Key Terminology Flashcards
Fixed axis
Camera rooted to spot
Pan
Left to right
Tilt
Up and down
Swish pan
Whip pan
Fast; catches person doing something they shouldn’t
Dolly shot
Camera moves towards/away from scene on rail tracks
Tracking shot
Camera follows sideways
Frozen moment
Camera moves around subject, e.g. Matrix
Available light
Naturally occurring
Artificial light
3 point lighting system:
- Key light: main source of light
- Fill light: fills shadows
- Back light: lights back of subject
Motivated lighting
Light is part of the scene itself
Chiaroscuro
Contrast between light and dark
Colour grading
Colour selectively tinged in a scene
Adjusts saturation: high is positive, low is grim
Rule of thirds
Frame separated into 3, natural way we expect frame to look
Jump cut
Shows passing of time, e.g. montage
Add urgency to scene, fast-paced
Cross-cutting
Cuts back and forth between locations (e.g. phone conversations)
Match on action
Camera follows action
Character moves, throws something, camera follows it
J-cut
Audio from next scene starts before you get to it
Hear it before you see it
L-cut
Audio based transition
Audio from one shot carries on to the next one
Fade
Dissolve to/from black
Dissolve
Blend scenes together, passing of time
Wipe
Smooth transition of scene
Iris in/out
Stylistic, black fade around one character
Continuous take
Invisible cut: illusion of continuity
Parallel sound
What we expect to hear as a result of actions on screen
Sound effects
Contrapuntal sound
Sound effect opposes/markedly different from what you expect
Asynchronous sound
Sound which occurs at a different time to when you expect, e.g. slow-mo, then sound
Sound flashback
A sound which reminds you of something that happened earlier
Memory
Sound bridge
Music covers a series of scenes, e.g. over a montage
Motif
Theme tune of a character
Pleonastic sound
Exaggerated, distorted sound
Realist acting style
Not doing much, emoting little, lowkey, natural
Classical acting style
Expected, most things are this style
Formalist acting style
Very staged, exaggerated performing
Aesthetic
The look and feel of the film
Film offers 2 pleasures:
- the story
- the sensory spectacle/aesthetic
