Film+terms+glossary

=Film terms glossary=  **Narration ** – A narrator tells part of the story as a voiceover, written text, or a character who speaks to the camera.  **Cross cutting ** – The camera cuts back and forth between two different scenes, to show action happening simultaneously.  **Flashback ** – The action cuts back to an earlier point in the film’s timeline.  **Flashforward ** – A brief shot or scene of action that takes place later in the film’s timeline.  **Montage ** – Different shots grouped together, often with a musical background. This provides a quick impression, or condenses a series of events.  **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Circular plot **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The film begins and ends in the same place (flashback or flashforward). <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Chronological order **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The story relates events in the order that they happened. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Lighting **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – Daytime/night time, but also used to highlight characters or place them in shadow. Related techniques are **chiaroscuro** (Italian for light-dark), a strong contrast between light and dark in a shot; **halation**, the type of lighting that gives a halo effect around a character; **silhouette**, when an object is lit from behind and only an outline is seen. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Composition **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – How objects are arranged in the frame. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Shot **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The section of film that is one continuous take, usually lasting only a few seconds. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Scene **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – A number of shots that take place in a specific setting; like a chapter in a book. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Establishing shot **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – A long shot or extreme long shot which contains a lot of landscape. It gives important information about the setting, atmosphere or context in which events will take place. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Long shot **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – Contains a lot of background, although you can recognise people in the scene. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Medium shot **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> / **Mid shot** – A person is seen from the waist up. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Close up **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – Focuses on a person’s head and shoulders, or the whole of an object. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Point of view shot **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – the camera becomes the eyes of one of the characters and we see things from that character’s point of view. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Over-the-shoulder shot **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – the camera looks over the shoulder of a character, often used to show conversations. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Point of view shot **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The camera becomes the eyes of the character, and we see the action from their point of view. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Bird’s eye view **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The camera looks down on the action from above. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">High angle shot **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The camera is looking down on a person or object. This makes the person or object look small, insignificant or helpless. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Low angle shot **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The camera is looking up at a person or object. This makes the person or object look large, powerful and dominant. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Pan **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The camera moves from side to side. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Tilt **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The camera moves upwards or downwards. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Tracking **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The camera follows the subject. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Zoom **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">– Camera moves closer or further away from a subject. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 22pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Cut **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – A change from one shot to the next. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Fade **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The shot fades to a blank black or white screen. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Dissolve **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The frame dissolves into the next shot. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Special effects **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – Includes computer animation, but also use of miniatures, explosions, blue screens, etc. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Costume/makeup **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – Ranges from subtle effects to make someone seem innocent, tired, etc. to drastic effects such as monsters. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Set design/props **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The place where the action takes place, and any objects that are used to help tell the story. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Colours **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – Can be as simple as the colours used in the set/props or as sophisticated as using a coloured filter on the camera. Colours often carry symbolic significance. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Text **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – Can be subtitles, headings, or words within the shot e.g. newspaper headlines, signs, etc. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Sound effects **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – Sounds used in a scene, from small things such as dogs barking to big things such as explosions. **Diegetic sounds** are sounds that are part of the story, as opposed to the background music or soundtrack of a film. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Music **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – Can be diegetic (for example, a character playing a piano) or part of the score/soundtrack. Some characters or situations may have their own musical motif or theme. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Voiceover **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – a voice talks over the top of a scene to give extra information.
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Motifs **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – Objects, shapes etc. that are repeated throughout the film to emphasise an idea.
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 6pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Dialogue **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> – The words that the characters speak.