Film Terms: English Khall 09

Front 1

Back Lighting

Back 1

Lighting which comes from directly behind the subject, placing it in silhouette.

Front 2

Camera Angle

Back 2

The position of the camera in relation to the subject determines the camera angle. High angle means that the camera is looking down at the subject. Low angle means that the camera is looking up at the subject.

Front 3

Close-up

Back 3

A shot in which a face or object fills the frame. Close-ups might be achieved by setting the camera close to the subject or by using a long focal-length lens.

Front 4

Composition

Back 4

The arrangement of all the elements within the screen image to achieve a balance of light, mass, shadow, color, and movement.

Front 5

Continuity Editing

Back 5

A style of editing that maintains a continuous and seemingly uninterrupted flow of action.

Front 6

Crane Shot

Back 6

A moving shot taken on a specially constructed crane, usually from a high perspective.

Front 7

Cross-Cutting

Back 7

Jumping back and forth between two or more locations, inviting us to find a relationship between two or more events.

Front 8

Cut

Back 8

1. Noun: A transition made by editing two pieces of film together.
2. Verb: To edit a film by selecting shots and splicing them together.

Front 9

Cutaway

Back 9

In continuity editing, a shot that does not include any part of the preceding shot and that bridges a jump in time or other break in the continuous flow of action.

Front 10

Day for Night

Back 10

Simulating night through use of filters and under-exposure.

Front 11

Deep Focus

Back 11

A technique in which objects in the foreground and the distant background appear in equally sharp focus.

Front 12

Depth of Field

Back 12

Distance between the nearest and furthest points at which the screen image is in reasonably sharp focus.

Front 13

Dissolve

Back 13

Editing technique in which one shot is gradually merged into the next by the superimposition of a fade-out or fade-in.

Front 14

Dolly Shot

Back 14

A shot taken while the camera is in motion.

Front 15

Dub

Back 15

To record dialogue or sound to match action in shots already filmed.

Front 16

Dutch Tilt

Back 16

A wildly tilted image, in which the subject appears on the diagonal or off-balance.

Front 17

Edit

Back 17

The splicing together of separate shots.

Front 18

Establishing Shot

Back 18

A shot showing the location of the scene or the arrangement of the characters. Often the opening shot of a sequence.

Front 19

Extreme Long Shot

Back 19

A shot notable because of the extreme distance between camera and subject.

Front 20

Eye-Level Shot

Back 20

A shot taken at the height of normal vision.

Front 21

Fade

Back 21

An optical event used as a transition, in which the image on screen gradually goes to black (fade-out) or emerges from black (fade-in).

Front 22

Flat Lighting

Back 22

The distribution of light within the image so that bright and dark tones are not highly contrasted.

Front 23

Flashback

Back 23

A shot or sequence that takes the action of the story into the past.

Front 24

Flash-Forward

Back 24

A shot or sequence that takes the action of the story into the future.

Front 25

Form Cut

Back 25

A cut from one scene to the next on the basis of a similar geometrical, textural, or other compositional value.

Front 26

Frame

Back 26

1. Noun: One single picture on a piece of motion picture film.
2. Noun: The boundaries of the screen image.
3. Verb: To compose a shot to include, exclude, or emphasize certain elements.

Front 27

Freeze-Frame

Back 27

An optical effect in which the action appears to come to a dead stop, achieved by printing a single frame many times in succession.

Front 28

Glass Shot

Back 28

A shot in which part of the background is painted or photographed in miniature on a glass lid and placed in front of the camera so as to blend in with the rest of the image.

Front 29

Hand-Held Shot

Back 29

A shot made with the camera held in hand, not on a tripod or other stabilizing fixture.

Front 30

High-Angle Shot

Back 30

See Camera Angle

Front 31

High-Key Lighting

Back 31

Distributing light within the image so that the bright tones predominate.

Front 32

Iris

Back 32

A decorative transition in which the image seems to disappear within a growing or diminishing circle. Commonly used in silent films.

Front 33

Jump Cut

Back 33

A cut that jumps forward within a single action, creating a sense of discontinuity.

Front 34

Long Shot

Back 34

A shot taken with the camera at a distance from its subject.

Front 35

Mask Shot

Back 35

A shot in which a portion of the image is blocked off by means of a matte over the lens, altering the shape of the frame.

Front 36

Medium Close-Up

Back 36

A shot taken with the camera at a slight distance from the subject. In relation to an actor, "medium close-up" usually refers to a shot of the head, neck, and shoulders.

Front 37

Medium Long Shot

Back 37

A shot taken with the camera at a distance from the subject, but closer than a long shot.

Front 38

Medium Shot

Back 38

A shot taken with the camera at a mid-range point from the subject. In relation to an actor, "medium shot" usually refers to a shot from the waist or knees, up.

Front 39

Mise-en-Scene

Back 39

A term used in the theater to refer to the staging of a scene, in relation to the setting, the arrangement of the actors, the lighting, etc. In film, the term is used to describe the arrangement of elements within the frame of a single shot.

Front 40

Montage

Back 40

Editing

Front 41

Opticals

Back 41

Any device carried out by the film laboratory and requiring the use of an optical printer. Dissolves, fades, and wipes fall under this category.

Front 42

Panning Shot

Back 42

A shot in which the camera remains in place but moves horizontally on its axis so that the subject is constantly re-framed.

Front 43

Parallel Shot

Back 43

When two pieces of action are presented alternately, to suggest that they occur simultaneously.

Front 44

Process Shot

Back 44

See Rear Projection.

Front 45

Reaction Shot

Back 45

A shot of a person reacting to the main action as a listener or spectator.

Front 46

Rear Projection

Back 46

A trick shot in which the subject is filmed against a background that is itself a motion picture screen. Upon this screen another image - either moving or still - has been projected as a backdrop. Also known as a process shot.

Front 47

Reverse-Angle Shot

Back 47

A shot taken by a camera positioned opposite from where the previous shot was taken.

Front 48

Score

Back 48

Music composed for a film.

Front 49

Set

Back 49

An artificially constructed environment in which action is photographed.

Front 50

Soft Focus

Back 50

A strategy whereby all objects appear soft because none are perfectly in focus. Used for romantic effect.

Front 51

Sound Track

Back 51

1. A recording of the sound portion of a film.
2. A narrow band along one side of a print of film in which sound is recorded.

Front 52

Split Screen

Back 52

The division of the projected film frame into two or more sections, each containing a separate image.

Front 53

Stock Shot

Back 53

A shot taken from a library of film footage, usually of famous people, places, or events.

Front 54

Subjective Shot

Back 54

A shot that represents the point of view of a character. Often a reverse angle shot, preceded by a shot of the character as he or she glances off-screen.

Front 55

Superimposition

Back 55

A shot in which one or more images are printed on top of one another.

Front 56

Swish Pan

Back 56

A shot in which the camera pans so rapidly that the image is blurred.

Front 57

Telephoto Shot

Back 57

A shot in which a camera lens of longer-than-normal focal length is used so that the depth of the projected image appears compressed.

Front 58

Three-Shot

Back 58

A shot encompassing three actors.

Front 59

Tilt Shot

Back 59

A shot in which the camera remains in place but moves vertically on its access so that the subject is continually re-framed.

Front 60

Titles

Back 60

Credits. In silent film, "titles" include the written commentary and dialogue spliced within the action.

Front 61

Tracking Shot

Back 61

A shot in which the camera moves parallel to its moving subject.

Front 62

Traveling Shot

Back 62

A shot taken from a moving object, such as a car or boat

Front 63

Two-Shot

Back 63

A shot encompassing two actors, often in close-up.

Front 64

Voice-Over

Back 64

Commentary by an unseen character or narrator.

Front 65

Wide-Angle Shot

Back 65

A shot in which a camera lens of shorter-than-normal focal length is employed so that the depth of the projected image seems protracted.

Front 66

Widescreen

Back 66

Any aspect ratio wider than the 1:1.33 ration which dominated sound film before the 1950s and the introduction of CinemaScope, Techniscope, VistaVision, Panavision, and so on.

Front 67

Wipe

Back 67

A transition from one shot to another in which one shot replaces another, horizontally or vertically.

Front 68

Zoom

Back 68

The simulation of camera movement toward or away from the subject by means of a lens of variable focal length.