Reading Film midterm

180 degree rule

Filming and editing so that all shots in a scene are from the same side of an imaginary straight line running between the scene's major subjects.

Hard v. Soft Light

Soft light refers to light that tends to "wrap" around objects, casting diffuse shadows with soft edges. Hard light casts sharp, defined shadows. Soft light is when a light source is large relative to the subject; hard light tends to derive from a light source that is small relative to the subject.

Graphic match

a shot transition that emphasizes the visual similarities between two consecutive shots

Backlighting

see no features defined, cant see somethings face, looks menacing

Rack focus

shifting the focus from one object to another within a single shot

Fast/slow film

Fast film has larger crystals and creates grain, Slow film has finer grain crystals more expensive

Jump Cut

A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly if at all. This type of edit gives the effect of jumping forwards in time. It is a manipulation of temporal space using the duration of a single shot, and fracturing the duration to move the audience ahead.

Mediation

A key concept in film theory literally to mean the process by which an agent, structure, or other formal element, whether human or technological, transfers something from one place to another.

Shot-Reverse-Shot

A shot of one subject, then another, then back to the first. It is often used for conversation or reaction shots.

Parallel editing

Also known as crosscutting. A technique that cuts back and forth between two or more narratives happening simultaneously in two separate locations. Draws engagement from the viewer by demanding that she try to organize the events and relationships of the narratives.

Axial Cut

An axial cut is a type of jump cut, where the camera suddenly moves closer to or further away from its subject, along an invisible line drawn straight between the camera and the subject.

Elipsis

An ellipsis is an apparent break in natural time continuity as it is implied in the film's story. The simplest way to maintain temporal continuity is to shoot and use all action involved in the story's supposed duration whether it be pertinent or not. It would also be necessary to shoot the whole film in one take in order to keep from having to edit together different shots, causing the viewer's temporal disorientation. However, in a story which is to occupy many hours, days, or years, a viewer would have to spend too long watching the film. So although in many cases the ellipsis would prove necessary, elimination of it altogether would best preserve any film's temporal continuity.

Establishing shot

An establishing shot is either a long shot or extremely long shot usually showing the relationships between the characters and the objects surrounding them. Most establishing shots are placed at the beginning of a film as a reminder of the atmosphere and where the scene is taking place.

Eyeline match

An eyeline match begins with a character looking at something off-screen, followed by a cut of another object or person: for example, a shot showing a man looking off-screen is followed by a shot of a television. Given the audience's initial interest in the man's gaze, it is generally inferred on the basis of the second shot that the man in the first was looking at the television, even though the man is never seen looking at the television within the same shot.

Kuleshov Effect

Any series of shots that in the absence of an establishing shot prompts the spectator to infer a spatial whole on the basis of seeing only portions of the space

Design and Different Design Departments

Art (development of the movie's look involves sketch artists, painters, and computer-graphics specialists)Costume Design and ConstructionHairstylingMakeupWardrobe (maintaining the costumes and having them ready for each day's shooting)Location (finding appropriate locations, contracting for their use, and coordinating the transportation of cast and crew between the studio and the locations)Properties (finding the furniture and objects for a movie, either from a studio's own resources or from specialized outside firms that supply properties)CarpentrySet construction and DecorationGreenery (real or artificial greenery, including grass, trees, shrubs, and flowers)Transportation (supplying the vehicles seen on-screen)Visual Effects (digital postproduction effects)special effects (mechanical effects and in-camera optical effects created during production)

Rule of Thirds

Can break down frame in 3x3 grid that gives us a filed of 9 spaces that guide where things go, Usually the lower third of the image is used as a horizon line, while the primary focus will sit on an intersect point.

Open and closed framing

Closed: enclosed space, lots of lines that close the character in(Ex: walls) emphasizes set rather than character, Open: lots of places for character to go, focus on characters instead of the set

Continuity

Continuity editing is the process, in film and video creation, of combining more-or-less related shots, or different components cut from a single shot, into a sequence so as to direct the viewer's attention to a pre-existing consistency of story across both time and physical location. Often used in feature films, continuity editing, or "cutting to continuity", can be contrasted with approaches such as montage, with which the editor aims to generate, in the mind of the viewer, new associations among the various shots that can then be of entirely different subjects, or at least of subjects less closely related than would be required for the continuity approach.

Coverage

Coverage is the architecture of breaking down a script into the shots that will allow the scene to be cut together

Pre-Production

During pre-production, the script is broken down into individual scenes storyboards and all the locations, props, cast members, costumes, special effects and visual effects are identified. An extremely detailed schedule is produced and arrangements are made for the necessary elements to be available to the film-makers at the appropriate times. Sets are constructed, the crew is hired, financial arrangements are put in place and a start date for the beginning of principal photography is set. At some point in pre-production there will be a read-through of the script which is usually attended by all cast members with speaking parts, the director, all heads of departments, financiers, producers, and publicists.

Distance

Extreme long shot: can see adult human standing in full frame with lots of space around individual, long shot: one individual standing in full frame but minimal space surrounding (ex: character facing with back towards camera and is cut off), medium long shot: character is cut off at the knees, medium shot: showing about half of adult full body, close up shot: subject is going to be the human face, extreme close up: one small part of the human body (hands, lips, eyes)

Angle

Eye level: shot that sits at eye level of character, High angle: shot from above, low angle: looking up at them, birds eye: usually shot from drone-shows proximity from above, dutch angle: tilting/rotating camera, pov: indicates surveillance, over the shoulder: shot from over the shoulder

High Key & Low Key

High key: almost no areas of shadow, Low Key: almost no bright areas of lighting

High v. Low Contrast

High-contrast lighting display a full range of tones, from bright highlights to dark shadows. Low-contrast lighting, on the other hand, leads to a much smaller, shallower range of tones.

Discontinuity

In a discontinuous sequence, the filmmaker can use an arrangement of shots that seem out of place or confusing relative to a traditional narrative. There is not necessarily a smooth or logical flow to the shots and they are rarely contextually unified. Discontinuous techniques call attention to the medium of film itself, and demand audience attention and engagement in order to parse the on-screen information. Violations of the general rules of continuity violates viewer expectations and counters a sense of immersion in the film's narrative and world.

Production

In film and video, production refers to the part of the process in which footage is recorded. This is what most people imagine when they think of a film being made — actors on sets, cameras rolling, etc. The production phase is also known as principal photography.

Pan

It is often fixed on tripod, with the operator turning it either left or right. Panning is commonly utilized to capture images of moving objects like cars speeding or people walking; or to show sweeping vistas like an ocean or a cliff. A smooth pan will be slow enough to allow the audience to observe the scenery. A fast pan will create blur. If it's too fast, it will be called a Swish pan.

Direction

Light can be thrown onto an object or actor from virtually any direction: front, side, back, below, or above. By direction, we also mean the angle of that throw, for the angle helps produce the contrasts and shadows that suggest the source of the illumination and the time of day. As with the other properties of lighting, the direction of the lighting can also create mood and convey information or meaning regarding the subject being lit.

Match on action

Match on action technique can preserve temporal continuity where there is a uniform, unrepeated physical motion or change within a passage. A match on action is when some action occurring before the temporally questionable cut is picked up where the cut left it by the shot immediately following. For example, a shot of someone tossing a ball can be edited to show two different views, while maintaining temporal continuity by being sure that the second shot shows the arm of the subject in the same stage of its motion as it was left when cutting from the first shot

Narrative/Documentary/Poetic film

Narrative: believable narratives and characters help convince the audience that the unfolding fiction is real. Lighting and camera movement, among other cinematic elements, convey a coherent reality, even if said reality deviates from our own. These films frequently conform to predetermined behaviors and lines of the classical style of screenplay writing to maintain a sense of realism. Actors must deliver dialogue and action in a believable way, so as to persuade the audience that the film is real life. Documentary: Anthropological / Naturalist - Educational - Rhetorical - Categorical - Propaganda - Industrial Poetic: Often non-linear or even non-representational. Emphasize the formal qualities of film itself, rather than narrative content. "Art House" - "Experimental" - "Abstract"

Shot number

One shot: one figure/character, two shot: two subjects in the frame, 3 shot: usually three people standing in foreground with 2 extras in the back

Frame

Refers to a single image, the smallest compositional unit of a film's structure, captured by the camera on a strip of motion picture film, a series of frames juxtaposed and shown in rapid succession make up a motion (or moving) picture.

Hue/temperature/saturation/value

Temperature: warm and cool color schemes, Hue: the color that is talked about/reference on visual spectrum of light(Ex: purple hue), Saturation: how much color is present(Ex: high concentration-red low concentration-white), Value: How much black is in the color(low value can look black high value not have as much black)

Shot

The basic building block or unit of film narrative; refers to a single, constant take made by a motion picture camera uninterrupted by editing, interruptions or cuts, in which a length of film is exposed by turning the camera on, recording, and then turning the camera off. A shot is what occurs between two cuts.

Cut

The cut is the transition from one shot to another shot. Is so named because editors used to physically cut and splice film together. A commercial feature's ratio of shot footage to final cut length is frequently 20:1. Scenes are usually covered from multiple angles to provide editors with compositional choices.

Intercutting

The insertion of shots into a scene in a way that interrupts the narrative. Examples include flashbacks, flash-forwards, shots depicting a character's thoughts, shots depicting events from earlier or later in the plot, and associative editing that intercuts with scenes meant to convey symbolic meaning.

Ratio

The level of illumination on a subject, as compared with the depth of the corresponding shadow, is called its lighting ratio.Filmmakers use a number of techniques to regulate this relationship between light and shadow. The most conventional method is the three-point system.

Quality

The quality of light used in any situation falls somewhere on a spectrum between hard light and soft light. Hard light is direct: the beams of light shine directly from the source to the subject.Hard light is high contrast: details are crisp and defined, which can make hard light less flattering for characters with wrinkles and other facial textures. Soft light is diffused: the beams of light are broken up or scattered on their way from the source to the subject.Soft light is low contrast: where illumination ends and shadow begins is less distinct. Details are also less defined, and so soft light is considered more flattering.

Scene

The series of shots (or, rarely, single shot) together comprise a single, complete and unified dramatic event, action, unit, or element of film narration, or block (segment) of storytelling within a film, much like a scene in a play; a scene normally occurs in one location and deals with one action; the end of a scene is often indicated by a change in time, action and/or location.

3 point lighting

The system uses three sources of light, each aimed from a different direction and position in relation to the subject: key light, fill light, and backlight. The overall character of the image is determined mainly by the relationship between the key and fill lights. The key light (also known as the main, or source, light) is the primary source of illumination and therefore is customarily set first. Positioned to one side of the camera, it creates deep shadows. The fill light, which is positioned at the opposite side of the camera from the key light, adjusts the depth of the shadows created by the brighter key light. Fill light may also come from a reflector. The backlight, which is also known as a rim light or kicker, provides highlights in the hair and along the edges of the subject. These "rims" of light help make the actor stand out from the background.

Tilt

Tilts refer to the up or down movement of the camera while the camera itself does not move. Tilts are often employed to reveal vertical objects like a building or a person.

Montage

Used to condense time, often represent multi-event narrative progressions. Can be used to extend action across time, repeating the same action across multiple shots with different coverage.

Verisimilar / Period / Pictorial / Fantastic / Expressionist

Verisimilar: attempting to create a coherent reality. Evokes a style & approach that has similar time and place. 2022 set in 2022 "realistic", Period: also aims to have a coherent reality, however distinctive time period from the past. 1952 film in 2022, Pictorial: one that emphasizes a certain kind of visual style, evoke specific type of pictorial arrangement/visual arrangements, Expressionist: artistically expressive landscapes, representation on non-realistic places, Fantastic: believable world but things taht dont exist in the real world obviously

Post-Production

Video editing the picture of a television program or film using an edit decision list (EDL)● Writing, (re)recording, and editing the soundtrack.● Adding visual special effects - mainly computer-generated imagery (CGI) and digital copy from which release prints will be made (although this may be made obsolete by digital-cinema technologies).● Sound design, sound effects, ADR, foley, and music, culminating in a process known as sound re-recording or mixing with professional audio equipment.● Transfer of color motion picture film to video or DPX with a telecine and color grading (correction) in a color suite.The post-production phase of creating a film usually takes longer than the actual shooting of the film and can take several months to complete because it includes the complete editing, color correction, and the addition of music and sound. The process of editing a movie is also seen as the second directing because through post-production it is possible to change the intention of the movie.

Dolly

When the entire camera moves forward or backward, this move is called dolly. If the camera is on tripod, the tripod will also be moved. Dollies are often used when recording a subject that moves away or toward the camera, in which case the goal would probably be keeping the subject at the same distance from the camera. Moving the camera forward is called dolly in. Moving the camera backward is called dolly

Zoom

With zooms, the camera remains at a constant position, but the lens magnify or minimize the size of the subject. Zoom in refers to seemingly "approaching" the subject, thus making it look bigger in the frame. Zoom out refers to seemingly "distancing" the subject, thus making it look smaller.

Focal length

curvature focuses light through aperture, short focal length: stretches depth to emphasize atmosphere, medium focal length: how we see things the most natural, long focal length: common in war movies character stays in the frame longer has a crowding/compressing effect

Shot length

duration of each individual shot

Depth of field

the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that give an image judged to be in focus in a camera.Deep focus=crisp scenes(each element is clear).Shallow focus=has soft out of focus backgrounds/foregrounds/both with crisp subjects(used to emphasize something)

Aspect ratio

the relationship of the width to the height of its images