question

cinematic language

answer

The accepted systems, methods, or conventions by which the movies communicate with the viewer.

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shots

answer

One uninterrupted run of the camera.

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editing

answer

The process by which the editor combines and coordinates individual shots into a cinematic whole; the basic creative force of cinema.

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fade out/ fade in

answer

Transitional devices in which a shot fades in from a black field on black-and white film or from a color field on color film, or fades out to a black field (or a color field).

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cutting on action

answer

A continuity editing technique that smoothes the transition between shots portraying a single action from different camera angles.

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implicit meaning

answer

Lying below the surface meaning this is closest to our everyday sense of the word meaning.

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explicit meaning

answer

An association, connection, or inference that a viewer makes on the basis of the given story and form of a film.

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formal analysis

answer

Film analysis that examines how a scene or sequence uses formal elements to convey story, mood, and meaning.

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theme

answer

(aka Motif) A shared, public idea, such as a metaphor, an adage, a myth, or a familiar conflict or personality type.

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dolly in/ dolly out

answer

Slow movement of the camera toward or away from a subject.

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duration

answer

The time a movie takes to unfold onscreen.

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point of view

answer

The vantage point from which the story is told.

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low angle shot

answer

A shot that is made with the camera below the action and that typically places the observer in a position of inferiority.

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cut

answer

A direct change from one shot to another; that is, the precise point at which shot A ends and shot B begins

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close up

answer

A shot that often shows a part of the body filling the frame—traditionally a face, but possibly a hand, eye, or mouth.

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mise-en-scene

answer

The overall look and feel of a movie—the sum of everything the audience sees, hears, and experiences while viewing it. Also known as staging.

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narrative

answer

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

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form

answer

The means by which a subject is expressed. The form for poetry is words; for drama, it is speech and action; for movies, it is pictures and sound; and so on.

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content

answer

The subject of an artwork.

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cel

answer

A transparent sheet of celluloid or similar plastic on which drawings or lettering may be made for use in animation or titles.

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persistence of vision

answer

The process by which the human brain retains an image for a fraction of a second longer than the eye records it.

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phi phenominon

answer

The illusion of movement created by events that succeed each other rapidly, as when two adjacent lights flash on and off alternately and we seem to see a single light shifting back and forth.

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critical flicker fusion

answer

shutter breaks light once when image arrives in place and once when it is held in place (i.e. each frame projected twice); older films 'flicked' b/c they were shot at lower rate (16-20 fps); today it's 24 fps

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apparent motion

answer

an optical illusion of motion produced by viewing a rapid succession of still pictures of a moving object

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mediation

answer

An agent, structure, or other formal element, whether human or technological, that transfers something, such as information in the case of movies, from one place to another.

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scene

answer

A complete unit of plot action incorporating one or more shots; the setting of that action.

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sequence

answer

A series of edited shots characterized by inherent unity of theme and purpose.

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freeze-frame

answer

Also known as stop-frame or hold frame. A still image within a movie, created by repetitive printing in the laboratory of the same

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realism

answer

An interest in or concern for the actual or real; a tendency to view or represent things as they really are.

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anti-realism

answer

A treatment that is against or the opposite of realism. However, realism and antirealism (like realism and fantasy) are not strict polarities.

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verisimilitude

answer

A convincing appearance of truth; movies are verisimilar when they convince you that the things on the screen—people, places, and so on, no matter how fantastic or antirealistic—are "really there.

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factual films

answer

A documentary film that, usually, presents people, places, or processes in a straightforward way meant to entertain and instruct without unduly influencing audiences.

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persuasive films

answer

A documentary film concerned with presenting a particular perspective on social issues, or with corporate and governmental injustice.

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propaganda films

answer

A documentary film that systematically disseminates deceptive or distorted information.

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direct cinema

answer

An approach to documentary film making that employs an unobtrusive style in an attempt to give viewers as truthful and "direct" an experience of events as possible.

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stream of consciousness

answer

A literary style that gained prominence in the 1920s in the hands of such writers as Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and Dorothy Richardson and that attempted to capture the unedited flow of experience through the mind.

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genre

answer

The categorization of narrative films by form, content, or both. Examples of genres are musical, comedy, biography, Western, and so on.

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generic transformation

answer

The process by which a particular genre is adapted to meet the expectations of a changing society.

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digital animation

answer

Animation that employs computer software to create the images used in the animation process (as opposed to analog techniques that rely on stop-motion photography, hand-drawn cels, etc.).

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treatment / synopsis

answer

Also known as synopsis. An outline of the action that briefly describes the essential ideas and structure for a film.

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story conferences

answer

One of any number of sessions during which the treatment is discussed, developed, and transformed from an outline into a rough-draft screenplay.

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rough draft screenplay

answer

Also known as scenario. The next step after a treatment, the rough-draft screenplay results from discussions, development, and transformation of an outline in sessions known as story conferences.

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scenario

answer

aka rough-draft screenplay. The next step after a treatment, the rough-draft screenplay results from discussions, development, and transformation of an outline in sessions known as story conferences.

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storyboard

answer

A scene-by-scene (sometimes shot-by- shot) breakdown that combines sketches or photographs of how each shot is to look and written descriptions of the other elements that are to go with each shot, including dialogue, sound, and music.

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shooting script

answer

A guide and reference point for all members of the production unit, in which the details of each shot are listed and can thus be followed during filming.

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exposition

answer

To provide some background and inform the readers about the plot, character, setting, and theme of the motion picture.

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rising action

answer

The development of the action of the narrative toward a climax.

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climax

answer

The narrative's turning point, marking the transition between rising action and falling action.

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falling action

answer

The events that follow the climax and bring the narrative to conclusion (denouement).

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denouncement

answer

The resolution or conclusion of the narrative.

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diegesis

answer

The total world of a story—the events, characters, objects, settings, and sounds that form the world in which the story occurs.

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diegetic element

answer

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

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nondiegetic elements

answer

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

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plot

answer

A structure for presenting everything that we see and hear in a film, with an emphasis on causality, consisting of two factors: (a) the arrangement of the diegetic events in a certain order or structure and (b) added nondiegetic material.

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subplot

answer

A subordinate sequence of action in a narrative, usually relevant to and enriching the plot.

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backstory

answer

A fictional history behind the situation extant at the start of the main story.

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order

answer

The arrangement of plot events into a logical sequence or hierarchy. Across an entire narrative or in a brief section of it, any film can use one or more methods to arrange its plot: chronological order, cause-and-effect order, logical order, and so on.

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summary relationship

answer

A time relationship in which screen duration is shorter than plot duration.

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real time

answer

The actual time during which something takes place. In real time, screen duration and plot duration are exactly the same. Many directors use real time within films to create uninterrupted "reality" on the screen, but they rarely use it for entire films.

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stretch relationship

answer

A time relationship in which screen duration is longer than plot duration.

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cinematic time

answer

The imaginary time in which a movie's images appear or its narrative occurs; time that has been manipulated through editing

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familiar image

answer

Any image that a director periodically repeats in a movie (with or without variations) to help stabilize the narrative.

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round characters

answer

A character that is three dimensional, unpredictable, complex, and capable of surprising us in a convincing way; may be major or minor characters.

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flat characters

answer

A character that is one-dimensional and easily remembered because his or her motivations and actions are predictable. these characters may be major, minor, or marginal characters. Compare round character

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major characters

answer

One of the main characters in a movie. these characters make the most things happen or have the most things happen to them.

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protagonists

answer

The major character who serves as the "hero" and who "wins" the conflict.

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antagonist

answer

The major character whose values or behavior are in conflict with those of the protagonist

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minor characters

answer

A supporting character in a movie. they have fewer traits than major characters, so we know less about them.They may also be so lacking in definition and screen time that we can consider them marginal characters.

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marginal characters

answer

A minor character that lacks both definition and screen time.

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characterization

answer

The process of the actor's interpreting a character in a movie. differs according to the actor, the character, the screenplay, and the director.

question

cinematic conventions

answer

Accepted systems, methods, or customs by which movies communicate. They are flexible; they are not "rules."

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setting

answer

The time and space in which a story takes place.

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narration

answer

The commentary spoken by either off screen or onscreen voices, frequently used in narrative films, where it may emanate from an omniscient voice (and thus not one of the characters) or from a character in the movie. There are two main types of narration: first person narration and voice-over narration.

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omniscient

answer

Providing a third-person view of all aspects of a movie's action or characters.

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restricted

answer

Providing a view from the perspective of a single character. For example, restricted narration reveals information to the audience only as a specific character learns of it.

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first person narrative

answer

Narration by an actual character in the movie.

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voice over narration

answer

Narration heard concurrently and over a scene but not synchronized to any character who may be talking on the screen. It can come from many sources, including an objective narrator (who is not a character) bringing us up-to-date, a first-person narrator commenting on the action, or, in a nonfiction film, a commentator.

question

design

answer

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

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composition

answer

The process of visualizing and putting visualization plans into practice; more precisely, the organization, distribution, balance, and general relationship of stationary objects and figures, as well as of light, shade, line, and color, within the frame.

question

production designer

answer

A person who works closely with the director, art director, and director of photography, in visualizing the movie that will appear on the screen. They are 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, etc.) that create that look

question

art director

answer

The person responsible for transforming the production designer's vision into a reality on the screen, assessing the staging requirements for a production, and arranging for and supervising the work of the members of the art department.

question

on location

answer

Shooting in an actual interior or exterior location away from the studio.

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set

answer

Not reality, but a fragment of reality created as the setting for a particular shot in a movie. Sets must be constructed both to look authentic and to photograph well.

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decor

answer

The color and textures of the interior decoration, furniture, draperies, and curtains of a set.

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properties

answer

Also known as props. Objects such as paintings, vases, flowers, silver tea sets, guns, or fishing rods that help us understand the characters by showing us their preferences in such things.

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sound stage

answer

A windowless, soundproofed, professional shooting environment that is usually several stories high and can cover an acre or more of floor space.

question

chiaroscuro

answer

The use of deep gradations and subtle variations of lights and darks within an image.

question

costumes

answer

The clothing worn by an actor in a movie (sometimes called wardrobe, a term that also designates the department in a studio in which clothing is made and stored).

question

video assist camera

answer

A tiny device, mounted in the viewing system of the film camera, that enables a script supervisor to view a scene on a video monitor (and thus compare its details with those of surrounding scenes, to ensure visual continuity) before the film is sent to the laboratory for processing.

question

figures

answer

Any significant thing that moves on the screen—person, animal, object.

question

framing

answer

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

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kinesis

answer

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

question

re-framing

answer

A movement of the camera that adjusts or alters the composition or point of view of a shot.

question

point of view

answer

The position from which a film presents the actions of the story; not only the relation of the narrator(s) to the story but also the camera's act of seeing and hearing. The two fundamental types of cinematic point of view are omniscient and restricted.

question

viewfinder

answer

On a camera, the little window that the cameraperson looks through when taking a picture; the viewfinder's frame indicates the boundaries of the camera's point of view.

question

offscreen space

answer

Cinematic space that exists outside the frame.

question

onscreen space

answer

Cinematic space that exists inside the frame.

question

open frame

answer

A frame around a motion-picture image that, theoretically, characters and objects can enter and leave.

question

closed frame

answer

A frame of a motion picture image that, theoretically, neither characters nor objects enter or leave.

question

blocking

answer

Actual physical relationships among figures and settings.

question

cinematography

answer

The process of capturing moving images on film or some other medium.

question

take

answer

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

question

setup

answer

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.

question

camera crew

answer

Technicians that make up two separate groups—one concerned with the camera, the other concerned with electricity and lighting.

question

camera operator

answer

The member of the camera crew who does the actual shooting.

question

assistant camerapersons (AC's)

answer

Member of the camera crew who assists the camera operator.

question

first AC

answer

oversees everything having to do with the camera, lenses, supporting equipment, and the material on which the movie is being shot.

question

second AC

answer

prepares the slate that is used to identify each scene as it is being filmed, files camera reports, and feeds film stock into magazines to be loaded into the camera.

question

slate

answer

The board or other device that is used to identify each scene during shooting.

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gaffer (aka chief electrician)

answer

The chief electrician on a movie production set.

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best boy (first assistant electrician)

answer

First assistant electrician to the gaffer on a movie production set.

question

grips

answer

All-around handyperson on a movie production set, most often working with the camera crews and electrical crews.

question

film stock

answer

Celluloid used to record movies. There are two types: one for black-and-white films, the other for color. Each type is manufactured in several standard formats.

question

gauges

answer

Also called formats. The dimensions of a film stock and its perforations, and the size and shape of the image frame as seen on the screen. Formats extend from Super 8mm through 70mm (and beyond into such specialized formats as IMAX), but they are generally limited to three standard gauges: Super 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm.

question

speed

answer

aka film-stock speed. The rate at which film must move through the camera to correctly capture an image

question

colorization

answer

The use of digital technology, in a process similar to hand-tinting, to "paint" colors on movies meant to be seen in black and white.

question

widescreen aspect ratio

answer

Any aspect ratio wider than 1.33:1, the standard ratio until the early 1950s.

question

focusable spotlights

answer

A lamp that produces hard, mirror like light.

question

floodlights

answer

A lamp that produces soft (diffuse) light

question

reflector board

answer

A piece of lighting equipment, but not really a lighting instrument, because it does not rely on bulbs to produce illumination. Essentially, a double-sided board that pivots in a U-shaped holder. One side is a hard, smooth surface that reflects hard light; the other is a soft, textured surface that reflects softer fill light.

question

three point system

answer

Perhaps the best-known lighting convention in feature filmmaking, a system that employs three sources of light—key light, fill light, and backlight—each aimed from a different direction and position in relation to the subject.

question

key light

answer

Also known as main light or source light. The brightest light falling on a subject.

question

fill light

answer

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.

question

lighting ratio

answer

The relationship and balance between illumination and shadow—the balance between key light and fill light.

question

low key lighting

answer

Lighting that creates strong contrasts; sharp, dark shadows; and an overall gloomy atmosphere. Its contrasts between light and dark often imply ethical judgments.

question

high key lighting

answer

Lighting that produces an image with very little contrast between darks and lights. Its even, flat illumination expresses virtually no opinions about the subject being photographed.

question

backlight

answer

Lighting, 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 its appearance of three-dimensionality.

question

production values

answer

The amount of human and physical resources devoted to the image, including the style of its lighting.

question

lens

answer

The piece of transparent material in a camera that focuses the image on the film being exposed. The four major types of lenses are the short-focal-length lens, the middle-focallength lens, the long-focal-length lens, and the zoom lens.

question

aperture

answer

Also known as gate. The camera opening that defines the area of each frame of film exposed.

question

iris

answer

1. A circular cutout made with a mask that creates a frame within a frame. 2. An adjustable diaphragm that limits the amount of light passing through the lens of a camera.

question

focal length

answer

The distance from the optical center of a lens to the focal point (the film plane that the cameraperson wants to keep in focus) when the lens is focused at infinity.

question

long-focal-length lens

answer

Also known as telephoto lens. A lens that flattens the space and depth of an image and thus distorts perspectival relations.

question

short-focal-length lens

answer

Also known as wide angle lens. A lens that creates the illusion of depth within a frame, albeit with some distortion at the edges of the frame.

question

middle-focal-length lens

answer

Also known as normal lens. A lens that does not distort perspectivalrelations.

question

zoom lens

answer

Also known as variable-focal-length lens. A lens that is moved toward and away fromthe subject being photographed, has a continuouslyvariable focal length, and helps reframe ashot within the take. A zoom lens permits thecamera operator during shooting to shiftbetween wide-angle and telephoto lenses withoutchanging the focus or aperture settings.

question

prime lenses

answer

A lens that has a fixed focal length. The short-focal-length, middle-focal-length, and long-focal-length lenses are all prime lenses; the zoom lens is in its own category.

question

depth of field

answer

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

question

planes

answer

Any of three theoretical areas—foreground, middle ground, and background—within the frame.

question

rack focus

answer

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

question

aspect ratio

answer

The relationship between the frame's two dimensions: the width of the image related to its height.

question

mask

answer

An opaque sheet of metal, paper, or plastic (with, for example, a circular cutout, known as an iris) that is placed in front of the camera and admits light through that circle to a specific area of the frame—to create a frame within a frame.

question

iris-out

answer

begins with a large circle, which contracts to a smaller circle or total blackness.

question

extreme long shot (XLS or ELS)

answer

A shot that is typically photographed far enough away from the subject that the subject is too small to be recognized, except through the context we see, which usually includes a wide view of the location, as well as general background information. When it is used to provide such informative context, the extreme long shot is also referred to as an establishing shot.

question

long shot (LS)

answer

Also known as full-body shot. A shot that shows the full human body, usually filling the frame, and some of its surroundings.

question

medium long shot (MLS)

answer

Also known as plan américain or American shot. A shot that shows a character from the knees up and includes most of a person's body.

question

two shot

answer

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

question

medium shot (MS)

answer

A shot showing the human body, usually from the waist up.

question

medium close up (MCU)

answer

A shot that shows a character from the middle of the chest to the top of the head. provides a view of the face that catches minor changes in expression, as well as some detail about the character's posture.

question

close up (CU)

answer

A shot that often shows a part of the body filling the frame—traditionally a face, but possibly a hand, eye, or mouth.

question

extreme close up (XCU or ECU)

answer

A very close shot of a particular detail, such as a person's eye, a ring on a finger, or a watch face.

question

blimp

answer

A soundproofed enclosure somewhat larger than a camera, in which the camera may be mounted to prevent its sounds from reaching the microphone.

question

deep-space composition

answer

A total visual composition that occupies all three planes of the frame, thus creating an illusion of depth, and that is usually reproduced on the screen by deep-focus cinematography.

question

deep-focus cinematography

answer

Using the short focal-length lens to capture deep-space composition and its illusion of depth.

question

rule of thirds

answer

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.

question

shooting angle

answer

The level and height of the camera in relation to the subject being photographed. The five basic camera angles produce eye-level shots, high-angle shots, low-angle shots, Dutch-angle shots, and aerial-view shots.

question

eye-level shot

answer

A shot that is made from the observer's eye level and usually implies that the observer's attitude is neutral toward the subject being photographed.

question

high angle shot

answer

Also known as high shot or down shot. A shot that is made with the camera above the action and that typically implies the observer's sense of superiority to the subject being photographed.

question

low angle shot

answer

Also known as low shot. A shot that is made with the camera below the actionand that typically places the observer in a positionof inferiority.

question

dutch angle shot

answer

A shot in which the camera is tilted from its normal horizontal and vertical positions so that it is no longer straight, giving the viewer the impression that the world in the frame is out of balance.

question

aerial view shot

answer

Also known as bird's-eye-view shot. An omniscient-point-of-view shot that istaken from an aircraft or extremely high crane and implies that the observer can see all.

question

scale

answer

The size and placement of a particular object or a part of a scene in relation to the rest—a relationship determined by the type of shot used and the placement of the camera.

question

pan shot

answer

The horizontal movement of a camera mounted on the gyroscopic head of a stationary tripod; like the tilt shot, the ____ shot is a simple movement with dynamic possibilities for creating meaning.

question

tilt shot

answer

The vertical movement of a camera mounted on the gyroscopic head of a stationary tripod. Like the pan shot, the _______ shot is a simple movement with dynamic possibilities for creating meaning.

question

dolly shot

answer

Also known as traveling shot. A shot taken by a camera fixed to a wheeled support called a dolly.

question

dolly

answer

A wheeled support for a camera that permits the cinematographer to make noiseless moving shots.

question

dolly out

answer

Movement of the camera away from the subject that is often used for slow disclosure, which occurs when an edited succession of images leads from A to B to C as they gradually reveal the elements of a scene.

question

tracking shot

answer

aka dolly shot.

question

dolly in

answer

Slow movement of the camera toward a subject, making the subject appear larger and more significant.

question

zoom in

answer

A shot in which the image is magnified by movement of the camera's lens only, without the camera itself moving. This magnification is the essential difference between the zoom in and the dolly in.

question

crane shot

answer

A shot that is created by movement of a camera mounted on an elevating arm (crane) that, in turn, is mounted on a vehicle that, if shooting requires it, can move on its own power or be pushed along tracks.

question

Steadicam

answer

A camera suspended from an articulated arm that is attached to a vest strapped to the cameraperson's body, permitting the operator to remain steady during "handheld" shots. The Steadicam removes jumpiness and is now often used for smooth, fast, and intimate camera movement.

question

omniscient pov

answer

The most basic and most common point of view.means that the camera has complete or unlimited perception of what the cinematographer chooses for it to see and hear; this point of view shows what that camera sees, typically from a high angle.

question

single characters pov

answer

A point of view that is captured by a shot made with the camera close to the line of sight of one character (or animal or surveillance camera), showing what that person would be seeing of the action.

question

group pov

answer

A point of view captured by a shot that shows what a group of characters would see, but at the group's level, not from the much higher omniscient point of view.

question

slow motion

answer

Photography that decelerates action by photographing it at a filming rate greater than the normal 24 frames per second so that, in cinematic time, it takes place at a slower rate than the real action took place before the camera.

question

fast motion

answer

Photography that accelerates action by photographing it at a filming rate less than the normal 24 frames per second so that, in cinematic time, it takes place at a more rapid rate than the real action took place before the camera.

question

long take

answer

Also known as sequence shot. A shot that can last anywhere from one minute to tenminutes. (Between 1930 and 1960, the averagelength of a shot was 8-11 seconds; today it's 6-7seconds, signifying that directors are tellingtheir stories with a tighter pace.)

question

special effects

answer

Technology for creating images that would be too dangerous, too expensive, or, in some cases, simply impossible to achieve with traditional cinematographic materials. The goal of special-effects cinematography is generally to create verisimilitude within the imaginative world of even the most fanciful movie.

question

in camera effects

answer

A special effect that is created in the production camera (the regular camera used for shooting the rest of the film) on the original negative. Examples of in-camera effects include montage and split screen.

question

mechanical effects

answer

A special effect created by an object or event mechanically on the set and in front of the camera.

question

laboratory effects

answer

A special effect that is created in the laboratory through processing and printing.

question

iris shot

answer

Optical wipe effect in which the wipe line is a circle; named after the iris of a camera. iris in / iris out

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