Terminology

• Establishing Shot


  Establishes a situation or location – usually from being up high and looking down over an area. It locates the meaning of a narrative.
• Long Shot


  Taken from a distance that is used to convey a sense of space or to locate action in a specific place. You will be able to see the whole body of a character.
• Medium Shot


  Taken from the waist-up of a character.
• Dutch Tilt


  The camera is also tilted to one side to create a dynamic & sometimes disorientating feeling.
• Close-up


  Closely frames a person, object, or an aspect of action.
• Extreme Close-up


  Frames a very specific feature of a character or object for emphasis.
• Aerial Shot


  Taken from directly above an object looking straight down.
• High-angle Shot


  Camera is angled so that it looks down on a subject. This makes the subject appear small and with little power.
• Eye-level Shot


  Camera is level with the eye-line of the subject. This is often used with characters the audience is supposed to relate to & sympathise with.
• Low-angle Shot


  Camera is angled so that it looks up at the subject. This gives the subject a dominating and powerful look.
• Two-shot


  Two subjects are in the frame – usually at medium shot distance. Shows a connection between the two.
• Point-of-view (POV) Shot


  Camera acts like the eyes of the subject and shows their perspective of the action. Can have characters looking at the camera directly. Could also be seen through a telescope, binoculars etc.
• Over-the-shoulder Shot


  Shot over-the-shoulder of a character. This is commonly used in dialogue scenes.
• The 180o Rule


  The imaginary line that must not be crossed in order to maintain continuity and not cause confusion to the audience with where the characters are placed.
• Shot / reverse shot


  Technique commonly used to abide by "The 180o Rule". This is commonly seen during dialogue scenes using two opposite over-the-shoulder shots.
• Static shot


  When a camera is kept still and focused on an unmoving subject. This is used to allow the scene to unfold before us seemingly naturally.
• Hand-held shot


  When the camera is clearly being hand-operated and not steadied by a tripod or other supportive device.
• Tracking/ Crab shot


  When the camera itself is moved. This was traditionally accomplished by placing the camera on a literal track. This is often taken from the side of a subject.
• Dolly shot


  Similar to a tracking shot, but the camera is put on a set of wheels to allow movement in any direction.
• Tilting shot


  When the camera is locked in position and the lens moves either up or down.
• Panning shot


  When the camera is locked in position and moves from left to right / right to left.
• Crane shot


  Where the camera is fixed to a crane, enabling the shot to go from a low to high height in one continuous shot.
• Zoom-in / Zoom-out


  Where the image becomes magnified / larger in size without the camera being moved.
• Zoom-in / Track-out


  Mixture of zooming-in & tracking-out whilst focussed on a subject. Makes it appear as if the subject is getting closer, whilst the background is getting further away.
• Focus


  The depth into the picture in which objects are in clear focus.
• Shallow Focus


  Where the foreground action is in focus, whilst the background action is out of focus. Allows the director to literally focus the attention of the audience on a particular part of the frame.
• Deep Focus


  Both foreground & background are in focus simultaneously. Technique was developed by Orson Welles to create a more theatre-like experience.
• Mise-en-scene


  French term meaning "putting into the scene". It is a combination of the elements seen on the screen, or in a shot.
• Setting / location


  Where the scene is taking place. E.g. city, countryside.
• Costume


  Anything the characters are wearing. E.g. Clothes, make-up & prosthetics.
• Lighting Quality


  The intensity of the lighting used. E.g. Hard Lighting & Soft Lighting.
• Hard Lighting


  Creates clearly defined shadows, crisp textures & sharp edges.
• Soft Lighting


  Creates less clear shadows and less defined edges.
• Direction of Lighting


  The path of the light from its source or sources to the object it lights. E.g. Frontal Lighting, Backlighting, Underlighting, Top Lighting.
• Frontal Lighting


  Light comes from in front of the subject. Subject is well lit, with a shadow directly behind them.
• Sidelight / Cross-light


  Light comes from the side of the subject. Shadows are cast horizontally across the screen.
• Backlight


  Light comes from behind the subject. Makes the subjects appear in shadow.
• Underlight


  Light comes from below the subject.
• Top Light


  Light comes from above the subject.
• Key Light


  The primary light source. It provides the dominant lighting and casts the strongest shadows.