Technical Terms

Question 1

Mise-en-scène

Answer 1

The setting or surroundings of an event or action in a movie

Question 2

Cinematic codes

Answer 2

Systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic

Question 3

Long lens

Answer 3

It is used to make distant objects appear magnified

Question 4

Wide-angle lens

Answer 4

A shot that shows the subject within their surrounding environment. A wide shot tells the audience who is in the scene, where the scene is set, and when the scene takes place

Question 5

Zoom lens

Answer 5

Altering the focal length of the lens to give the illusion of moving closer to or further away from the action

Question 6

Depth of field

Answer 6

The area in front of the camera that appears sharp in the frame. Can be either shallow or deep

Question 7

Long Take

Answer 7

A shot lasting much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general

Question 8

Long (or wide) shot

Answer 8

A view of a scene that is shot from a considerable distance, so that people appear as indistinct shapes

Question 9

Medium shot

Answer 9

Captured at a medium distance from the subject. It is used for dialogue scenes, but also depict body language and more of the setting

Question 10

Close-up

Answer 10

Type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. They do not include the broader scene

Question 11

Establishing shot

Answer 11

Sets up, or establishes the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects

Question 12

Tracking shot

Answer 12

The camera follows backward, forward or moves alongside the subject being recorded

Question 13

Pan

Answer 13

Rotating a camera on its horizontal axis in order to keep a moving person or object in view or allow the film to record a panorama

Question 14

Tilt

Answer 14

The camera stays in a fixed position but rotates up/down in a vertical plane

Question 15

Composition within the frame

Answer 15

Framing is the preliminary. Composing is where you put the elements together

Question 16

Handheld camera

Answer 16

Technique in which a camera is held in the camera operator’s hands as opposed to being mounted on a tripod or other base

Question 17

One-shot

Answer 17

A type of shot in which the frame encompasses one person

Question 18

Two-shot

Answer 18

A type of shot in which the frame encompasses two people

Question 19

Three-shot

Answer 19

A type of shot in which the frame encompasses three people

Question 20

Low-angle shot

Answer 20

A shot from a camera angle positioned lowon the vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line, looking up. Psychologically, the effect of the low-angle shot is that it makes the subject look strong and powerful

Question 21

High-angle shot

Answer 21

The camera looks down on the subject from a high angle and the point of focus often gets “swallowed up”. Makes the subject look weak

Question 22

Shot/ Reverse-shot

Answer 22

Technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character

Question 23

Editing/Montage

Answer 23

An editing technique in which shots are juxtaposed in an often fast-paced fashion that compresses time and conveys a lot of information in a relatively short period

Question 24

Jump cut

Answer 24

A cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly if at all. This type of edit gives the effect of jumping forwards in time

Question 25

Non-actors

Answer 25

A person in a film who is not an actor

Question 26

Documentary film/ documentary style

Answer 26

Non-fictional, motion picture intended to “document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education, or maintaining a historical record”

Question 27

Viewer identification (with characters and their perspectives)

Answer 27

Identification with media characters has generally been understood to denote feelings of affinity, friendship, similarity, and liking of media characters or imitation of a character by audience members

Question 28

Soundtrack

Answer 28

Recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture

Question 29

Diegesis

Answer 29

Used to name the story depicted on screen, as opposed to the story in real time that the screen narrative is about

Question 30

Diegetic Sound

Answer 30

A noise which has a source on-screen. They are noises which have not been edited in, for example dialogue between characters or footsteps. Another term for diegetic sound is actual sound

Question 31

Non-diegetic Sound

Answer 31

A noise which does not have a source on-screen, they have been added in. All non-diegetic sounds are acousmatic

Question 32

Acousmatic Sound

Answer 32

Sound that is heard without an originating cause being seen. Not all acousmatic sounds are non-diegetic

Question 33

Leitmotif

Answer 33

A recurring musical idea (a melody, chord sequence, rhythm or a combination of these) which is associated with a particular idea, character or place. Manipulated to match action and mood of a scene

Question 34

Voiceover

Answer 34

(off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic)—is used