fek1e' c_blt (~eJ 258 NOTES TO PAGE 240 f \~0 ,....., u, Ib", ~~---~~_s split into twelve segments. More recent directors who e~perirnent:th;~~~-serge~~ .1. effects in parts of their films include Brian D~alm~~n ~~:;ui:~ f;r a ;J,ea~ Stephen Frears in Grifters (1990), an~ Darren ono 1 ~ T code but also in , ) Mike Figgis experiments wtth them not oq y 1~ tm~ , . ~7s~~~lie (20oo), and Hotel (2oor), the latter an expenment m form stmtlar to Glossary Timec:::~rdin to the figures given at http://boxofficeguru.com (accessed Au- 7· 3 )g Time code in its limited release to only seven theat~rs aver~~ed i~s3t,;:; ~~~ tl~eater site, an impressive amount for such an expenmental m. THE SHOT Narrative films are made up of a series of shots. Also referred to as a take, a shot is defined as an uninterrupted run of the camera. Shots can be manipulated in many ways. The following terms, grouped under the headings of Editing, Shot Duration, Shot Type, Camera Movement, Camera Angle, Camera Lens, Light­ ing, Composition, Symbolism, and Sound, provi~e definitions of some of the most common techniques by which shots can be ordered and arranged for expressive effect in narrative films. EDITING MATCHES, OR TECHNIQUES OF CONTINUITY EDITING Continuity editing is a system of joining shots together to create the illusion of a continuous and clear narrative action. When a scene is broken up into a se­ quence of shots for the purpose of achieving greater dramatic emphasis in main­ stream narrative films, the shots are usually reconnected smoothly so that view­ ers do not notice the cut or lose their orientation in screen space. This is often achieved by using matches or match cuts. Some of the common kinds of match or continuity cuts are defined below. For a comprehensive discussion of the tech­ niques of tontinuity editing, see chapter q, "Editing the Picture," in Karel Reisz· and Gavin 1yiillar, The Technique ofFilm Editing, from which I have drawn the following definitions. ncn GLOSSARY 281 260 GLOSSARY RHYTHMIC MATCH Any juxtaposition of images with actions moving at simi­ MOVEMENT MATCH In a movement match, a movement or gesture of a char­ lar rates or speeds. In the above example, the umbrella and wheel would be acter begun in one shot appears to be seamlessly continued or completed in spinning at the same rate. the next shot. As a result, the viewer focuses on the movement and not on the JUMP CUT A continuity mismatch in which the rules of continuity are violated cut. If movements from one shot to the next are not matched, that is, if the often resulting in the disorientation of the spectator. In jump cuts the char~ same action is repeated in adjacent shots or if a portion of the action 1s omit­ acters seem to jump around in space against a constant background or the ted from one shot to the next, the effect will be a noticeable jerk and the ac­ ~ackground suddenly changes while the characters remain in the same posi­ tion will lose its illusion of seamless continuity. Another form of movement uon. Jump cuts are sometimes deliberately created by directors who wish to match occurs when camera moves (tracks or pans) in the same direction th~ call attention to the medium. Creators of experimental or art films often de­ at the same rate from shot to shot. Here the movement match is on the cam- liberately violate the rules of continuity cutting. Examples of the deliberate era movement. use of jump cuts can be found in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1959). DIRECTION MATCH In a direction match, the direction in which a person or object is moving is consistent across the splice. If, for example, .a character exits frame right in shot I, he or she must enter from frame left m shot 2.. If OPTICAl TRANSITIONAl DEVICES the direction is not matched, it will appear that the character has suddenly These device~,. often created in an optical printer, give a certain amount of piz­ turned around and is moving in the opposite direction. zazz to transruons between shots. They are used to give dramatic or visual em­ EYELINE MATCH The glances of characters in separate shots seem to meet. In phasis to marked ~llipses in time and space, although they can be employed to order to create this illusion, the direction of their glances musr be consistent. enhanc~ the techrucal smoothness of the transition between shots as well. Opti­ For example, if the character on the left looks in the direction of screen right, cal devrces can also help to regulate _the pacing _of the film and can be used to the character on the right should look in the direction of screen left. emphasize symbolic associations between conjoined or adjacent shots. Common SHOT/REVERSE sHOT A technique usually used to photograph two characters optical transitional devices include: · in conversation. Rather than photographing them in a two shot, that is, a shot in which two characters are shown together in the frame, the shots alternate IRIS--IN A shot, found most often in silent films, that opens from darkness in an between the two characters. First we see one character and the~ we see the expanding circle of light. In an iris-out, the opposite happens. second character from tho reverse angle. Over-the-shoulder framirigs are com­ FADE-IN A shot that begins in darkness gradually brightens. In a fade-out, the mon in shot/reverse shot editing: that is, the camera alternately photographs shot gradually darke~s until the screen goes black. one character from over the shoulder of another, with a shoulder prominent DIssoLVE A dissolve is the superimposition of the end of one shot onto the be­ in the foreground of each shot. ginning of the next, so that the two images briefly overlap. In a lap dissolve AXIS MATCH The angle from which the camera shoots the action remains the th~ _superimposition of the two shots lingers, sometimes (as often happens~ same from shot to shot. For example, if the first shot is a long shot and the_ Ctttzen Kane) to make a symbolic point about the relation of the two shots. second a medium shot, the camera moves forward without changin~ the a~­ WIPE In the simplest form of this technique, a verti~ line appears to travel across gle from which the action is photographed. If the angle chang~s shg~tly, 1t the screen, removing (wiping out) as it travels the content of one shot while will appear that elements in the background of the shot h~ve sh~fted shghtly, simultaneously -replacing it with the content of the next. Wipes can ;lso be and the continuity will not be perceived as smooth. If there rs a marked Fhan~e made using horizontal lines, diagonal lines, spirals, or circular shapes. in camera angle (in which the camera moves through 90 degrees) the shot WI~ ; be perceived as smooth because the background will be markedly diff~rent CONVENTIONS OF SHOT CONTINUITY and not create a confusing "jump" in the position of background obJects; POSITION MATCH The position of an object or person remains in the same area Develop~d early on in narrative film history, these are editing techniques that of the frame from shot to shot. In a cut from pursuer to pursued, for exam­ work to mcrease the spectator's mental participation in the action of the film. ple, the pursued person would appear in the same area of the ffame as the POINT-OF-VIEW (Pov) OR EYELINE SHOT A POV shot is the shot that im- pursuer. mediately follows a shot in which we see a character looking at something GRAPHIC MATCH Any juxtaposition of graphically similar images, such as a · offscreen or beyond the borders of the frame. The camera is positioned where cut from a spinning umbrella to a spinning train wheel. Vivid visual effects th~ character's eyes would be. Viewers are cued mentally to construct the shot · can also be achieved by deliberately contrasting graphics from one shot to the as If they, were viewing it from the point of view of a character in a film. The next so that, for example, a composition emphasizing vertical lines clashes in use of POV shots can establish powerful identifications between the specta- the next shot with a composition emphasizing horizontal lines. 262 GLOSSARY GlOSSARY 283 tor and the characters on the screen. Mentally, we merge with the <,m-screen SHOT TYPE characters, seeing the world as they do, from their point of view. Usually, POV shots are from the viewpoint of a protagonist with whom we are supposed Als.o called distan~e of fr~m~ng, camera ~istance, or shot scale, this category de­ to identify, but complicated effects can be achieved when the point-of-view scnbes the camera s pro~mtty to the m;am focus of interest in the shot, which is shot is seen through the eyes of villains or monsters. Since POV shots create usually, but not always, a human figure. a strong illusion of being spatially contiguous or in close proximity to the per­ CLOSE-UP (cu) A shot taken very close to the subject, so that it fills most of son who is looking, they can achieve interesting effects when they regard ob­ the frame. In the case of a person, it usually includes the head and the upper jects we know are literally far away. For a disconcerting or surreal effect, a p~t of the shoulders, or another portion of the body.