Film Terminology

Question 1

mise-en-scene

Answer 1

• how the visual materials are staged/framed/photographed
• everything in front of the camera
• lighting, props, costumes, sets, etc.
• theatrics of space

Question 2

composition

Answer 2

• how the elements of the mise-en-scene appear in the shot
• perspective/focus, framing, angle etc.
• dominant and subsidary contrast
• intrinsic interest

Question 3

medium shot

Answer 3

seeing figure from waist up

Question 4

close up shot

Answer 4

• face/shoulders

- used to show emotion

Question 5

long shot

Answer 5

• see entire person

- focus on background

Question 6

extreme close up

Answer 6

• only show part of face

- emotion

Question 7

Dutch/canted angle

Answer 7

• tilted

- disorientation

Question 8

low angle

Answer 8

• looking up at subject

- assertion of power

Question 9

high angle

Answer 9

• looking down at subject

- weakness

Question 10

tilt

Answer 10

move camera up/down

Question 11

pan

Answer 11

move camera back and forth

Question 12

tracking/3D shot

Answer 12

camera moving

Question 13

editing

Answer 13

• pace/rhythm
• continuity/invisible editing
• establisihing shot
• shot/reverse-shot

Question 14

onscreen sound

Answer 14

coming from what’s on screen

Question 15

offscreen sound

Answer 15

coming from someone/something offscreen

Question 16

diagetic sound

Answer 16

• coming from an object on the screen

- can be on or off screen

Question 17

nondiagetic sound

Answer 17

soundtrack, not in world

Question 18

narrative cueing

Answer 18

sound giving a clue about what’s happening/about to happen in the scene

Question 19

intimate

Answer 19

up to 1 1/2 feet away

Question 20

personal

Answer 20

1 1/2 to 4 ft

Question 21

social

Answer 21

4-8 ft away

Question 22

public

Answer 22

8+ ft away

Question 23

open form

Answer 23

• looks very natural
• spontinaety and directness
• formal beauty sacrificed for truth
• dramatic action leads the camera

Question 24

closed form

Answer 24

• stylistically arranged
• emphasize the unfamiliar
• anticipatory setups

Question 25

Kuleshov effect

Answer 25

• connect shots and make meaning
• changes middle shot but the other shots stay the same
• assumptions
• juxtaposition

Question 26

tone

Answer 26

range and texture of colours

Question 27

perspective

Answer 27

• spatial relationship btwn diff objects and figures

- depth of shot, determined by focus

Question 28

centre of frame

Answer 28

most important figure usually goes here

Question 29

top of frame

Answer 29

power, authority, aspiration

Question 30

bottom of frame

Answer 30

subservience, vulnerability, powerlessness

Question 31

two-ppl-shot

Answer 31

couple, shared space

Question 32

triadic compositions

Answer 32

dynamic interplay btwn 3 main elements

Question 33

circular composition

Answer 33

security, enclosure, female principle

Question 34

3 visual planes

Answer 34

1. foreground
2. middleground
3. background

Question 35

full front

Answer 35

most intimate

Question 36

quarter turn

Answer 36

intimate but less than full front

Question 37

3 quarter turn

Answer 37

more anonymous

Question 38

back to camera

Answer 38

closed off, mysterious