Film Chapter 4, 5, and 6 Terms

Fill Light

Lighting, positioned at the opposite side of the camera from the key light, that can fill in the shadows created by the brighter key light. fill light may also come from a reflector board.

Tilt (Camera Movement)

Movement which scans a scene vertically, otherwise similar to a pan.

Camera Angles

High, Low, Overhead, Canted/Dutch

Canted/ Dutch (Camera Angle)

When the camera is tilted. Suggests imbalance, transition and instability. Which is very popular in horror movies, suggests POV shots. In this instance the camera becomes the eyes of the characters - seeing what they see and inserting us into their fantasy. A handheld camera is often used for this type of feature.

Narrator

Who or what tells a story of a film. The primary narrator in cinema is the camera, which narrates the film by showing us events in the movies narrative. When referring to the more specific action of voice narration, the narrator may be either a character in the movie (First Person Narrator) or a person who is not a character (Omniscient Narrator)

Point Of View (POV)

Subjective, Objective, Group, Single Character, Omniscient

1st Person Narration

a character in the narrative who typically imparts information in the form of voice over narration in which we hear a characters voice over the picture without actually seeing the character speak the words.

Round Characters

a complex character possessing numerous, subtle, repressed, or contradictory traits. Round characters often develop over the course of a story.

Cinematographer

a person who oversees or directs photography and camerawork in movie-making, especially one who operates the camera.

Group POV

a pov captured by a shot that shows what a group of characters would see at their level.

Key Light

also known as source light / main light. The brightest light falling on a subject.

Long Shot (CP)

contains the full body of one or more characters.

3rd Person Narration

provides information not accessible to a narrator who is also a participant in the story. like the author of the story the third person narrator knows all and can thus provide objective context to any situation.

Back Light

usually positioned behind and in line with the subject and the camera, used to create highlights on the subject as a means of separating it from the background and increasing it as appearance of three-dimensionality.

Pan (Camera Movement)

A movement which scans a scene horizontally. Usually placed on a tripod which creates an even ground

Dolly (Camera Movement)

Also sometimes called a Trucking or Tracking shot. Camera is placed on a moving vehicle and moves alongside the action. Generally following a moving figure or object. Camera can be mounted on a track or a car or even plane.

Diegetic Elements

An element - event, character, object, setting, and sound - that helps form the world in which the story occurs.

Take

An indication of the number of times a particular shot is taken (i.e. Shot 14, take 7)

Overhead (aka birds eye view)

Directly overhead. It puts the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action. People can be made to look insignificant ant. Hitchcock is a fan of this effect

Camera Position

Extreme Long Shot, Long Shot, Medium Long Shot, Medium Shot, Medium Close Up, Close Up, Extreme Close Up, 2-Shot

Story

In a movie, all the events we see or hear on the screen, as well as all the events that are implicit or infer to have happened but are not explicitly presented.

Subjective POV

In the subjective view the audience sees the scene as though they were looking through the eyes of the subject.

Low (Camera Angle)

Increase height (for short actors) and give a sense of speeded motion. Low angles help give a sense of confusion or powerlessness. Can also inspire fear and insecurities towards the viewer.

Handheld/Steadicam (Camera Movement)

It gives a jerky, ragged effect, the complete opposite from the dolly shot. They can make the audience feel as though they are part of a scene, rather than viewing it from a detached, frozen positon.

Three point lighting system

Key light, Back light and Fill light

Setup

One camera position and everything associated with it. Whereas the shot is the basic building block of the film, the setup is the basic component of the film's production.

Shot

One uninterrupted run of the camera. A shot can be as short or as long as the director wants, but it cannot exceed the length of the film stock in a camera.

Extreme Close Up (CP)

Only shows one part of the body. i.e. the mouth or an eye.

Omniscient Narration

Provides a third person view of all aspects of a movies action or character

Medium Close Up (CP)

Shows a character from head to chest. Provides a view of the face that catches minor changes in expression and gives some detail about the characters posture.

Non-Diegetic Elements

Something that we see and hear on the screen that comes from outside the world of the story, such as background music, titles and credits, and voice-over narration.

Four Major Properties of Lighting

Source, Quality, Direction, and Style

Kinesis

The act of composition that takes into account everything that moves on the screen.

POV Shot

This shot is when the camera is positioned so that you see exactly what the character in the film or video would be seeing from his perspective, however the shot may show some part of the subject (such as looking over a shoulder) or the camera may be positioned so that the audience view is that they're "standing alongside" the subject. Can be subjective and objective.

Camera Movements

Tilt, Dolly, Pan, Handheld/Steadicam, Crane

Extreme Long Shot (CP)

Typically photographed at a great distance, the subject is often a wide view of a location, which usually includes general background information. Also used as an establishing shot. Shot revolves around a characters relationship with their surroundings.

Medium Long Shot (CP)

Used to photograph one or more characters, usually from the knees up as well as some of the background.

Medium Shot (CP)

Usually shows a character from the waist up. The most frequently used shot because it replicates our human experience of proximity without intimacy.

Plot

The specific actions and events that filmmakers select, and the order in which they arrange those events, and actions to effectively convey on-screen the movie's narrative to a viewer.

Objective POV

'Observes' This angle gives your audience a viewpoint of being in the scene as though they were part of the action but also are "safely removed", as though they were there "invisible".

Crane (Camera Movement)

(not to be confused with the overhead--- they are not the same.) Basically dolly shots in the air. Cranes can operate by moving up, down, left, right, swooping in on action or moving diagonally out of it.

Narrative

A cinematic structure in which content is selected and arranged in a cause and effect sequence of events occurring over time.

Production Designer

A person who works closely with the director, art director, and director of photography in visualizing the movie that will appear on the screen. The production designer is both an artist and an executive responsible for the overall design concept (the look of the movie) as well as individual sets, locations, furnishings, props, and costumes; and for supervising the heads of the many departments - art, costume design and construction, hairstyling, makeup, wardrobe, location, and so on- that create the look.

Single Character POV

A pov that is captured by a shot made with the camera close to the line of sight of one character, showing what the character would be seeing of the action. (Jean-Dominique Bauby from The Diving Bell and The Butterfly)

Rule of Thirds

A principle of composition that enables filmmakers to maximize the potential of the image, balance its elements, and create the illusion of depth. A grid pattern, when superimposed on the image, divides the image into horizontal thirds representing the foreground, middle ground, and background planes, and into vertical thirds that break up those planes into additional elements.

Flat Characters

A relatively uncomplicated character exhibiting a few distinct traits. Flat characters do not change significantly as the story progresses.

2-Shot (CP)

A shot in which two characters appear. ordinarily a medium shot or a medium long shot

Rack Focus

Also known as select focus, shift focus, or pull focus. A change of the point of focus from one subject within the same shot. Rack focus guides our attention to a new, clearly focused point of interest while blurring the previous subject in the shot.

Illusion of Depth

By deliberately keeping some of the subject out of the frame, you can give the impression that it is simply too big to be seen all at once. This also feels a bit spatially intrusive, and therefore intimidating, by occupying most of your vision to the point of breaking its borders.

Narration

The act of telling the story of the film. The primary source of a movie's narration is the camera, which narrates the story by showing us the events of the narrative onscreen. When the word narration is used to refer more narrowly to SPOKEN narration, the reference is to the commentary spoken by either an offscreen or on-screen voice. When the commentary is not spoken by none of the characters in the movie, its omniscient narration; when spoken by a character within the movie, its first person narrative.

High (Camera Angle)

The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview. A CRANE can be used in this instance. Characters become a part of a wider picture.

Close Up (CP)

The camera pays very close attention to the subject, whether its an object or person. Tends to focus on emotion while focusing on one part of the body.

Depth of Field

The distance in front of a camera and its lens, in which objects are in apparent sharp focus.

Omniscient POV

The most common POV portrayed in movies. An omniscient pov allows the camera to travel freely within the world of the film, showing us the narrative's events from a godlike, unlimited perspective that no single character in the film could possibly have.

Composition

The organization, distribution, balance, and general relationship of stationary objects and figures - as well as of light, shade, line and color - within the frame.

Mise-en-scéne

The overall look and feel of a movie - the sum of everything the audience sees, hears, and experiences while viewing it.

Framing

The process by which the cinematographer determines what will appear appear within the borders of the moving image (the frame) during a shot.

Design

The process by which the look of the settings, props, lighting, and actors is determined. Set design, décor, prop selection, lighting setup, costuming, makeup and hairstyle design all play a role in shaping the overall design.