line through the center of the action

Front 22

reverse angles

Back 22

angle opposite the previous shot

Front 23

thirty-degree rule

Back 23

camera position varies from another by thirty degrees

Front 24

a look of outward regard

Back 24

If an actor sitting alone in a room hears a noise and suddenly looks left, the viewer assumes that the next shot will be through the eyes of the actor and that viewer and actor now see the same thing. A promised move to the left must be followed by the camera seeing what is on the left, or the viewer will be confused.

Front 25

reaction shot

Back 25

cuts away from the main action to view a related minor part of what is going on.

Front 26

slow motion

Back 26

Film is run through the camera at a rate faster than normal so that it will appear slower than usual when projected. Or the camera can use slow pans or zooms to create the feeling of decelerated time.

Front 27

fast motion

Back 27

the camera is run slower than normal so it goes through the projector faster than normal, making an action take place faster than it would in reality

Front 28

flashbacks

Back 28

shots (or scenes) from the past inserted into present action (often used subjectively to suggest a memory).

Front 29

cross-cutting, parallel cutting

Back 29

moves the viewer between two parallel actions. may slow time.

Front 30

montage

Back 30

rhetorical arrangement of juxtaposed shots. combination of shots produces an idea by combining the visual elements of two dissimilar images.

Front 31

superimpositions (super or double exposure)

Back 31

display two images simultaneously, causing each to comment upon the other and often evoking an idea more significant than its two parts.