Film Study Flashcards
Shot
One continuous piece of film footage, ending with an edit, or cut to the next shot
Sequence
A series of shots combined to represent a discrete set of actions or a coherent narrative section
Scene
Similar to a “sequence”, a series of shots combined to represent a set of actions happening within the same time and place
Motif
Anything repeated more than a few times in a film. A motif can be visual (an image or cinematic technique), sonic (a sound or piece of music), or rhetorical (a word, phrase, metaphor, etc)
Cinematography
A term used to define the ways in which the camera captures the shot. Includes camera lenses, how frames are shot, angle of the shot and camera movement
Editing
How the individual shots are spliced together
Mise-en-scène
The arrangement of actors and objects in front of the camera. Includes setting, lighting, costuming and acting
Sound
Refers to sounds that come from the scene, e.g. spoken dialogue or ambient noise, and sounds that are imposed on the scene, e.g. voice-overs or musical scores
Extreme long shot
Character’s full figure at a great distance, including panoramic view of the surroundings
Long shot
Includes the character’s full figure as well as the surroundings
Medium shot
Includes the figure from the waist up
Close-up
Includes the character’s face with little to no background
Extreme close-up
Includes a small part of the character’s body
High angle
Looks down on the subject
Low angle
Looks up at the subject
Canted angle
Framing is tipped or no longer horizontal
Pan
Scans horizontally from a fixed axis
Tilt
Scans vertically from a fixed axis
Track
Follows the action, traveling along a parallel path to capture the movement
Deep focus
Objects in background and foreground are equally in focus
Shallow focus
Only objects in one plane are in focus, while others are out of focus
Rack focus
A shift from one plane of focus to another within a shot
Superimposition
Images are overlaid within the frame
Digital animation
Images created or modified by computer software
Frame
Spatial parameters of a shot within which the scene is composed
Composition
Arrangement of subjects, props and environments in a given shot
Level of realism
Degree to which the world of the film resembles the audience’s familiar reality
Diegetic sound
Sound produced in the world of the film, taking place within the narrative e.g. dialogue, sound effects, etc.
Non-diegetic sound
Sound originating from outside the narrative, not produced in the on-screen setting e.g. voice-overs, soundtrack etc.
