Film Terms

Front 1

shot

Back 1

a single piece of film uninterrupted by cuts

Front 2

establishing shot

Back 2

often a long shot or series of shots that establish a scene

Front 3

long shot

Back 3

shot from a long distance; full body

Front 4

medium shot

Back 4

most commonly used; medium length from the object being shot

Front 5

close-up

Back 5

the image being shot takes up at lease 80% of the frame

Front 6

extreme close-up

Back 6

takes up the frame as a whole like an eye or hand

Front 7

two shot

Back 7

a scene between two people exclusively from one angle; used in conversation

Front 8

eye level

Back 8

shot taken from normal height

Front 9

high angle

Back 9

camera is above the subject; makes the subject look smaller than normal or less powerful

Front 10

low angle

Back 10

camera looks up at the subject; makes subject look large and powerful

Front 11

pan

Back 11

stationary camera that moves side to side

Front 12

tilt

Back 12

camera pivots up and down along a vertical axis

Front 13

zoom

Back 13

camera moves to make an object seem closer or further away; used during character revealing moments

Front 14

dolly/tracking

Back 14

camera is on a track that allows it to move with the action

Front 15

boom/crane

Back 15

camera is on a crane over the action; overhead shots

Front 16

high key lighting

Back 16

scene is flooded with light; bright

Front 17

low key lighting

Back 17

scene is flooded with shadows; darkness

Front 18

bottom lighting

Back 18

direct lighting from below

Front 19

side lighting

Back 19

direct lighting from one side

Front 20

front lighting

Back 20

soft lighting on the actor's face; halo effect

Front 21

back lighting

Back 21

strong lighting behind the subject

Front 22

cut

Back 22

most common editing technique; two pieces of film are spliced together to cut to another image

Front 23

dissolve

Back 23

kind of fade in when one image is replaced by another

Front 24

wipe

Back 24

new image wipes off the previous image

Front 25

flashback

Back 25

cut or dissolve to an image that has happened in the past

Front 26

shot-reverse

Back 26

a shot of one subject, then another, then back to the first

Front 27

cross cutting

Back 27

cut into action that is happening simultaneously

Front 28

point of view

Back 28

shows what things look like from the perspective of someone or something in the scene

Front 29

eye-line match

Back 29

cut to an object, then to a person; shows what a person seems to be looking at

Front 30

fade

Back 30

can be from black or white; start in darkness and gradually assumes full brightness (fade in) or vice versa (fade out)

Front 31

diegetic sound

Back 31

sound that would be logically heard by the characters in the film

Front 32

non-diegetic sound

Back 32

sound that could not be heard by the characters but is designed to be heard by the audience