GLOSSARY OF BASIC FILM TERMS

Aysnchronous sound: Sound that does not have its source in the film image. Available lighting: The use of only that light which actually exists on location, either natural (the sun) or artificial (household lamps). Back-lighting: Lighting in which the main source of illumination is directed towards the camera, thus tending to throw the subject into silhouette. Bird’s-eye view: A shot in which the camera photographs a scene from directly overhead. Close-up: A detailed view of a person or object, usually without much context provided. Continuity: The kind of logic implied in the association of ideas between edited shots. “Cutting to continuity” emphasizes smooth transitions between shots, in which space and time are unobtrusively condensed. “Classical cutting” emphasizes dramatic or emotional logic between shots rather than one based strictly on considerations of time and space. In “thematic montage” the continuity is based entirely on ideas, irrespective of literal time and space. In some instances, “continuity” refers to the space-time continuum of reality before it is photographed. Contrapuntal sound: Sound that counterpoints, or contrasts with, the image. Crane shot: A shot taken from a special device called a crane, which resembles a huge mechanical arm. The crane carries the camera and cameraman, and can move in virtually any direction. Cross-cutting: The alternating of shots from two sequences, often in different locales, to suggest that the sequences are taking place simultaneously. Deep focus, or depth of field: A technique of photography that permits all distance planes to remain clearly in focus, from close-up range to infinity. Direct sound: Sound effects, conversations, music, or noise recorded simultaneously as the film is being shot. Dissolve, or lap dissolve: These terms refer to the slow fading out of one shot and the gradual fading in of its successor, with a superimposition of images, usually at the midpoint. Dolly shot, tracking shot, or traveling shot: A shot taken from a moving vehicle. Originally tracks were laid on the set to permit a smoother movement of the camera. Dubbing: The addition of sound after the visuals have been photographed.

331 Glossary of Basic Film Terms

Editing: The joining of one shot (strip of film) with another. The shots can picture events and objects in different places at different times. Editing is also called montage. Establishing shot: Usually a long shot or extreme long shot offered at the beginning of a scene or sequence and providing the viewer with the context of the subsequent closer shots. Extreme close-up: A minutely detailed view of an object or a person. An extreme close-up of an actor generally includes only his eyes or mouth. Extreme long shot: A panoramic view of an exterior location photographed from a great distance, often as far as a quarter of a mile away. Eye-level shot: The placement of the camera approximately 5 to 6 feet from the ground, corresponding to the height of an observer on the scene. Fade: A fade-in occurs when a dark screen gradually brightens to reveal a shot. A fade-out occurs when a shot gradually darkens to become a black screen. Fish-eye lens: An extreme wide-angle lens, which distorts the image so radically that the edges seem wrapped into a sphere. Flashback: An editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the past. Flash-forward: An editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the future. Freeze frame: An optical effect in which action appears to come to a dead stop, achieved by printing a single frame of motion-picture film many times in succession. Full shot: A type of long shot that includes the human body in full, with the head near the top of the frame and the feet near the bottom. Handheld shot: A shot in which the cameraman holds the camera and moves through space while filming. High-angle shot: A shot in which the subject is photographed from above. High-key lighting: Lighting that results in more light areas than shadows; subjects are seen in middle grays and highlights, with little contrast. Iris shot: The expansion or contraction of a small circle within the darkened frame to open or close a shot or scene. Jump cut: A cut that jumps forward within a single action, thus creating a sense of discontinuity on account of the temporal ellipsis. Long shot: Includes an amount of picture within the frame that roughly corresponds to the audience’s view of the area within the proscenium arch in the live theater.

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