Film Image Terminology Flashcards
What is the frame?
The denotation of boundaries around the image, and also the “canvas” of the image and its internal arrangements
What is a shot?
An image that extends between any two edits (like a sentence that extends between
two punctuations). Defined by duration as well as visual qualities.
What is a mise-en-scène?
An umbrella term for what you see in the frame or shot - the ingredients of the frame: placement, lighting, and parts put together to make the picture
What is an extreme long shot?
It dwarfs the human
form within its surroundings
What is an establishing shot?
When an extreme long shot arrives at the beginning of a sequence
(often to set the scene
What is a full shot?
It frames a whole human body
almost exactly, with little extra margin at the top and bottom of the frame
What is a medium shot?
It frames the human body
from the torso up
What are two-shots?
Medium shots of two
people, often conversing
What is a close-up?
It frames any object or any part
of the body, most often the face, with an intimacy that stays within the bounds of “realistic” or day-to-day vision
What is an extreme close-up (ECU)?
Isolates a single feature of the body or detail of an object, with an intense intimacy that exceeds the limits of customary vision
What is a high-angle shot?
It frames the mise-en-
scène from an elevated angle, looking
down on people, objects, etc
What is a low-angle shot?
It frames the mise-en-
scène from a depressed angle, looking
upward at people, objects, etc., often
conferring power or threat
What is an overhead shot?
An exaggerated type
of high-angle shot that looks down from an absolutely perpendicular, bird’s eye vantage, usually with estranging results (especially in medium shots or close-ups)
What is a point-of-view shot?
Can be framed from any angle or distance, but the shot as well as the editing must imply that the frame originates exactly from the perspective of a character
What is a canted/tilted shot?
When the camera frames the
mise-en-scène from a tilted or diagonal angle, so that the world is thrown off its usual perpendicular axis
What is the depth of field?
Pertains both to cinematography (how much does the camera see, and how far does its gaze extend?)
What is shallow field/limited depth of field?
It clarifies objects in the foreground but not the background, and sometimes not even the middle-ground
What is deep focus?
Where many planes of action arrive with equal clarity—everything weighted in the same terms of focus
What is a lateral pan?
A fixed camera movement in which the camera swivels sideways on its axis rather than traveling anywhere
What is a tilt?
When a camera pans upward or downward instead of sideways
What are zooms (in and out)?
They relate to fixed-camera movements in that the image changes without the camera having to physically travel
What are tracking shots/dolly shots?
Traveling-camera movements made possible by tracks laid down for the camera to glide over or the wheeled platform (or “dolly”) that carries the camera along these tracks
What is a handheld shot?
It jostles in all directions,
because it has been taken off
its tripod
What is a crane shot?
It floats up and down a vertical axis, starting high and moving low (or vice
versa), often while tilting and panning
What is an aerial/helicopter shot?
Is loftier than a crane shot, literally
flies over the action, often by mounting the camera on or inside a helicopter
What is high-contrast lighting?
Picking up details in the lighter portions of the frame
What is a wide palette?
The colors and tones that lend visual vitality to a scene
What is a narrow palette?
Lack of colors and tones that lend visual vitality to a scene
What is low-contrast lighting?
Picking up details in the darker portions of the frame
Scene vs. sequence?
A sequence is a chapter while the scene is a subset of a sequence
