FILM TERM GLOSSARY


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180 DEGREE LINE

An imaginary line traced along the axis of action in a shot which is designed for continuity editing . The crossing of this line by the camera--long proscribed by standard Hollywood practice though now relatively commonplace--disturbs spatial continuity by reversing screen direction.
This concept will soon be illustrated by a Virtual Reality walk-through model which will clarify the spatial considerations involved. Stay tuned.



ACTOR PLACEMENT

The placing of actors in relation to the camera, other actors, objects, landscape and so on within the three dimensional space of the set in order to achieve a specific relational effect upon the two dimensional space of the screen.



ANGLE, REVERSE ANGLE

An editing technique whereby in successive cuts an action is first seen from one point of view, then from a point of view opposite the original angle. As with all editing techniques, the production must ensure that the footage is available to carry it out.

(clip: 884K) from "Cabaret"
 

APERTURE (schematic)

1. Lens aperture The variable opening within a camera lens which allows light to pass from the exterior towards the film plane. This opening is usually created by a circular frame formed by a series of movable, interleaved and inter linked, precision metallic elements; the whole unit is called an iris or an diaphragm. As in the human eye to which it is analogous, the more open the iris, the greater the amount of light to which the film is exposed. See also "f-stop".

2. Aperture plate A rectangular metallic frame, found in both cameras and projectors, which sits between the lenses and the film gate. As the shape of the metallic frame determines the area of the film which will be exposed to light through the camera, by that fact it establishes the exact aspect ratio of the image



ASPECT RATIO

A description of the ratio between the width and the height of the film frame. While the width is variable (and is written first in the equation), the height remains always constant. The most common ratios in contemporary usage are: 1.33 : 1 (Academy); 1.66 : 1 (European wide screen); 1.85 : 1 (American Wide Screen); and 2.35 : 1 (Panavision). Aspect ratio should not be confused with film gauge, which is an independent measurement of the width of film stock.

Aspect Ratio Graphic (612 K)



AUDIENCE EXPECTATION

A concept which describes the a priori suppositions which an audience will have upon encountering a film text. For example, an audience which goes to see a Western will have a set of expectations as to what comprises the genre. They will expect, among other things, to see people riding horses, and the elaboration of a thoroughly familiar mythology about the American West. Though "mixed genres" are becoming more and more prevalent (cf. Star Wars and Back to theFuture), an audience will not generally expect the Western to concern itself primarily with space travel, nor, to pick another example, an action- adventure film to have a conflicted love triangle as its principal narrative device. Audience expectation is to a large--but not exclusive-- degree culture-specific: a contemporary American audience will have a different set of expecations when encountering a Western than, say, an Iranian audience, or an American audience in 1935. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that an audience of 14 year old boys will be indulging the imperatives of their testosterone rush when watching an action-adventure film irrespective of which cultural optic they watch the material through.



AUTEUR THEORY

Introduced by the editors of the celebrated French critical film journal Cahiers du Cinéma and subsequently enlarged upon by the American critic Andrew Sarris among others. The theory posits that the director of a film is the equivalent of the author of a novel. The film auteur therefore imprints all of her or his work with an identifiable style and techniques that carry from film to film.(see also "French New Wave")



BUTTERFLIES

Gauze-like fabrics of varying thicknesses and patterns which may be mounted in front of a lighting instrument so as to diffuse or "soften" the quality of the light.



CAMERA ANGLE

The angle of vision taken by a camera upon its subject. Distance of subject to camera in all three dimensions, lens used and the direction in which the camera points at the subject are determinant of angle. Angle may determine point of view; specific angles contribute significantly to the construction of the film text.


Low Angle The camera is placed below the plane of action being filmed and points upwards.

low angle (clip:272 K) from "The Third Man"

High Angle The camera is placed above the plane of action being filmed and points downwards.

high angle (clip: 204 K) from "The Third Man"

 

 
CAMERA CAR

A vehicle, either purpose-built or improvised, used to provide as stable a platform as possible when the camera is following action either at speed or across large distances.



CAMERA DISTANCE

The optical distance from the camera to a person, group, or object; the distance perceived on the screen by the viewer to an object or person. See also "Shot Distance"



CAMERA HEAD

A device to which the camera is attached when being mounted. It acts as the movable interface between the camera and a tripod or other camera platform. An essential function of the camera head is to ensure smooth movement of the camera in executing pans or tilts. For smaller cameras this is achieved through the use of devices, friction or hydraulic, which place a resistance against the direction of movement. For larger studio cameras, movement is controlled by a gearing mechanism, hence the expression "gear-head" to refer to film technicians enamored of their technology.



CAMERA LENSES

Camera lenses are the optical devices which "capture" light and focus it upon the desired area of film. They are classified according to their ability to render more or less wide angles of vision, and more or less greater degrees of amplification of the image. Because a film image is a two-dimensional rendering of three-dimensional space, all lenses, of whatever type and usage, create spatial relationships which are defined by the viewer's perception of perspective. It is important to keep in mind that in addition to its other characteristics (described below), the type of lens used in a given shot will have a significant effect on the way in which perspective is rendered in the image. As with any technological system, compromises are necessary between clarity of image across the whole field of vision (not focus, which signifies clarity in depth), rendering of perspective (as mentioned), the accurate reproduction of movement, lighting conditions, and so on. No one lens is perfect for any given camera angle or shot distance. It is usually up to the Director of Photography to suggest a lens to the director which will render the shot as the director wants it. The focal lengths given below apply to 35mm film. These will differ for different film gauges, though their optical characteristics will remain the same in terms of the image rendered.

"Fish-eye" (clip: 884 K) from"Brazil"
So called because they resemble the globular construction of a stereotyped fish eye, round and bulging, these lens are extremely wide in their field of vision, but are also subject to considerable optical distortion. In 35 mm systems, lenses having focal lengths less than 12-14mm are generally called "fish-eye" lenses. Perspective relationships are greatly exaggerated by these lens, making a scene and the objects within it seem considerably "deeper" than in fact they are. As a consequence, objects filmed close to the camera with them appear to be grossly "fatter" or thicker, rounder, spherically distorted. Furthermore, the right and left edges of the frame will seem to curve inward towards the center. Any movement of the camera while filming with fish-eye lenses will exaggerate these distortions. It stands to reason, therefore, that fish-eye lenses are used principally when some kind of distortion effect is purposely sought.
 
Wide Angle (or Short) (clip: 408K) from "Brazil"

Lenses having a focal length of 14-20mm. As the name implies, these lenses provide a wide field of vision. Short lenses create a distortion of perspective, making the field appear to be deeper than it actually is, though by several degrees "flatter" than fish-eye lenses.

Normal (clip: 680 K) from "Cabaret"
The lenses most commonly used, they render perspective and relative dimensions more "realistically" (i.e., with less distortion--closer to the way in which the human eye interprets perspective) than their cousins at either extremity of focal length. In contemporary practice, lenses with focal lengths of 20-35mm are referred to as "normal".

Tight (clip: 928K) from "Rebel Without A Cause"
A tight lens is really just a variation of the normal lens, except that it will slightly amplify the subject, thus creating the impression of greater closeness. The focal lengths of tight lenses--50 to 75mm--are sometimes incorporated into the "Normal" category, which then would comprise lenses with focal lengths of 20-75mm.

Long (clip: 476 K) from"Henry V" (Branagh)
Lens having a focal length from 100 to 150mm are generally considered long. They not only amplify the subject considerably even when compared to tight lenses, but they also create a marked distortion in perspective which in which succeeding planes of action in the frame appear to get squashed together, the exact opposite, in other words, of the effect of wide-angle lenses upon perspective relationships.


Telephoto (clip: 576 K) from "Billy Two Hats"
As their name implies, these lens are the "longest" of all. The same distortion of perspective which begins to be noticeable in the long lenses is much more evident in the telephoto lens, which have focal lengths of 200-1200mm. With telephoto lens, succeeding planes of the visual field will appear much closer to one another than they actually are, and perspective will appear as if crushed or compressed.


Variable Focus (or Zoom) (zoom-back clip:1.3M) from "Harold & Maude"

First coming into general use in the early 1950's, variable focus lens have the ability to shorten or lengthen a visual field, from wide to long or vice-versa, without the need to change lenses or change the location of the camera. It thus became possible to create the impression, within the same shot and without the need for the camera to move, of the viewer moving closer to (or farther away from) the object being filmed. Note, however, that a zoom shot does not alter the perspective relationships between foreground and background, and in this it differs significantly from a tracking shot. Confusion frequently arises between these two types of shots. To distinguish between them, keep your eye on the foreground and background of the scene. If the relationship between them is altered, the shot is a tracking shot, if, on the contrary, there is no alteration and everything within the visual field is either magnified or reduced equally, it is a zoom shot. Look again at a zoom shot (zoom in this time) and look for this. Variable Focus (or Zoom) (zoom in clip: 1.5M) from "Billy Two Hats"


 

CAMERA MOVEMENTS--SIMPLE
Any movement effected by the camera along a single plane or axis of movement and no other.

Crane Shot (sometimes: Boom Shot)
A shot which is taken when the camera as a whole is moved either up or down or laterally. It is almost always linked to another movement of the camera, such as a pan or tilt, in which case it becomes a compound movement.
crane up (clip: 408 K) from "Full Metal Jacket"
crane down (clip: 544 K) from "Amadeus"

 

Pan
A camera movement in which the camera is pivoted either to the right or left (pan right or pan left) moving the perceived field of vision horizontally in either direction. The camera pivots on its vertical axis.

Pan Right
pan right animation (1020 K)
pan right (clip: 340K) from "Once Upon A Time in America"

Pan Left
pan left animation (884 K)
pan left (clip: 621 K) from "Once Upon A Time in America"


Swish Pan In a swish pan the camera is purposely panned in either direction, right or left, at a very fast pace, creating the impression of a fast-moving horizontal blurring of images across the screen. Frequently, but not always, the actual panning shot is cut into the shots immediately preceding and/or following by means of a very short dissolve. This is the case in the swish pan clip which you may see by clicking below.
swish pan (clip: 476 K) from "Citizen Kane"

 


Tilt A camera movement in which the camera is pivoted either up or down (tilt up or tilt down) moving the perceived field of vision vertically in either direction. The camera pivots on its horizontal axis.


Tilt Up
tilt up animation (408 K)
tilt up (clip: 340 K) from "Brazil"

Tilt Down
tilt down animation (408 K)
tilt down (clip: 544 K) from "Once Upon A Time in America"


Tracking shot (or Dolly Shot) A shot wherein the entire camera is moved either forward (track or dolly "in") or backward (track or dolly "out"), or laterally, or in a circular or irregular pattern. The camera mechanism is placed on a movable device (the dolly) which moves either along pre-laid tracks or freely along a level surface. Tracking may also be accomplished with a hand-held camera or through the use of a steady-cam. In a tracking shot, the perspective relationships between the background and foreground planes of the visual field will change perceptibly, thus marking a significant difference between tracking shots and zoom shots in which these relationships remain constant as the target object is either magnified or reduced

Track (Dolly) Back (or Out) The camera dolly moves either away from the action (or character, or vehicle, or animal, or object) it is filming, or follows a character, (or vehicle, or animal, or what have you) moving backwards as the character moves forward. (See Follow Action.)
track back animation (408 K)
track back (clip1: 1 M) from "Brazil"
track back (clip2: 408 K) from "Full Metal Jacket"

Track (
Dolly) Forward (or In) The exact opposite of track (or dolly) back: the camera dolly moves either forward upon the action (or character, vehicle, or animal, or object) it is filming, or follows a character (or vehicle, or animal, or what have you) as it/they move forward.
track forward animation (408 K)
track forward (clip: 680 K) from "Rebel Without A Cause"



CAMERA MOVEMENTS--COMPOUND

A movement executed by the camera, either on a dolly, crane, or hand-held, which combines any two or more simple movements. Thus a camera may be tracking back while panning right, or craning up while tilting down, etc.
comp. camera (clip1: 1.5 MB) from "Citizen Kane"
comp. camera (clip2: 612 K) from "Rebel Without A Cause"

Follow Action
As the phrase suggests, the camera follows the action wherever it leads in the shot. Today, follow action shots are frequently done either by a hand-held camera or with a steady-cam. In large, sweeping, panoramic shots the camera would follow action either on a camera car or on a crane such as a Chapman Crane.


follow action (clip: 1.5 MB) from "Citizen Kane"
follow action (clip:476 K) from "Amadeus"

CHAPMAN CRANE

The trade name for a versatile, purpose-made flat-bed truck which carries a built-in camera boom and associated equipment. The truck moves from location to location by road using its own conventional engine. Once there it may be anchored down as a stable platform, but it can also "track" over smooth surfaces using electric motors which individually drive the wheels. It comes in various configurations, principally with regard to the length of the boom.



CINEMATOGRAPHY

The art and craft of photographing moving objects on lengths of continuous film; the devices, procedures and techniques used to achieve this. As is often said, cinematography is painting motion with light.



CIRCLE OF CONFUSION

A concept closely related to that of depth of field , the circle of confusion is an imaginary area on the screen which is defined by the relationship between the distance of the camera from the subject, the lighting conditions, the focal length of the lens used, and the aperture setting. All objects within this area will appear to a spectator to be in focus even though they may in reality be not located directly on the true focus plane.



COMPOSITE PRINT

In post-production, when a print of a film is struck from an edited negative and incorporates both the picture and the sound tracks, it is said to be a composite print. The creation of such a print usually marks the end of the editing process.



CONSTRUCTION OF MEANING
The manner in, and devices by which, linguistic, filmic, or other texts generate meaning. See
Lifton & Robinson, pp._____.



CONTINUITY EDITING (also, CLASSICAL CONTINUITY)
The editing technique most favored by Hollywood and generally throughout the world, continuity editing seeks to create the illusion of seamless action, movement, and, ultimately, narrative. It does so by deploying a strategy consisting of procedures which, in direct contradiction to montage theory, hides (or at least minimizes) the shift from one cut to the next, in effect making the edit as "transparent" as possible. This strategy has several component parts, the principal ones being:
Shots which establish the cinematic space: establishing shot (clip:544K) from "Casablanca"

Shots which carry an action across a cut (match on action cuts). Both clips are from Hitchcock's "Vertigo". The first one also contains eye-line match cuts after the match on action cut.
Match on action clip 1 (1 MB)
Match on action clip 2 (680 K)

Camera set ups which observe the action from alternating points of view (angle, reverse angle)

Rigorous respect for the 180 degree line, assuring continuity of the direction of screen action.

Cuts which are "led" by a character's on-screen actions. For example, if character "A" looks off-screen and a direct cut to character "B" ensues, the effect is that character "A" is looking at character "B"; sometimes called eye-line matches; not to be confused with locking glances, which is when one character (or individual) looks at another straight in the eye.
Eye-line match (clip 1: 2 MB) from "The Third Man"
Eye-line match clip 2: 680 K) from "Vertigo"



CRAB DOLLY

A metallic camera dolly (usually aluminum) which has an incorporated though relatively short crane on which the camera is mounted. It moves on rubber-covered wheels and gets its name from the fact that its very tight turning radius and four articulated wheels enable it to virtually move sideways.



CUT

The simplest and most basic joining of two shots; the abrupt transition between one shot and another without any intervening device or effect; generally considered the most direct possible transition, either between scenes, or between angles within a scene; sometimes called an edit.
Straight cut
An edit which is designed to maintain either temporal or spatial continuity, or both; the backbone of continuity editing.

straight cut (clip: 204 K) from "The Empire Strikes Back

Jump cut
An edit in which, contrary to the straight cut, either temporal or spatial continuity, or both, are not respected. Once thought to be an egregious editing error, the jump cut has become thoroughly conventionalized and commonplace. The title sequence on the clip is in fact a series of jump cuts. (See "French New Wave").
jump cut (clip: 1020 K) from "Metisse"



DAY FOR NIGHT

The process of filming in the daytime a scene which in the action of the narrative occurs at night. The effect of nighttime is accomplished both by the pattern of lighting and by a special lens filter. Because this process was first used by American cinematographers, it became known in France as "La Nuit Americaine", or, the "American Night".
Day for Night (clip: 272K) from "Coup de Torchon"



DEEP FOCUS

A cinematographic technique which enables several planes of action, from the foreground to the deep background, to be seen simultaneously--and in focus--on the screen. Sincea number of actions can be seen in relation to one another without the need for intercutting, deep focus has significant implications for the manner in which cinematic narrative unfolds .
deep focus (clip 1: 680 K) from "Harold & Maude"
deep focus (clip 2: 1.1 M) from "Citizen Kane"




DEPTH OF FIELD

A psychologically determined area on the screen which, representing three-dimensional depth on a two-dimensional image, determines the effective range of subjects that will remain perceptibly in focus to a viewer. The function of camera lenses is of course to bend light rays. They do so in such a way that in reality only one plane of the field in front of the lens is truly in focus. However, subjects within a given distance in front of and behind the true focus line are perceived by the spectator as being in focus. (See Circle of Confusion).




DIAPHRAGM

A mechanical device, placed within the camera lens, whose function is to open and close according to the f-stop setting desired by the camera operator. The more open the diaphragm is, the more light which is allowed to pass and strike the film; the more closed, the less light. If this sounds familiar it is because the function of a diaphragm is almost exactly analogous to that of the iris in the human eye. Indeed, it is sometimes called the iris of a lens. In its construction, the diaphragm is made up of a series (usually five or six) of extremely thin and light metallic leaves which are mounted in a circular fashion. Being spring loaded, they may move closer towards the center of the circle around which they are mounted, or, of course, farther from it.



DIEGESIS

A term used in film criticism and theory, it designates the totality of the physical world experienced by the characters in a film. For example, if a character slams a door on screen and the sound of the door is heard on the sound track, the sound would be called a diegetic because we would have seen the justification for the sound on the screen as would a character in the film. On the other hand, a sudden upsurge of violins under a tender love-scene would be called a non-diegetic sound unless the love-birds were seen sitting by the fiddlers who were making the music. Diegesis is not, however, limited to sounds. The credits of a film, for instance, obviously not perceived by the characters but clearly so by the spectator, would be another example of non-diegetic material.




DIRECTOR

The author of the film. The director has the responsibility (and creative pleasure) of interpreting the screenplay through all the imagination deployed by her or his art, by that of the crews in the production, and through the virtually limitless combinations of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound. It is, in other words, the director's vision which illuminates the film text.




DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

More than simply the head of the camera crew, the director of photography is responsible for all aspects of cinematography during a production. This would include, primarily but by no means exclusively, lighting the scene, (In Great Britain the position is knows as "Lighting Cameraman"), deciding on which film stock to use, at what f-stop to film the scene, how to deal with problems of focus, and so on. Working in the closest possible collaboration with the director, and having the crews of electricians and grips under his or her control, the DOP ensures that the deployment of the cinematographic apparatus for each shot will render exactly what the director desires. Any director, therefore, must have absolute faith in the director of photography.




DISSOLVE

An optical transitional device which links two shots by overlapping them so that as shot #1 is fading out, it seems to be increasingly "covered" by the emergence of shot #2. At mid-point, both shots will be visible on the screen in superimposition. A dissolve generally indicates a passage of time or a change of location or both.
dissolve (clip: 884 K) from "Once Upon A Time In America"




DOLLY

A movable platform upon which the camera may be installed. the tripod may simply be placed upon the dolly, or, in more complex versions, form an integral part of it. Depending on the type, dollies may move along pre-laid tracks or upon a stable and smooth surface. See also Crab Dolly.




DOORS

Hinged metallic panes mounted on a device which permits them to be placed in front of a lighting instrument. Closing or opening them determines the height, width, narrowness or thickness of the stream of light.




TOP



EDITING

(see also
"CONTINUITY EDITING" and "MONTAGE THEORY" ) At the most basic level, this means simply joining individual pieces of film to make up scenes, sequences, groups of sequences, and finally the entire film. At its first stages the pieced together version is called an assembly. As this is further refined it is called a first cut, then, many refinements later, a final cut. The basic level, however, doesn't nearly tell the whole tale, for it is precisely the juxtaposition of shots, the one to the other throughout a film, which gives motion pictures their unique power, whether the shots are arranged according to the precepts of continuity editing or montage theory or some combination of the two. Editing, therefore, makes a fundamental contribution to the construction of meaning which the whole film text generates.





EMULSION

A gelatinous chemical suspension in which, most commonly, particles of silver halide are embedded. These particles have the property that when exposed to light they undergo a chemical reaction by which they group together into larger clumps. These units, the size of which represents the degree of density of light to which they were exposed, and which taken together comprise the latent image, are rendered visible by submitting the emulsion to another chemical process called development. For color film, additional layers of color sensitive dyes are added, also in the gelatinous suspension. These dyes react to the primary colors of blue, green, or red, and combine with the image-rendering qualities of the silver halide particles to form color images. Generally speaking, the smaller the number of the silver halide particles per given area (thus the larger the individual particle), the less able the film to render the image sharply. These types of film stocks are designated as coarse-grained. Conversely, the larger the number of particles (thus the smaller the individual particle), the better able the film to render sharp images. Such film stocks are designated as fine-grained.




ESTABLISHING SHOT

A shot, frequently the first in a series comprising a scene, which establishes place, spatial relationships and scale. Usually but not exclusively used in films which are structured according to the mode of classical narrative; may also serve simply to locate the action of the film in a given setting. Note: the establishing shot clip ends with a dissolve into a CS of the next scene.
establishing shot (clip: 544 K) from "Casablanca"




EXPOSURE

The measure of the quantity of light to which film is exposed, a factor of lens aperture and shutter speed. (see "Superimposition")when one image appears on the screen on top of another, one concrete, the other abstract; often used to suggest a thought, a feeling, dream, imagination; sometimes called DOUBLE EXPOSURE.
"Knife in the Water"




EXPOSURE METER

A device used to measure the amount of light present upon a surface or area.




EXTERIOR


The designation of a scenic location as being out of doors. This does not mean, however, that the scene must be shot either on an actual location or even outside. Though the practice has faded somewhat, perfectly credible exteriors can be constructed inside a sound stage.
exterior (clip:1 MB) from "The Great Dictator"





FADE

A transitional device in which an image more or less slowly disappears from the screen (Fade Out) to be replaced by a screen of any color; or, conversely when, (Fade In) starting from a blank screen of any color, an image emerges and occupies the frame.
(Fade Out clip: 320 K--from "The Great Dictator"
(Fade In (clip: 448 K-- from "The Great Dictator")




FIELD OF VISION

In common with still photography and, to some degree, painting, cinematography renders three-dimensional reality in two dimensions. The width of the frame establishes the field of vision. Depth of field, on the other hand, is a perception of depth or perspective in the image.




FILM

A strip of flexible plastic material coated with a layer of photo-sensitive material known as the emulsion, as well as protective and other overlays; may be of different widths or gauges.




FILM GATE (schematic)

An opening in the camera or projector past which the film passes intermittently.




FILM GAUGE

The absolute measure, in millimeters, of the width of a piece of film. Super 8 millimeter, 16 mm, Super 16 mm, 35 mm, and 70 mm are the most commonly used gauges, though Super 8 is almost extinct, done in by camcorders. The prefix "super" refers to the size of the frame and the size and arrangement of the sprocket holes, not to the overall width of the film itself.





FILM STOCK (when unexposed: RAW STOCK)

Film of whatever gauge labeled according to whether it is: a. monochrome or color b. fine or coarse grained c. negative, positive, or reversal. The labeling will also carry an indication of the range of tones which the film is capable of reproducing as well as an index of its sensitivity to light. This is a critical designation, and is usually refered to as or its exposure number. This number is set out either according to the American Standards Association exposure index (known as the ASA number), or according to the DIN index. Whichever index is used, however, the number represents the mid-point in a sensitivity range which the cinematographer must consider when designing a shoot, factoring in such variables as lighting conditions, type of action being filmed, and so on. Generally speaking, the more sensitive the film to light, the coarser the resolution of the image (see "Emulsion"). Thus, film with an ASA number of 125 will in principle have a sharper image than film with an ASA number of 400. Recent advances in film technology, however, have allowed for films with higher and higher ASA numbers--in other words, with greater sensitivity to light--to have acceptably sharp resolution.




FINE GRAIN

See "Emulsion".




FLAG


A thin but opaque device in various forms and sizes, usually made of cloth or composition board, which is interposed between a lighting instrument and the subject which it is lighting, thus allowing for controlled areas of light and/or shadow to be thrown onto that subject.




FLASHBACK

The narrative device which enables the temporal order of a narrative to be non-linear; the moving backwards in narrative time; much overused.




FOCAL LENGTH

The distance, measured in millimeters, from the center of a lens to the film plane. This measurement, in conjunction with others such the width of the lens, defines certain significant characteristics of the lens such as amplification and depth of field. (See "Circle of Confusion", "Focus", " Camera Lens", and "Depth of Field"





FOCUS

The sharpness or degree of resolution of an image. This may range from complete blurring (soft focus) to extreme sharpness (sharp focus).
soft focus (clip: 544K) from "Henry V" (Branagh)
hard focus (clip: 674 K) from "Billy Two Hats"





FRAME

The edges which define the size and shape of the screen; see also, Aspect Ratio. The very existence of these edges, or frame, has significant implications for spatial and narrative considerations.




FRENCH NEW WAVE

The name given to an extremely influential movement of young filmmakers in France between approximately 1957 and 1965. Though most of them began their film careers as critics (Truffaut, Godard, Rohmer, Rivette), others in the movement actually came up through the ranks of the conventional film industry (Malle, Resnais).




F-STOP

The designation given to the size of the opening of the diaphragm in a camera lens; in other words, the size of the camera aperture. F-stops are derived by the division of the maximal width of a lens (such as 50mm), by its focal length. The numbers which result, called stops, are:

f1- The largest opening
f1.4
f2
f2.8
f4
f5.6
f8
f11
f16
f22- The smallest opening

This exponential scale is arrived at by the fact that each stop setting permits half the amount of light as the f-stop preceding. Thus, a setting of f5.6 admits twice as much light to strike the film as an f8 setting would, and four times what the f11 setting would allow, and so on.




GENRE




HAND-HELD CAMERA

A filming technique in which the camera is not placed on a tripod, dolly, crane, or other carrying device or platform, but is, rather, held by the operator during a take. Prior to the invention of cameras which afforded through-the-lens viewing, the technique was used largely for newsreel or other actuality purposes.




HEAD

In film usage, the word describes the beginning of a shot or of a reel, or of a complete film. Not to be confused with "Camera Head."




INTERIOR

Not only the obvious diametric opposite of "Exterior", interior designates an indoor setting. It is much more commonplace to film interiors on sound stages than it is exteriors.




INTERTEXTUALITY

The rich propensity of film texts to quote other film texts, conventions, genres, and/or components thereof. Intertextuality has significant implications for audience expectation and the definition of genre. Brian De Palma's 1987 film "The Untouchables" provides an excellent example
The "Odessa Steps" scene (Partial clip: 6.4 MB) from "The Untouchables"





KOOKALORA

A specialty flag, sometimes called simply a "cookie"; the kookalora has irregular openings so that light going past it simulates sunlight through leaves or other equally irregular patterns.





LATENT IMAGE
The invisible image which is recorded on film through the exposure of light but before the process of development which renders the image visible.




LENS APERTURE

The opening in a camera lens created by the diaphragm, which opening determines the quantity of light which the lens projects onto the film. Lens aperture is measured on a scale which uses units known as f-stops. The relationship between the lens aperture, the time of exposure, and the desired depth of field must be carefully calculated as each of these elements significantly affects, and is affected by, the others.





LENS FILTERS

Optical glass which is either tinted or otherwise treated so as to prevent certain frequencies of light from penetrating through the lens to the film. These devices are usually placed in front of the camera lens, but in any event between the light source and the film plane.




LIGHTING

The placing of controlled illumination upon a scene or object to be filmed and thus the ultimate tool of the cinematographer. Light sources may be natural or artificial or both. If natural, the light may be directed onto the scene by reflecting devices. If artificial, it is of course aimed at the specific target area designated by the director of photography, and channeled through the use of such devices as cookies, flags, and doors. The light may also be diffused either by the lens of the lighting instrument or by butterflies, or it may be sharply focused. If, as is accurately said, cinematography is painting with light, lighting is the palette which the painter employs. Though methods for lighting a scene are highly varied, the one most commonly used in conventional practice is known as the "Three-point System." The intensity and sharpness of light and corresponding shadow (or lack of same) which illuminates a scene is described as being either high or low key. This is true irrespective of whether the film is monochromatic or color.

High-key Lighting
high-key lighting (clip 1: 816 K) from "Singin' in the Rain"
high-key lighting (clip 2: 1.5 M) from "The Object of Beauty"


Low-key Lighting
low-key lighting (clip 1: 748 K) from "Citizen Kane"
low-key lighting (clip 2: 925 K)from
"Citizen Kane"





LIGHTING INSTRUMENT

The actual lamp which generates light with which to light a scene. There are many sizes and uses, but the most common are...




LONG TAKE

Not to be confused with "long shot", a long take is measured in temporal rather than spatial terms. What this means is, simply, that long takes comprise shot where the camera is left running for a long period of time. As in all other aspects of life, time in film is relative: a shot which lasts 90 seconds may well be designated as a long take, though some film-makers (Renoir, Welles, Altman and others), have filmed takes of considerably greater length.




MARK (As in "Hit the mark!")

On a film set, actors must be very exact as to where they place themselves before, during, and after a movement, because different areas seen by the camera are lit for precisely those exact locations. Marks of various kinds are placed where the camera can't see them, (for example, a piece of tape on the floor of the set) and, once they have been pointed out to the actors, it is then their responsibility to hit that mark precisely, even if, as is the case with the actor in the clip, they have to fall to the mark.
Jacques Audoir, the Video Director, shows Jean-Pierre Jorris his mark during taping of "En Attendant Godot".





MISE-EN-SCENE

Literally translated from the original French, the phrase means "to put upon the stage"; otherwise, staging. In film practice, however, the term has come to designate the totality of how the director designs and actuates a given scene. All films use essentially the same techniques and processes. However, each individual film assembles and/or employs all of the variable elements provided by the technology and the imponderables of production in it's own distinct way. The elements generally used to define and/or analyze mise-en-scéne are: Setting Actor Placement Actor Movement Actor interpretation (ideally but not always a collaboration between director and actor) Camera movement Costumes Make-up  




MONTAGE THEORY (also, SOVIET MONTAGE)

Basically a theory which develops the proposition that it is through editing that film finds its greatest--and most unique--powers of expression. This premise is based on the dialectical relationship between two shots, "A" and "B",in a cut. By putting shot "A" in juxtaposition (and in opposition) to shot "B" the result is not a sum of the two, but a new idea which might be called "C". Obviously, there has to be significant involvement on the part of the audience to make the dialectical relationship effective. Thus simply put, this
brief definition does not convey either the theoretical and artistic force nor the profound influence which the theory had on subsequent film making. Clearly, though, these theories, and the practice in film making to which they gave rise and through which they were developed and refined, stand at the diametric opposite from continuity editing. Some history: following Lenin's admonition that "Film is the most important of the arts", the first film school in the world, the USSR State School on Cinema Art, was founded following the Soviet victory in 1917. In charge was a young film maker by the name of Lev Kuleshov. Under his tutelage, a workshop for the development of Soviet Film makers was organized at the school. This workshop operated under the most severe material handicaps, principal amongst which was the almost total shortage of raw film stock, which prevented them from shooting their own footage with which to experiment. As a result, in order to both develop their various theories and begin to work with film in spite of these shortages, the members of the workshop began to reedit whatever existing footage they were able to forage. The subsequent experiments with this "found footage" led them to discoveries about the nature and effect of film editing which subsequently developed not only into whole theoretical constructs, but which theories also formed the basis of the films they subsequently went on to make. Among others of Kuleshov's other pupils were Sergei Eisenstein, and V.I. Pudovkin, both of whom became profound influences on the evolution of the motion picture and its techniques. For a more extended discussion of Montage Theory see_________________. For a sampling of some practical results which derived from the theory, a number of clips are set out below from the works of Eisenstein. Though image quality is deteriorated lost as a result of necessary video compression, a viewer can nevertheless perceive the dynamic and compositional relationship of one shot to the next in the sequences illustrated by the clips. It is suggested that once the clips are downloaded, they be viewed through once or twice, then reviewed by manipulating the control bar as slowly as possible (and shuttling back and forth) so that the relationship of one shot to the next can be carefully observed. (All "Odessa Steps" clips from Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin").

Odessa Steps 1 (544 K)
Odessa Steps 2 (680 K)
Odessa Steps 3 (2.1 MB)
Odessa Steps 4 (8.5 MB)

This clip is of the famous "baby carriage" sequence. It has been quoted again and again, and provides an excellent example of the concept of intertextuality. (See the clip from Brian La Palma's " The Untouchables".) The next four clips are from Eisenstein's "October" and include another famous scene, the raising of the bridges, clip #4. Pay particular attention to the shot duration and rythmn of the machine gun firing in clips 1, 2, & 3. Do so by moving the bar on the control panel back and forth slowly across the cuts.

"October" clip 1: 884 K)
"October" clip 2 (544 K)

"October" clip 3 (2.1 MB)

"October" clip 4 (7.5 MB)





MOS

The designation for filming a scene (or scenes) without simultaneously recording sound. Legend has it that the acronym was created by the Middle-European accents of the many film directors and technicians who came to the US before the Second World War. Apparently (if the legend is to be believed) they wanted scenes shot, as they allegedly pronounced the phrase, "mittout sound", hence MOS.




NARRATIVE
Linear narrative
Non-linear narrative




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NEGATIVE STOCK

In professional practice, the film which is exposed in the camera renders a negative image when developed (as in, reverse video or the negative of a snap shot). This type of film is called negative stock. The negative which results from the exposure of this type of film must then be printed onto another piece of film, which, logically enough, is then called the print




OPTICAL PRINTER




PICTURE TRACK




POST PRODUCTION




POINT OF VIEW (POV)




PRODUCER





REVERSE VIDEO




RHYTHM




SCENE

A self-contained, continuous series of shots which define a specific dramatic and/or narrative moment. In some instances an entire scene may be contained within a single shot if it is an appropriately long take.




SCENIC ELEMENTS




SCREENPLAY

A document text in a specific format which contains the dramatic elements of the film, as well as indications of other elements such as setting, light values, action, and, in general, everything which it is essential to see on the screen from the point of view of the whole narrative; in its relationship to the completed film, a screenplay is sometimes described as being analogous to a blue print of a structure. The analogy is true up to a point, but in fact there is no other kind of text which has the specific characteristics and constraints of a screenplay. And no other text which, when successful at attaining its goal--i.e., the finished film--effectively ceases to exist except as a historical and critical curiosity.
Screenplay Format




SCREENWRITER

In spite of the unearned notoriety of people such as Joe Esterhaz, the screenwriter remains the much-maligned individual who is responsible for the creation of the screenplay, whether as an original work or as an adaptation of some other text.




SEQUENCE

A self-contained group of sequential scenes. The grouping should coalesce around a specific set of dramatic and narrative imperatives.




SET

Though the word is commonly used to indicate a fabricated setting, in fact the set is anywhere a shot is being filmed, whether real or constructed; the site or location where a film is being shot. See also, "Interior" & "Exterior".




SETTING

The locale of narrative action.




SHOT

A single piece of film of any length or duration which is exposed by the camera being turned on, then off, a single time only. Neither the type of action which a shot may cover, nor the nature of the camera movement which may be executed during the shot (if any), alter the definition.




SHOT DISTANCE

The distance at which a viewer perceives that an object or person is located on the screen, in depth or in width or both. Conventionally, the human figure is used as a term of reference for the description of shot distance. This is a matter of convenience and interpretation rather than of exactitude since, among other things, the camera may not always frame the human figure. The individual references may be combined, as in "medium close shot."
Close Up (CU)
A shot wherein some feature of the physiognomy (or object) fills or virtually fills the entire frame.

Close Shot (CS)
The conventional definition of a close shot is one where an entire human face from chin or lower neck to top of head or equivalent part of the physiognomy or object fills the frame.

Medium Close Shot (MCS)
An arbitrary mid-point between a close shot and medium shot.

Medium Shot (MS)
In a medium shot the human torso from top of head to waist appears in the frame.

Medium Long Shot (MLS)
An arbitrary mid-point between a medium shot and a long shot. Sometimes known as an American shot. See below.

"American" shot
Or, "Plan Americain". A camera distance much favored by the Hollywood system, particularly in the early days of sound, where the human figure is seen in the frame from top of head to the hips or knees.
Long Shot (LS)
An entire human figure, from head to toe, is seen wholly on the screen, or, a relatively far away object is seen in its entirety in a spatial context.

SOUND TRACK

The audio equivalent of the picture, or, more accurately, the picture track, the sound track contains all the audio information which accompanies the film: dialogue, sound effects, music, and so on. In a composite print it is found on the edge of the film. It may be either optical or magnetic.




SPLIT-SCREEN




STEADY-CAM

A camera platform in the form of an elaborate harness worn by the camera operator during a hand-held shot. The device steadies the camera by means of counter-weighed camera head fixations, which are further stabilized through the use of gyroscopes. The operator, who composes and frames the shot through a small video monitor which is part of the harness, has, via hand controls, the ability to execute compound movements such as tilts, pans, cranes, and so on, in addition to being able to follow the action irrespective of the direction of motion.




STOP MOTION PHOTOGRAPHY

An in-camera special effects process, wherein the camera is stopped during a take, objects and/or characters are moved or removed or added, and the camera re-started. One of the earliest techniques which began to explore the cinematic potential of the motion picture,




STORY EDITOR




SUPERIMPOSITION

The appearance of more than one image on the screen at the same time where one is overlayed upon another without masking it; not to be confused with split-screen, where two distinct images co-exist on the screen along side one another.
superimposition (clip: 1.4M) from "Billy Two Hats"




SYSTEM OF SIGNIFICATION




TAIL

If in film terms "head" designates the beginning of a shot or a reel or a complete film, if follows logically that the tail describes the end of same.




TAKE

A single attempt to film a shot. Though sometimes confused with "shot", in fact there can be an unlimited number of takes of the same shot, until either the director is satisfied, or the producer calls a halt.




TEXT




TRANSITIONAL DEVICE

There are essentially four editing devices which create a transition between two successive shots. These are: the cut, the dissolve, the fade and the wipe. Each of these transitional devices has implications for the construction of the narrative.




THROUGH-THE-LENS VIEWING




WIPE
A transitional device in which shot "B" seemingly moves, in either screen direction, across shot "A" thus effectively "wiping" off shot "A" and replacing it.
wipe (clip: 952 K) from "Seven Samurai"




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All definitions on this page © Gene Robinson and Mitchell Lifton, 1996 & 1997. Unauthorized reproduction forbidden. All rights reserved.