Basic Film Terms - Lecture notes 2-6,3-4.4-8 PDF

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This was a mandatory assignment. The professor made these notes worth 25% of the grade as she graded them for not-taking as well as attendance. Most of the information derived in these notes is from regularly attending class and understanding/ explaining all the concepts in your own words..
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Basic Film Terms

-Explained in my own words. (Research conducted from several sources- which are cited on a works cited page below):

shot – the basic unit of filmmaking; a continuously exposed, unedited piece of film; no specified length – what is recorded from the time the camera starts to the time it stops; a single take Basic shots: • establishing shot – usually an extreme long or long shot at the beginning of a film, or scene, that provides the viewer with a context (location, time period, era) for the story and/or shots that follow • CU (close up) – a shot in which the camera is very close to the person or object; is effective for conveying a character’s emotions, reactions or state of mind; also functions to isolate the subject; the psychological equivalent of paying close attention • MS (medium shot) – generally shows a character from the knees or waist up, or the full figure of a seated character; can contain more than one character; effective for showing the interrelationship between characters, showing a character in particular surroundings, or bridging long shots and close ups • LS (long shot) – a shot that shows the subject at a distance, while taking in some of the surrounding environment as well; an extreme long shot is at a great distance from the subject and generally takes in a wide view of the location • two-shot – usually a medium or close shot featuring two people; a basic shot for conversations, so popular in Hollywood, it’s often referred to as the “American shot” • three-shot – a shot of three people, usually at medium range or in medium close up • POV (point-of-view shot, first-person camera, subjective camera) – any shot that is taken from the vantage point of a character in the film, showing what the character sees; a shot that, at least momentarily puts the audience in the character’s shoes • OSS (over-the-shoulder shot) – frequently used in conversations, this shot is made over the shoulder of one character, focusing past them on some object or person that he or she is seeing; most often, the camera switches back and forth during the scene, giving the view the perspectives and reactions of the characters as they engage in conversation

Basic moving camera shots: • panning – shots that scan a scene horizontally, taken from a stationary point, with the camera mounted on a tripod; swish pan is a variation in which the camera is moved so quickly that only blurred images are recorded • titling shots – vertical movements of the camera around a stationary horizontal axis • crane shot – a crane is used when the camera needs to be mobile; it can follow a person up a flight of stairs, track a character from a distance, pass over crowds and focus on an individual, move over obstacles, provide a high angle vantage point • dolly (trucking or tracking) shots – are taken from a moving vehicle, usually a dolly (a dolly is a mobile platform on wheels that supports the camera, camera operator, and often the assistant cameraman, and allows the camera to make noiseless, moving shots in a relatively small area) • zoom – a shot taken with a zoom lens in which the focal length of the lens changes from wide angle to long focus, or the reverse, so that the camera seems to move in to (i.e. “zoom in” to) or away from (i.e. “zoom out” from) the subject while the camera actually remains stationary; they have the effect of plunging the viewer into a scene, but are not often used by professional cinematographers because they call attention to the technology • hand-held shots – are generally less lyrical, more noticeable than vehicular shots; often jumpy and ragged, these shots are often used for pov shots, or to simulate a documentary feel, as in the opening sequence of Finding Private Ryan • aerial shot – a variation of the crane shot, restricted to exterior locations and usually taken from a helicopter Basic camera angles: • the bird’s eye view – most disorienting shot, since it’s taken from directly overhead; it is unnatural to view things from this angle, so it is not often used; omnipotent pov • high angle – a shot taken from above the subject, thereby reducing the height and appearance of a character; the shot can emphasize a character’s vulnerability or diminish his or her stature • eye-level shot – a shot taken by the camera approximately five of six feet from the ground, to represent the pov of an observer of average height. This shot symbolically places the viewer on an even level with the character(s). • low angle shots – taken from beneath eye-level, with the camera looking up at the subject; these shots make the subject appear large, dominant and even threatening (Darth

Vadar, for example) • oblique angle – involves the lateral tilt of the camera; when the image is projected, the horizon appears skewed, characters and objects seem to lean to one side; canted angle Proxemic Patterns – the relationships of organisms in a given space. Spatial conventions vary from culture to culture, and these cultural and contextual conventions – climate, noise level, dgree of light – tend to alter space between people (Giannetti 77). The four major proxemic patterns/camera distances: • intimate distances – range from skin contact to about 18 inches away; this is the physical distance of involvement – love, comfort, “personal space” • personal distance – ranges from about 18 inches to about four feet; people can touch if necessary, as with a hand shake; this type of space is reserved for friends and acquaintances, preserve privacy • social distances – range from four to twelve feet, and are usually reserved for casual social gatherings and impersonal business events; more formal than personal distance • public distance – extend from 12 to 25 feet or more; formal distance in which people must often exaggerate their gestures and raise their voices, as with public speaking take – a single, uninterrupted recording of a shot; the continuous operation of the camera in recording a single version of a shot mise-en-scène – a French theatrical term, which translates to “putting in the scene,” used to describe the director’s control of such cinematic elements as lighting, sets, locations, props, make-up, costumes and blocking. It encompasses both the staging of the action and the way that it’s photographed. Think of it as atmosphere and composition. motif – borrowed from music, where it refers to a recurring refrain, a motif is a subject, idea, object, phrase, musical passage, compositional effect, film technique, or color that reappears throughout a work, thereby taking on symbolic significance. depth of field / deep focus shot – a technique of photography that permits all distance planes to remain clearly in focus, from close-up ranges to infinity. This technique can be more realistic because is approximates the way we see. fade-in – a gradual transition from black to a full view of the image fade-out – a transition from an image to black dissolve – the simultaneous fading out of one shot and the gradual fading in of another, with a superimposition of the two images, usually at midpoint

genre – a recognizable type or category of movie, characterized by certain pre-established conventions; examples include westerns, sci-fi, musicals, and road movies. evolution of genres: experimental stage (conventions are established), classic stage (conventions are mutually understood by artist and audience), an age of refinement ( during which certain formal and stylistic details embellish the form, or variations on the form are created), and finally, the stage of self-reflexivity and/or parody. (Schatz 36-41) archetype – a basic character type, or pattern of action, that appears repeatedly throughout literature, drama, or film and that is an embodiment of specific human fears, needs or desires. Such figures – the hero, villain, mother, father, virgin, whore – are not tied to any historical period, but rather tap into the universal unconsciousness of all ages. The theory of archetypes has been much influenced by the psychology of Carl Jung, and has been especially developed by Northrop Frye in his Anatomy of Criticism (1956). Frye’s archetypal criticism has much applicability for film study, especially since it makes no distinction between elitist and popular art (Konigsberg 17). Lighting styles: • high-key lighting – generally bright, even illumination, with few shadows; usually used for lighter subjects such as comedies, musicals and romance • low-key lighting – darker, more brooding, and harsher than high-key lighting, most often found in dramas, horror films and thrillers; the low amount of fill light used produces shadows and dark areas “where evil lurks” • chiaroscuro lighting – high contrast lighting; the arrangement of light and dark in a composition; visual designs emphasize harsh lighting contrasts, jagged shapes, and violated surfaces, as seen in films noir and/or German Expressionist films, where the tone of the lighting is symbolic of pessimism and the darker aspects of the human condition • back lighting – the result of placing a light source behind the subject so as to produce a silhouette effect Editing styles: • straight cut – an immediate change from one shot to another; in film, the result of splicing two pieces of film together to form one continuous strip • elliptical editing – cutting away from a scene before the action is complete, as in The Great Train Robbery; can result in a jump cut • jump cut – an abrupt transition between shots, which is obvious, jarring, and often disorienting in terms of the continuity of space and time • cutting to continuity – arranging the shots in such a way that all of the action is not

shown, but the continuity of space and time is maintained and the viewer is unaware of any omissions • classical cutting – cutting for dramatic or emotional effect rather than continuity: for example, suddenly cutting from a long shot of an actor to a close up • cross cutting – alternating between shots at two or more locations, suggesting that they are taking place simultaneously; often used in chase scenes, the length of the shots will decrease as the scene continues, thereby creating suspense; developed by D.W. Griffith • match cut – a cut from one shot to another in which the two shots are matched in action or subject by (1) a continuity of action by the same character, (2) a similarity of action by two different characters; or (3) a similarity in two subjects’ shape and form – for example, the bone that “becomes” a space satellite in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey • eye-line match – in a conversation between two characters, A gets a cu while speaking; the next shot, a cut to B’s response, must be angled so that it appears that the two are actually looking at one another Soviet Montage: Kuleshov Effect – a shot (cinematic sign) has two values: 1. that which it possesses as a photographic image of reality 2. that which it acquires when juxtaposed with another shot or shots Eisenstein’s Dialectical Montage – based on Hegelian Dialectics which states: a force (thesis) collides with a counterforce (antithesis) and what results is a synthesis, that is, a wholly new phenomenon greater than A + B; when translated to film, this becomes the basis for Eisenstein’s Intellectual Montage: Shot A + Shot B ≠ A+B, but rather Shot A + Shot B = C (a new meaning) The five types of Eisensteinian Montage: 1. metric – this construction is based on the physical length of the pieces of film which are joined together to create a scene or sequence; corresponds to a measure of music 2. rhythmic – the patterns in which the lengths of film are organized; in determining both the lengths and patterns, the content of the shots must also be taken into consideration 3. tonal – Eisenstein calls this the “emotional sound” of a piece, but it most closely resembles mood or atmosphere created by lighting 4. over-tonal – greatly simplified, this is the overall effect of the first three types of montage on the audience. “The effect of the various forms of montage on the psychophysiological complex of the person on the receiving end.”

5. intellectual montage – expressing abstract ideas via the juxtaposition of two or more totally unrelated shots in order to create a “new meaning” in the mind of the spectator; Eisenstein’s attempt to recreate the creative process in the viewer

Works Cited Giannetti, Louis. Understanding Movies, 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. Konigsberg, Ira. The Complete Film Dictionary. New York: Pengiun/Meridian, 1987. Meyers, Charlie. Lecture notes and accumulated experience. Münsterberg, Hugo. The Film: A Psychological Study: The Silent Photoplay in 1916. New York: Dover, 1970. Schatz, Thomas. Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking, and the Studio System. New York: Random House, 1981....