Film Study - Terms

Top lighting

light source above the subject, leaving shadows below, creating a shimmery effect

Under lighting

light source below the subject leaving shadow above

Back lighting

light source opposite the camera and behind the subject which appears as a silhouette

Front lighting

light source pointed directly at the subject, flattening the surface without shadows

Side lighting

light source to one side of the subject, leaving shadow on one side.

Lighting

most categorized element of mise-en-scene. Illumination of an image/frame by direction and source. (Divided in 5 direction, 3 source + 3 main combinations)

Lighting Combinations

Many combinations of light direction and source, three most common are: three point lighting, high-key lighting and low-key lighting

Jump cut

A break or jump in a shot's continuity of time, caused by removing a section of a shot then splicing together what remains of it. On screen, its often abrupt and jerky

Deep focus

A focus in which all objects from close foreground to distant background are seen in sharp definition

Match on action

A juxtaposition of shots that carries a movement across the break between two shots

Zoom Lens

A lens optically designed to permit the continuous varying of focal length

Wide-angle lens (or short-focus lens)

A lens which gives a wide field of view and exaggerates depth. Provides greatest depth of field.

Angel Light

A light which rounds off a composition, creating a slight shimmer

Normal Lens

A medium-focal length lens which minimizes perspective distortion

Follow focus

A moving shot in which a person or object is kept in focus by continually adjusting the focus of the lens

180' rule

A principle of spatial continuity designed to assure a smooth flow between two shots in a single scene. The axis of action is formed along an imaginary line and, according to the rule, the camera position must be kept on a single side of that line

Rack focus

A shot in which focus changes, bring certain objects into focus and making others blur

Long take

A shot lasting considerably longer than an average shot, to the extent that the lack of editing becomes noticeable

Fade-in

A shot that begins in darkness and gradually assumes full brightness

Fade-out

A shot that gradually assumes darkness

Iris-in

A shot that opens from darkness in an expanding circle of light

Sequence shot

A single shot that lasts for the duration of an entire scene or sequence. (All sequence shots are also long takes, but not all long takes are sequence shots)

Close-up

Traditionally, the shot that stresses facial expression, details of gesture or important objects

Glance-object cut

A transition from a character looking off screen to a shot of what the character sees

Fill Light

A weak light, used to fill in, soften, or eliminate shadows cast by the key light

Eye-line match

An editing technique whereby characters separated into different shots appear to look at each other because of the direction of their glances

Camera LENS

An optical system which concentrates, disperses, or changes the the direction of light rays to form an image. Chief variable: FOCAL LENGTH. Distinguished on the basis of their effects on perspective.

Graphic match

Any juxtaposition of graphically similar images

Rhythmic match

Any juxtaposition of images with actions moving at similar rates of speed

Telephoto Lens (or long-focus lens)

Any lens of greater than normal length. Generally the space of the shot is flattened: depth is reduced and the planes seem foreshortened, squashed together.

EDITING

Any means used to connect shots. Editing may be used to create graphic, rhythmic, spatial, and temporal relationships among shots

Tracking (or dolly) shot

Camera as a whole changes position, travelling in any direction along the ground. Variation: trucking shot = traveling at high speed

Tilt

Camera moves up and down from a fixed position along a vertical plane

Extreme long shot

Figures barely visible. Usually an establishing shot of landscape, cities etc.

Long shot

Figures more prominent, but backgrounf still dominates. Usually establishing shot of interiors.

Medium shot

Framed the human body from the waist up

Medium long shot (or plan americain)

Frames the human body from the knees up

REFUSAL of editing

In certain instances, filmmakers will refrain from editing, choosing to sustain a shot without any interruption. Two relevant terms are long take and sequence shot

Mise-en-scene

In film signifies all elements that appear in front of the camera. Either the elements themselves (props, costumes, sets etc.) or their effects (lighting) are visible in the frame.

Slow motion

Objects are filmed at high camera speeds but projected at regular speed

Fast motion

Objects are filmed at slow camera speeds but projected at regular speed. Time-lapse cinematography which can show a flower opening in a few secs, is an extreme form of fast motion cinematography

Reverse angle

Shot taken from the opposite point of view to the preceding one; often, a reaction shot in a dialogue sequence

Extreme close-up

Singles out portion of the face (eyes or lips), isolates a detail

Soft focus

The blurred or hazy effect achieved by shooting slightly out of focus or through gauze, vaseline, or a similar medium.

Straight-on or eye-level

The camera is located at normal eye level in relation to the subject

High Angle

The camera is positioned above the subject and shoots down at it

Low Angle

The camera is positioned below the subject

Crane

The camera leaves the ground and can travel forward and backward, in and out and up and down

Pan (or panorama shot)

The camera rotates from a fixed position along a horizontal plane. With a swish (flash, blur) pan, the action is blurred

Dissolve

The end of one shot merges slowly into the next. As the second shot becomes distinct, the first slowly disappears

Dutch Angle

The frame is canted so that the frame is not parallel to the horizon

Level framing

The horizontal edges of the frame are parallel to the horizon

Cut

The most immediate transition from shot to shot. It is effected by splicing one shot onto another

Iris-out

The opposite of Iris-in

Superimposition

The printing of two different shots on the same strip of film. On screen one shot becomes visible through the other

Depth of Field

The range of distances before the lens within which objects can be photographed in sharp focus. Thus, a lens with a depth of field of ten feet to infinity will render any object in that range clearly, but sharpness will decrease when the object moves closer to the lens. (wide-angle lens has a greater depth of field than a telephoto lens)

Camera SPEED

The rate at which a film travels through a camera. Standard SOUND SPEED is 24 frames/sec. SILENT SPEED, the standard rate in 8,16 and 35mm is 18 frames/sec

Camera LEVEL

The relationship between the horizontal frame of the camera and the plane of the mise-en-scene

Key Light

The strong, primary light source which casts dominant shadows

CONTINUITY editing (or INVISIBLE editing)

The use of various editing techniques to conceal the disruptive nature of cuts, thereby creating an apparently seamless procession of images. Eg. eye-line match, glance-object cut, match on action, 180' rule, reverse angle

Camera ANGLES

The viewpoints or angles from which the camera films the subject

Wipe

Transition from one shot to another in which the second shot peels off the first one, an effect comparable to that of windshield wiper.

Focal Length

technically, the distance from the centre of the lens to the point where the light rays converge to a point of focus. Affects perspective by altering perceived magnification, depth and scale of things in an image

Lighting direction

the path of light from its source to an object