FILM TERMS

BASIC FILM VOCABULARY
INTRODUCTION TO MOVIES, September 2005―June 2006
NOTE: These terms are purposely basic, simple, and incomplete.
They are intended only as a temporary "cheat sheet,"
to supplement lectures and readings.

ACCELERATED MONTAGE rapid cutting
ADAPTATION film based on a known text
AERIAL SHOT helicopter shot
AESTHETIC DISTANCE viewer's neutrality
A-FILM major release
ALEATORY FILM filming by chance
ALLEGORY exact representation of ideas by characters
ALLUSION referring to something or someone well known
ANGLE camera position
ANIMATION stop-motion photography
ANTICIPATORY SETUP camera placement before an action
ANTIHERO untraditional hero
ARCHETYPE idea or image that recurs over time
ART DIRECTOR person who designs movie sets
ASPECT RATIO screen size
AUTEUR THEORY belief that the director is the film "author"
AVAILABLE LIGHTING natural light
AVANT-GARDE artists in "advance" of others
BACKLIGHTING rear lighting, making silhouettes
BACK LOT studio lot
B-FILM low-cost film as "second" feature
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW overhead shot
BLACK-AND-WHITE non-color film
BLIMP soundproof camera
BLOCKING movement of actors within an area
BLUE-SCREEN PROCESS matte effect
BOOM, MIKE BOOM overhead mobile pole with attached mike
CAMEO very brief star appearance
CAMP, CAMPY comic mockery
CELS see-through sheets used in cel animation
CENTRIST neither left nor right politically
CINEMATOGRAPHER (DP) cameraman
CINEMA VERITE "true cinema"
CLASSICAL CINEMA "invisible" style cinema
CLASSICAL CUTTING match on action
CLOSED FORMS closed-framing of images
CLOSE-UP, CLOSE SHOT shot detail
COMMENTATIVE MUSIC film score
CONTINUITY coherence editing
CONVENTION style-viewer agreement
COVERAGE insurance shots
CRANE SHOT high shot from a mechanical lift
CREATIVE PRODUCER producer closely involved in film
CREDITS list of a film's contributors
CROSS-CUTTING parallel (linked) editing
CUTTING TO CONTINUITY summary editing
DAY-FOR-NIGHT day shots filtered to seem night
DEEP-FOCUS shot in which 3 planes are equally sharp
DIRECTOR usually person who stages and mounts the film
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY cameraman
DISSOLVE overlap of two images
DISTRIBUTOR agents who arrange film bookings
DOLLY (TRACKING) SHOT shot from moving platform
DOMINANT CONTRAST main part of image
DOUBLE EXPOSURE twice-exposed film for effects
DUBBING later addition of sound
EDITING linking of shots
EPIC film genre of large scope, characters, etc.
ESTABLISHING SHOT shot that shows main location
EXPRESSIONISM a style "expressing" strong emotions
EXTREME CLOSE-UP very detailed image
EXTREME LONG SHOT very distant image
EYE-LEVEL SHOT image as if from average height
FADE a shot starting or ending in black
FAST MOTION projection at faster speed than shot
FAST STOCK film needing little light
FILM NOIR genre showing weak men trapped
FILTER colored glass in front of the lens
FINAL CUT release cut
FIRST CUT rough edit of film
FLASHBACK shot going back in time
FLASH-FORWARD shot going ahead in time
FLICKER loss of illusion of motion
FOCUS sharp image quality
FOOTAGE exposed film
FOREGROUNDING critical focus on film style
FORMALISM film style placing form over content
FORM CUT match cut
FRAME the smallest unit of a shot
FREEZE FRAME stopped image
FULL SHOT a shot including the whole person
GAUGE size of film
GENRE kind of film
HIGH-ANGLE shot from above
HIGH CONTRAST image of extreme lights and darks
HIGH KEY evenly lit image
HOMAGE reference to other film images
ICONOGRAPHY use of culture signs
INDEPENDENT PRODUCER non-studio producer
IRIS masked image in form of circle
JUMP-CUT uneven edit
KEY LIGHT main light
KINETIC moving
LEFTIST progressive, non-traditional point-of-vew
LONG TAKE shot longer than usual
LENS part of camera that refracts light
LONG SHOT image that includes most of the scene
LOW-ANGLE shot from below
LOW KEY dimly lit shot
MAJORS big film studios
MASKING blocking out part of the image
MASTER SHOT main shot
MATTE SHOT composite shot
MEDIUM SHOT shot including knees and face
METHOD ACTING "motivated" acting
METTEUR-EN-SCENE director
MICKEYMOUSING descriptive music
MINIATURES small-scale models seeming large
MISE-EN-SCENE staging of the action
MIX blending of D, E, M sound tracks
MONTAGE editing
MOTIF repeated idea
MULTIPLE EXPOSURE shot exposed many times
MUSIC CUE score spotting
NEOREALISM realistic film opposed to studio norms
NEW WAVE new French cinema, 1950s
NONSYNCHRONOUS independent soundtrack
OBLIQUE ANGLE tilted or slanted shot
OEUVRE complete work
OMNISCIENT all-knowing narrator
OPEN FORM free framing of image
OPTICAL MONTAGE editing to show time lapse
OPTICAL PRINTER machine for special effects
OUTTAKES unused footage
OVEREXPOSURE more exposure than needed
PAN horizontal movement of camera
PARALLEL EDITING cross-cutting
PERSISTENCE OF VISION the eye's retention of an image
PERSONA star image
PHI EFFECT illusion of movement by displacement of an object
PIXILLATION animated live action
POINT-OF-VIEW shot from actor's view
PROCESS SHOT rear projection
PRODUCER person controlling production
PRODUCTION VALUES visible expensive of film
PROP movable object
PROPERTY story or script owned by a producer
PROXEMIC PATTERNS spatial relationships
PULL-BACK DOLLY tracking back
RACK FOCUS sudden change of focus
REACTION SHOT cut to show actor's reaction
REALISM looking real rather than glamorous
REESTABLISHING SHOT repeat of establishing shot
REVERSE ANGLE camera placement opposed to last shot
REVERSE MOTION projection in reverse
RIGHTIST belief in traditional values and solutions
RITE OF PASSAGE major change
ROUGH CUT first cut
RUSHES daily footage
SCENE related shots
SCHUFFTAN PROCESS mirror shot
SCORE music soundtrack
SCREWBALL COMEDY film genre of class and gender
SCRIPT, SCREENPLAY, SCENARIO story, dialogue
SELECTIVE FOCUS rack focus
SEQUENCE SHOT lengthy shot
SETUP placement of camera and lights
SHOOTING RATIO footage shot divided by footage used
SHOOTING SCRIPT detailed directing script
SHORT LENS wide-angle lens
SHOT smallest unit of cinema
SILENT MOVIE film with no soundtrack, up to 1927/8
SLOW MOTION projection at slower speed than shot
SLOW FILM stock needing bright lights
SOFT FOCUS shallow focus
SOUND EFFECTS sound not including speech and music
SOURCE MUSIC music from within the story
SPECIAL EFFECTS (SFX) special image effect
SPOTTING music placement
STAR actor as image
STAR SYSTEM actor as box-office attraction
STAR VEHICLE property made for star
STOCK unexposed (raw) film
STOP-MOTION PHOTOGRAPHY timed exposure
STORYBOARD illustrated design of film
STORY VALUES story interest
STUDIO movie factory
SUBJECTIVE CAMERA point-of-view shot (POV)
SUBTEXT unspoken meaning
SURREALISM dream logic
SWISH PAN quick pan shot
SYNCHRONOUS SOUND match of sound and image
SYMBOL object or event with extra meaning
TAKE production shot
TELEPHOTO LENS long lens
THEMATIC MONTAGE symbolic association of shots
3-D film shot with an illusion of depth
THREE SHOT shot with three actors
TIE-IN sales related to a movie
TIGHT FRAMING close framing of actors
TILT up or down shot
TIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAHY stop motion photography
TRACKING SHOT dolly shot
TWO SHOT shot with two actors
VERTICAL INTEGRATION to produce, distribute, and exhibit
VIEWFINDER camera view window or eyepiece
VOICE-OVER nonsynchronous speech
WIDE-ANGLE LENS deep-focus lens
WIDESCREEN screen wider than standard
WIPE the horizontal replacement of one image by another
WOMEN'S PICTURE film genre with focus on women
ZOOM LENS a lens of variable focal length