English Flashcards
High angle shot
Shot from above to suggest vulnerability and weakness
Low angle shot
Shot from below to suggest power or dominance
Long shot
Shows the subject from head to toe, to fit the screen. Little background is shown.
Mid shot
Shot which shows a person from the waist up. Used in conversation and to show body language.
Close-Up
Shows a person from the shoulders up. This shot is used to show facial expression and emotions of the characters.
Tilt
When the camera tilts vertically through 90°to make the subject appear larger than life.
Bird’s-Eye-View
Shot from above, using a helicopter or crane.
Establishing shot
Shot to establish the setting and time period (usually used at the beginning of the film, or a scene). Often a wide shot.
Wide Shot
A shot where the characters appear small in the frame. Background will be shown, to place the character.
Extreme close-up
Shot where the focus is on a feature of the face such as eyes, nose, lips.
Intimate Distance
The participants are very close to each other OR a participant is very close to the responder. This suggests that the relationship is close.
Personal Distance
The participants are close to each other OR a participant is close to the responder. This is like knowing a person and speaking to them occasionally but not being their best friend.
Social Distance
The participants are clearly separate from each other OR a participant is far away from the responder. This suggests that the relationship is distant and the participants don’t know each other well.
Colour (symbolism)
Each colour suggests certain ideas.
Gaze: demand
The participant looks directly at the responder. The responder must react in a certain way.
Gaze: offer
The participant does not make direct eye contact with the responder. The responder is not obligated to react in a certain way.
Vectors
The largest or most dominant part of the image. This is the thing you look at first. This may be achieved through layout, size or colour.
Given
When an advertisement is divided vertically into two equal halves, the left hand side is the given information or the information the responder already knows.
New
When an advertisement is divided vertically into two equal halves, the right hand side is the new information or the information the composer wants the responder to learn.
Colour (saturation)
High colour saturation (a block of one colour) , especially in colour that doesn’t occur naturally, suggests that the content is unrealistic or fake just like the colour. Low colour saturation suggests authenticity or realism. Differing saturation manipulate emotions, or can indicate the past/future.
Symbolism
An image or object that is used to represent an abstract idea.
Layout
Where are things situated on the page?
How does the reading path, vectors, salience or framing help guide how we read a visual text?
Framing
Outlined shapes that separate elements of a visual text,
either naturally occuring (e.g. window frame) or man-made (e.g. box).
Juxtaposition
The contrast of two things to highlight differences.
Horizontal Compositional axis
If a text (usually this applies to advertisements) is split across the horizontal axis, the top half is low modality (not real; ideal) while the bottom half is high modality (real; factual; persuasive).
Vertical Compositional axis
If the text is split along the vertical axis, the left hand side is given (we already knew) and the right side is new information.
Rule of thirds
If a text (usually an advertisement) is divided into 9 equal portions, the most important information is located either in the centre portion or where the dividing lines intersect.
Ambient lighting
Refers to any light in a given scene that isn’t artificial light.
- natural light
Artificial light
Refers to light produced by electricity as opposed to a Natural source such as the sun.
Background lights
Can be used to illuminate the background, gaining more depth or separation in your image.
Low-key lighting
Illumination that creates the strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot, with deep shadows and little fill light.
*dark, shadowy
High-key lighting
Illumination that creates comparatively little contrast between the light and dark areas of the shot. Shadows are fairly transparent and brightened by fill light.
*bright, well lit
Personification
The act of attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas.
Anthropomorphism
Assigning human characteristics to non-human beings or things.
Zoomorphism
Applying animal characteristics to humans.
Typography
The setting and style of fonts.
Proportion/Size/Scale
Can create the illusion of depth, 2D, can create relationships of strength/weakness, can create a sense of vastness, and are useful in factual/scientific type diagrams.
Side-on Angle Shot
Associated with detachment from the audience.
Frontal Angle Shot
Associated with involvement with the audience.
Foreground/ Middleground/ Background
Used to indicate relationships between subjects/objects.
Horizontal and vertical lines
Suggests stability.
Diagonals, dots, and broken lines
Suggests motion.
Blur
Implies motion in an image.
Mist
Can imply memory or give prominance to a figure or idea.
Shapes and contours
Squarish shapes can suggest rigidness and harshness.
Curves can suggest softness.
Point-of-view Perspective
Viewing from a character, object or subject.
Neologisms
New words coined ususally because they sound attractive. Over the years advertising has contributed many such words to our language such as ‘crispy’, ‘chewy’ and ‘tangy’.
Repetitions
Ads frequently repeat key words, such as the brand name of a product, to keep the ad simple and memorable.
Imperatives
Verbs that demand action. Eg: ‘Try now’, ‘act now’, ‘drive’ or ‘treat yourself’.
Logo
A symbol or design that serves to identify an organisation, company, brand or product.
Slogan
A short, memorable phrase used in advertising or associated with a group or product.
Jargon
Specialised terminology for a specific group that is often difficult for outsiders to understand. Used to establish a sense of expertise of the company or group.
