Film Vocabulary PDF

Preview

Summary

An introduction to film vocabulary...

Description

Basics Auteur: French for “author”, used to indicate the figure (usually the director), who stamped a film with his/her “personality” Metteurs en scène: scene setter, suggests that director did not add personal aesthetics; usually transcribed a work achieved in another medium into film Diegesis: the story of the film or elements that make up the universe portrayed (objects, events spaces, characters, etc) ● Diegetic: pertaining to the diegesis, exists within the universe of the film (eg: diegetic sound refers to sound that characters in the film can hear) Editing: the joining together of clips of film; the cut is the simplest edit Flashback/Flash Forward: a jump backward/forward in diegetic time Focus: an object in focus is sharp and well defined; mainly affected by the lens ● Deep focus: objects in foreground, midground, and background are equally in focus at once ● Shallow focus: objects on only one plane are in focus, while objects in foreground and background are out of focus ● Rack focus: the focus is switched between one person/thing to the other (eg: filming conversation between person in foreground and person in background); usually accomplished by zoom lens Genres: types of film recognized by audiences and/or producers, distinguished by narrative or stylistic conventions; made necessary by high volume industrial production Mise-en-scene: all things “put in the scene” (setting, decor, lighting, costumes, performance, etc) Story: events the audience inferred to have occurred based on what they are shown by plot Plot: events directly presented in the film, specifically the order, duration, and setting of those events, as well as the relation between them Scene/Sequence: scene is a segment of a narrative film that usually takes place in a single time and place, often with the same characters; sequence is used interchangeably with scene but could refer to a longer segment of film (eg: montage sequence) Shot: a single stream of images uninterrupted by editing, one of the basic units of cinema

Mise-en-scene Decor: objects contained in and the setting of a scene, can be used to amplify character emotion or the film’s dominant mood Rear projection: used to combine foreground action with a background often shot earlier, preferred for both economic reasons and esthetics Lighting: intensity, direction, and quality of lighting greatly affect the way an image is perceived as light affects colors and focuses attention ● Three-point lighting: standard lighting scheme for classical narrative cinema; backlight picks out the subject from background, key light highlights the object, fill light prevents stark shadows ● High key lighting: fill light is raised to almost the same level as key light, producing images that are very bright, featuring few shadows on the subjects ● Low key lighting: employs little fill light, creating strong contrasts and often strong shadows obscuring part of the principal subjects; often associated with suspense genres such as film noir Space: depth, proximity, size and proportions of the places and objects in a film Deep space: significant elements of an image are positioned both near to and distant from the camera, objects do not have to be in focus Shallow space: background appears close to the foreground, scene has little depth; can create striking patterns or claustrophobic images Frontality: the staging of elements, often human figures, so that they face the camera face on Direct address: characters speak to the camera Matte shot: process shot in which two photographic images are combined into a single image, used to add elements in realistic scene or to create fantasy spaces Offscreen space: space that exists in the diegesis but is not visible, commonly used for suspense Costumes: the clothes that the characters wear; signifies character, advertise particular fashions, or makes clear distinctions between characters Acting: performance by actors Typage: refers to the selection of actors based on their facial or bodily features that convey the truth of the character the actor plays, related to the use of stereotypes Cinematography Quality: the “how” is as important as the “what” in the cinema, as the look of the image affects its reception Color: used to create aesthetic patterns and to establish character or emotion; does not necessarily carry exclusive meanings (eg: red can signify passion or stagnation and blood) Contrast: the ratio of dark to light in an image; low contrast achieves a more naturalistic lighting, while high contrast is usually associated with low key lighting. A common cliche is to use contrast to distinguish between good and evil, contrast may also be used to draw on racist/sexist connotations

Deep focus: objects in foreground, midground, and background are equally in focus at once; used occasionally, but some auteurs use it consistently as they believe it gives a truer representation of space Shallow focus: only keeps one plane in sharp focus, used to direct the viewer’s attention to one element of a scene, common in close-up. Suggests psychological introspection, since the character appears oblivious to the world around Depth of field: distance through which elements in an image are in sharp focus; shallow depth of field is often used to focus audience attention on the most significant aspect of a scene Exposure: the camera lens’s aperture controls how much light passes through, the more light, the more exposed the image ● Overexposed: a wide aperture is used, producing an image so pale that details begin to disappear ● Underexposed: a narrow aperture is used, producing an image darker than normal Racking focus: the practice of changing the focus of a lens so that an element in one plane goes out of focus while an element in another comes into focus; used to steer audience attention and link two spaces or objects; the technique tries to mimic a brief, fleeting glance that can be used to quicken the tempo Rate: a typical sound film is shot at 24 frames per second; if the number of frames exposed per second is increased, the action would seem to move slower when played back, conversely, the fewer the number of frame exposed per second, the more rapid the resulting action Telephoto shot: an image shot with an extremely long lens; compresses the apparent depth of an image, such that elements at different distances from the camera seem to lie within the same plane Zoom shot: uses a lens that allows the filmmaker to change the focal length of the lens Framing: the edges of the image creates of fram that determines the profilmic event Angle of framing: most films are shot at the same height as its subject, however, it is possible to film from a position significantly lower or higher than the element of the shot (low angle and high angle); can be used to indicate relation between character and camera’s POV or used to create striking visual compositions Aspect ratio: until the 1950s, almost all film was shot in a 4:3 ratio, but widescreen formats became more popular in a variety of aspect ratios; trimming the original films can effectively alter the original compositions, thus creating a different impression Level of framing: camera level is used to signify sympathy for characters who occupy particular levels in the image, or to create pleasurable compositions; a low level camera is placed close to the ground, while a high level camera would be placed above the typical perspective Canted framing: a view in which the frame is not level: either the right or left side is lower than the other, causing objects to appear slanted. Used to create an impression of chaos and instability, thus associated with the frantic rhythms of actions films, music videos, and animation Following shot: a shot with framing that shifts to keep a moving figure on screen

Reframing: short panning or tilting movements to adjust for the figure’s movements; unobtrusive as the character’s actions take precedence over the camera movements Point of view shot: a shot taken with the camera placed approximately where the character’s eyes would be, showing what the character would see; usually cut in before or after a shot of the character looking Wide angle lens: a lens of short focal lens that affects perspective by distorting straight lines near the edges of the frame and by exaggerating the distance between foreground and background planes; convenient for shooting in a closed location Scale: shot scale signifies an object quite differently; it can either foster intimacy with a character or swallow the character in its environment Extreme long shot: framing in which the scale of the object shown is very small (building, landscape, or crowd will fill the screen); can function as establishing shots Bird’s eye view shot: a type of extreme long shot typically shot from air with the help of cranes or helicopters Long shot: framing in which a standing human figure would appear nearly the height of the screen; makes for a relatively stable shot that can accommodate movement without reframing; also shows a character’s surrounding Medium long shot: framing in which an object four or five feet would fill most of the screen vertically; also known as plain américain as it is commonly used in the Western genre to keep a cowboy’s weapon in the image Medium close up: framing in which a human figure seen from the chest up would fill most of the screen Close up: framing in which a person’s head would fill the frame; scale sizes are not necessarily universal and frames do not need to include people Extremely close up: framing in which a part of the body or a small object is shot with a zoom lens; faces are most common Movement: many ways to move a camera that establishes the tracking shot (eg: fluid long takes, rapid and confusing motions, etc) Crane shot: shot with a change in framing rendered by having the camera above the ground and moving through the air in some direction; often extreme long shots that create a feeling of omniscience Handheld camera/steadycam: the use of the camera operator’s body as a camera support; initially used by news reporters and was adopted by documentarists avant-garde filmmakers. Handheld cam created an unstable, jerky feel that lent spontaneity to the film while allowing greater flexibility; stabilized “steadicams” were invented in the 1970s that made smooth “tracking” shots possible Pan: camera movement with the camera body turning to the right or left, producing a mobile framing that scans the place horizontally; directly connects two places or characters, making aware of their proximity

Tilit: camera movement with the camera body swiveling upward or downward on a stationary support, producing a mobile framing that scans the space vertically; also implies a change in the offscreen space and can be used for suspense Tracking shot: mobile framing that travels through space forward, backward, or laterally Whip pan: extremely fast movement of the camera from side to side, causing the image to blur briefly; an imperceptible cut often joins two whip pans to create a trick transition commonly used in action genres Editing Transitions: work in editing to join shots together Cheat cut: a cut which seems to show continuous time and space from shot to shot but actually mismatches the position of figures or objects (eg: removing a wall present in previous shots to include an element important to the film) Crosscutting: aka parallel editing, editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously Cut in, cut away: an instantaneous shift from a distant framing to a closer view of some portion of the same space, and vice versa Dissolve: transition during which the first image gradually disappears while the second gradually appears, and the two images blend in superimposition for a moment; can be used to suggest hallucinatory states Iris: a round, moving mask that can close down to end a scene or emphasize a detail (iris out), or open to begin a scene or reveal more space around a detail (iris in); common device of early films Jump cuts: can be used expressively to suggest ruminations or ambivalences; also a clear signifier of rupture that reflect the artificiality and difficulties associated with the story telling Establishing shot: a shot that usually uses distant framing to show the spatial relations among the elements in a scene; usually the first few shots in a scene Reestablishing shot: final establishing shot that shows the spatial relationships introduced with the establishing shots once more Shot/reverse shot: two or more shots edited together that alternate characters; typically used in a conversation situation with eyeline matching Superimposition: exposure of more than one image on the same film strip; often used to allow the same performer to appear simultaneously as two characters, to express subjective or intoxicated vision, or to introduce a narrative element from another part of the diegetic world Wipe: transition between shots in which a line passes across the screen, eliminating the first shot and replacing it with the next one; usually used in action films, suggesting a brief temporal ellipsis (break in time) and a connection between the two images Matches: editing matches refer to those techniques that join as well as divide two shots by making some form of connection between them

Eyeline match: the first shot shows a person and the second shot shows a nearby space containing what he or she sees; growing interest can be reflected by matching close-ups of the person’s face the object of interest Graphic match: two successive shots joined to create a strong similarity of compositional elements (eg: matching shapes, color, etc); used for smooth transitions and metaphorical associations Duration: decision over the length of a shot can affect the experience of time by creating a gap between screen time and diegetic time or by establishing a fast or slow rhythm for the scene Long take: aka plan-sequence, a shot that continues for an unusually lengthy time; generally, any shot above one minute can be considered a long take; moving long takes are difficult to achieve and have to be choreographed and rehearsed Overlapping editing: cuts that repeat part or all of an action, expanding its view time and plot duration; typically featured in films in which action and movement take precedence over plot and dialogue Rhythm: perceived rate and regularity of sounds, series of shots, and movement; factors include beat, accent, and tempo. It directly contributes to a film’s mood and its overall impression and is one of the most complex to analyze; it can be seen as the final balance of all elements in a film Styles: the patterned use of transitions, matches, and duration can be identified as a cinematic style; styles are typically associated with historical moments, technological developments, or national schools Continuity Editing: system of cutting to maintain continuous and clear narrative action, relies upon matching screen direction position, and temporal relations from shot to shot. The 180° rule is typically used. 180° rule: dictates that the camera to stay in one of the areas on either side of the axis of action (imaginary line drawn between two major elements, usually two characters); this ensures that each character occupies a consistent area of the frame Montage: 1. Synonym for editing. 2. Approach to editing that emphasizes dynamic, often discontinuous, relationships between shots and the juxtaposition of images to create ideas not present in either shot by itself (developed by Soviet filmmakers of the 1920s) Elliptical editing: short transitions that omit parts of an event, causing an ellipses in plot and story; does not need to be confined to the same place and time and can be used as a form of montage Sound Sound editing: sound in cinema does not always match the image, nor does it have to be continuous; the sound bridge is used to ease transitions between shots in the continuity style; it can also be used to reintroduce events from earlier in the diegesis

Sound bridge: can lead in or out of a scene; sound from the previous scene can carry over briefly to the next, or the next scene can be heard before the image appears; most common transition in continuity style as it stresses the connection between both scenes Sonic flashback: sound from one diegetic time is heard over images from a later time; often carries moral or emotional overtone, making a character’s motivation explicit Source: refers to the place of a sound in relation to the frame and to the world of the film; can be onscreen or offscreen, diegetic or non diegetic, recorded with the film or separately Diegetic sound: any sound presented as originating from a source within the film’s world ● External diegetic sounds: sounds any character can hear ● Internal diegetic sounds: sounds inside a character’s mind that no one else can hear Non diegetic: any sound originating from outside the film (such as background music) Direct sound: the music, noise, and speech of the profilmic event recorded at the moment of filming; multiple microphones are usually used to record with most clarity Post Synchronization dubbing: process of adding sounds to images after they have been shot and assembled; can include dubbing of voices and inserting diegetic music or sound effects Nonsimultaneous sound: diegetic sounds that comes from a source in time earlier or later than the image it accompanies (eg: a voice recording by a character); often used to suggest recurrent obsessions and other hallucinatory states Offscreen sound: simultaneous sound from a source assumed to be in the space of the scene but outside what is visible on screen Sound perspective: the sense of a sound’s position in space, created by volume, timbre, pitch, and binaural information; used to create a more realistic sense of space, with events occurring closer or further away Synchronous sound: sound that is matched in time with the movements occurring in the image (eg: dialogue corresponds to lip movements) Voice over: when a voice, often that of a character in the film, is heard while we see an image of a space and time in which the character is not actually speaking; widely associated with film noir and film adaptations of literature Quality: the aural properties of a sound has a major effect on a film’s aesthetic; a film can register the space in which a sound is produced, or it can manipulate a sound for dramatic purposes...