Glossary of Film Terms
ENG 369 / Comp LIT 357
Film, Steven Shaviro, Autumn 1993
ASPECT RATIO: The ratio between the height and width of the frame.
The standard academy ratio used to be 1.33:1 (i.e. the frame was 1 1/3
times as wide as it was high). This is still the ratio of the standard TV and
video screen. More recently, the standard ratio for Hollywood films has
been established as 1.85:1 (the frame is 1.85 times as wide as it is high).
This means that the left and right edges of the screen are missing from
most video transfers of recent films. See also Wide-Screen
BACKLIGHTING: Illumination cast onto the figures in the scene behind
the subjects, or from the side opposite the camera; thus creating an outline
or silhouette effect. (Compare Frontal Lighting).
CAMERA ANGLE (ANGLE OF FRAMING): The camera's angle of view, or
the position of the frame, in relation to the subject being photographed.
The camera may be above the subject, looking down (a high angle); or
horizontal, on the same level as the subject (a straight-on angle), or
even looking up at the subject (a low angle).
CANTED FRAMING: A view in which the frame is slanted obliquely,
instead of being level, so that the objects appear skewed to one side.
CHIAROSCURO LIGHTING: Dramatic use of extremes of light and dark,
with few in-between grays.
CLOSE-UP: A shot in which a small object (especially somebody's face or
head) fills the entire screen.
CONTINUITY EDITING: A system of editing designed to produce the
illusion of realistic action in a continuous space and time. It basically
involves matching together different bits of film in a scene or sequence in
such a way that the unfolding of the action seems to proceed smoothly,
transitions are unobtrusive, and the spatial orientation between the
characters, and within the scene, is maintained. (See Crosscutting, Cut-in,
Establishing Shot, Eyeline Match, Match on Action, Shot/ Reverse Shot).
CRANE SHOT: A shot taken from a crane, a sort of mechanical arm
suspended above the scene and allowing the camera free movement
through space. Thus the camera is able to move continually throughout the
shot.
CROSSCUTTING: Editing that alternates shots of simultaneous action in
different locations, implying that they are taking place at the same time.
CUT: The joining together of two bits of film; the instantaneous transition
from one shot to another.
CUT-IN: A cut shifting from a distant framing to a closer view of some
section of the same space.
DEEP FOCUS: Photographing the scene in such a way that all distances
from the camera remain equally in focus, from closeup ranges to infinity.
DEEP SPACE: An arrangement of the scene such that there is an especially
large depth of field; therefore, the space appears to extend considerably
far into the distance.
DEPTH OF FIELD: The range of distances from the camera which remain in
sharp focus. (See Deep Focus, Shallow Focus).
DIEGETIC, DIEGESIS: Having to do with the actual world of the film and
the story being told; as opposed to formal elements which are part of the
film, but not of the world depicted in the film. Thus music played on an
instrument by a character in the course of the film is diegetic, while
background music which affects our mood as we watch is not diegetic.
DIRECT SOUND: Sound actually recorded in the scene as it is being filmed.
DISSOLVE: Transition from one shot to another in which the two are
gradually superimposed, as the second fades while the first fades out.
EDITING: The process of putting various shots together in order to make a
complete film; the ways in which the film is put together, how shots are
articulated one to another.
ELLIPTICAL EDITING: Editing that deliberately omits portions of the plot
and action.
ESTABLISHING SHOT: A long shot at the beginning of a scene, that shows
us the entire space or area in which the scene will subsequently take place.
In continuity editing, these shots are systematically used as cues in order
to orient us to the ongoing action.
EVELINE MATCH: A cut in which a first shot shows somebody looking in
some direction, and the second shot shows what he/she sees. Used in
continuity editing to maintain the sense of coherent action and spatial
orientation.
FADE: The shot starts by gradually brightening (fade-in), or ends by
gradually darkening (fade-out).
FILM NOIR: A film genre, especially popular in the 40s and 50s, involving
crime narratives in usually nocturnal urban settings, with a heavy sense of
physical danger, of moral ambiguity, and of existential dislocation, dread,
and paranoia.
FLASHBACK: An editing convention in which we are returned from the
cinematic present to the past; events are shown which took place earlier
than what we have already seen.
FOCAL LENGTH: The distance from the actual camera lens to the point at
which objects will appear in focus. (See Telephoto Lens, Wide-Angle Lens).
FOCUS: The clarity and sharpness of the image, usually limited to a certain
range distance from the camera. (See Deep Focus, Shallow Focus).
FRAME: The physical boundary of the screen image.
FRAMING: The selection of the frame, i.e. of the boundaries and edges of
an image or a shot.
FREEZE FRAME: A film image that appears not to move, thus simulating a
still photograph. Achieved by printing the same image many times in
succession on the film.
FRONTAL LIGHTING: Illumination cast upon the figures from a position
near the camera.
GAFFER: The chief electrician and lighting supervisor on the set of a film.
GENRE: A type of film narrative recognizable by various repeatable
conventions and audience expectations. (Westerns, musicals, horror films,
and melodramas are all examples of genres).
GRAPHIC MATCH: Strong visual similarity (color, shape, movement)
between two shots which are not diegetically related.
HIGH CONTRAST: A style of lighting emphasizing harsh shafts and
dramatic streaks of lights and darks.
JUMP CUT: A cut that involves discontinuity in the course of a single
action. An abrubt transition between shots, in a single scene, which has a
jarring or disorienting effect. (See Elliptical Editing).
LONG SHOT: A shot which takes in a great quantity of space, and in which
the scale of the objects shown is therefore relatively small (opposite of
Close-Up).
LONG TAKE: A single take that continues for a considerable duration of
time. (Not to be confused with Long Shot).
MATCH ON ACTION: In Continuity Editing, a cut which combines different
takes of the same action in such a way that the action seems to proceed
uninterruptedly.
MEDIUM SHOT: A shot in which scales are intermediate between the
Close-Up and the Long Shot (e.g. a human figure seen from the knees or
waist up).
MISE-EN-SCENE: Those elements of the film which are present in the
scenes that the camera shoots. This includes both the staging of the action
and the way that it is photographed: e.g. settings, props, lighting, costumes,
and framing, as well as the behavior and movement of the characters.
(Contrast Montage).
MONTAGE: Literally just means "editing"; but is used to refer to those
elements of the film which are not present in the scenes as they are being
shot but are added afterward: e.g. the way various shots are put together,
the addition of non-diegetic elements, etc. (Contrast Mise-En-Scene). A
Montage Style is a style of filmmaking in which such elements are
emphasized or used self-consciously. In films faithful to the system of
Continuity Edition, Montage Sequences—a series of typical and rapidly
changing images—is often used to mark the passage of time.
NONDIEGETIC INSERT: Images which are not part of the Diegesis.
NONDIEGETIC (or NONSYNCHRONOUS) SOUND: Sounds which are not
part of the Diegesis (like mood-setting music).
OFF-SCREEN SPACE: The implied filmic space beyond the limits of the
frame at a given moment, often ignored in Continuity Editing—which insists
that all relevant action be visible within the frame—but which has played a
crucial role in certain experimental or unconventional films.
PAN: A camera movement in which a motionless camera turns horizontally
(right or left). (Contrast Tilt, Tracking Shot).
POINT OF VIEW SHOT: A shot taken from the perspective of a particular
character, showing what he or she sees.
POSTSYNCHRONIZATION: The process of adding sounds to images during
the editing process, instead of recording them directly.
PROCESS SHOT: Any special effects shot involving the combination of
images originally shot separately, and then rephotographed so that they
appear to constitute a single space.
RACK FOCUS: Changing the area of sharp focus from one plane to another
in the course of a single shot.
REACTION SHOT: A shot that cuts away from the main action to show a
character's reaction to it.
REAR PROJECTION: A Process Shot in which a foreground action is shot
against a background filmed earlier and projected onto a rear screen, so
that the latter looks like the set or surroundings for the former.
REESTABLISHING SHOT: A return to a previous Establishing Shot, after an
intermediate sequence of closer shots. In the system of Continuity Editing,
surrounding an action with establishing and reestablishing shots helps to
produce a sense of closure, and unity of place and action.
REFRAMING: Camera movements which follow the characters'
movements, to keep them centered in the frame.
REVERSE ANGLE SHOT: A shot taken from an angle 180 degrees opposed
to the previous shot. Often used in sequences involving Shot/Reverse Shot.
SCENE or SEQUENCE:: A segment of a film possessing a certain degree of
dramatic unity, i.e. that takes place in a single time and space, or that uses
crosscutting to show two or more simultaneous actions. A Scene is usually
composed of many different Shots. (But see Sequence Shot).
SEOJLJENCE SHOT: The encompassing of an entire Scene in a single shot or
Long Take; an unusual, bravura procedure, that often involves complex
staging, and elaborate reframings and camera movements.
SHALLOW FOCUS: Photographing the scene in such a way that only a
restricted space very near the camera is in focus.
SHALLOW SPACE: An arrangement of the scene such that there is a very
restricted depth of field; thus, the actual two-dimensionality of the screen
image is heightened, at the expense of the illusion of three-dimensionality.
The result is artificially flat-looking compositions, used by certain directors
for deliberate stylistic effect.
SHOT or TAKE: One uninterrupted run of the camera, leading to one
uninterrupted image-sequence.
SHOT/REVERSE SHOT: Regular alternation between two shots which are
both parts of a single scene; for example, when a conversation is filmed by
showing first one speaker, then the other, and so on (contrast Two-Shot).
SOFT FOCUS: The deliberate blurring out of focus of all but one particular
image range. Or, the blurring and softening of the image (through the use
of filters or even vaseline spread over the camera lens) in order to create a
dreamy, romantic effect.
SYNCRHONOUS SOUND: Sound which seems to be a natural part of the
action, i.e. to derive from within the diegesis. (Not the same as Direct
Sound; since sound which corresponds to the action on screen is often
recorded afterward, rather than actually at the time of shooting the film).
TELEPHOTO LENS: A lens of long focal length that flattens out
perspective, thus making distant planes and objects seem closer to the
camera than they actually are. This can have the effect of making motion
toward or away from the camera seem unnaturally slow.
TIGHT FRAMING: Framing the characters in action so closely that there is
very little sense of the space around them,* hence the characters may seem
(subjectively) to have very little freedom of movement.
TILT: A camera movement in which a motionless camera turns vertically
(up or down). (Contrast Pan, Tracking Shot).
TRACKING SHOT: A single continuous shot made with a moving camera
(Contrast Tilt, Pan).
TWO-SHOT: A medium shot showing two people at once within the same
frame. (Contrast Shot/Reverse Shot).
WIDE-ANGLE LENS: A lens of short focal length that exaggerates the
distance between foreground and background planes, and thus skews and
distorts perspective.
WIDE-SCREEN: A movie image which has a much wider Aspect Ratio than
is customary, sometimes as much as 2.55:1 (instead of the usual 1.33:1 or •
1.85:1). Cinemascope is the best-known Wide-Screen process.
WIPE: Transition from one shot to another in which a line passes across the
screen, replacing as it goes the first image with the second one.