English 1130 Film Terms

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1. Medium realist films: - style of filmmaking that attempts to duplicate the look of objective reality as it's commonly perceived, with emphasis on authentic locations & details,
- long shots, lengthy takes, & min. of distorting techniques
1. Medium George Melies: - from France
- thought of film as "magic"
- innovations: fade in, lap dissolve, stop-motion,
- started "Star Film" company, 1897 - 1913, created 500 films
- sci-fi, fantasy, formalism
- worked mostly in studio
- 1902: Trip to Moon
- 1896: Arrival of the Train (captured citylife)
1. Medium narrative point of view: .
1. Medium motif: - any unobtrusive technique, object, or thematic idea that's systematically repeated throughout a film
1. Medium allusion: - a reference to an event, person, or work of art, usually well known
1. Medium formalist or expressionist films: - style of filmmaaking in which astethic forms take precedence over the subject matter as content
- time & space as ordinarly perceived are often distorted
- emphasis is on essential, symbolic characteristics of objects & people, not necessarily on their superficial appearance
- formalists are often lyrical, self-consciously heightening their style to call attention to it as as a value for its own sake
1. Medium Lumiere brothers: .
1. Medium homage: - direct or indirect reference within a movie to another movie, film-maker, cinematic style
- respectful & affectionate tribute
1. Medium symbol: - figurative device in which an object, event, or cinematic technique has significance beyond its literal meaning
- symbolism is always determined by dramatic context
1. Medium classical cinema: .
1. Medium screenplay: .
1. Medium allegory: - symbolic technique in which stylized characters & situations represent rather obvious ideas, such as Justice, Death, Religion, Society, and so on.
1. Medium metaphor: - an implied comparison between two otherwise unlike elements, meaningful in a figurative rather than literal sense
2. Story genre: - a recognizable type of movie, characterized by certain preestablished conventions
- some common American genres: westerns, thrillers, sci-fi movies, etc.
- a ready-made narrative form
2. Story archetype: - an original model or type after which similar things are patterned
- can be widely-known story patterns, universal experiences, or personality types
- myths, fairy tales, genres, and cultural heroes are generally archetypal, as are the basic cycles of life and nature
2. Story literal adaption: - a movie based on a stage play, in which the dialogue and actions are preserved more or less intact
2. Story film noir: - refers to a kind of urban American genre that sprang up after WWII, emphasizing a fatalistic, despairing universe where there is no escape from mean city streets, loneliness, and death
- stylistically, noir emphasizes low-key & high-contrast lighting, complex compositions, and a strong atmosphere of dread and paranoia
2. Story genre cycle: .
2. Story plot: - arrangement of story events in the order in which they appear in the film

ex. events occurred in the past might be introduced at any point through flashbacks or dialogue
2. Story loose adaption: - movie based on another medium in which only a superficial resemblance exists between the two versions
2. Story classical paradigm: - aka classical cinema

- a vague but convenient term used to designate the style of mainstream fiction films produced in America, roughly from midteens until the late 1960s
- movie strong in story, star, and production values, with a high level of technical achievement, and edited according to conventions of classical cutting
- visual style is functional and rarely distracts from the characters in action
- movies in this form are structured narratively, with a clearly defined conflict, complications that intensify to a rising climax, and a resolution that emphasizes formal closure
2. Story myth: .
2. Story tone: .
2. Story faithfal adaption: - film based on a literary original which captures the essence of the original, often by using cinematic equivalents for specific literary techniques
3. Photography frame: - dividing line between the edges of the screen image and the enclosing darkness of the theatre
- can also refer to a single photograph from the filmstrip
3. Photography shot/take: - those images that are recorded continuously from the the time the camera starts to the time it stops
- an unedited strip of film
3. Photography medium shot: - a relatively close shot, revealing the human figure from the knees or waist up
3. Photography extreme long shot: - a panoramic view of an exterior location, photographed from a great distance, often as four hundred metres away
3. Photography matte shot: - a process of combining 2 separate shots on one print, resulting in an image that looks as though it had been photographed normally
- used mostly for special effects, such as combining a human figure with giant dinosaurs, etc.
3. Photography high-angle shot: - a shot in which the subject is photographed from above
3. Photography oblique-angle shot: - a shot photographed by a tilted camera
- when image is projected on screen, subject itself seems to be tilted on a diagonal
3. Photography wide-angles shot (short): - a lens that permits a camera to photograph a wider area than a normal lens
- side effect is its tendency to exaggerate perspective
- also used for deep-focus photography
3. Photography optical printer: - an elaborate machine used to create special effects in movies

ex. fades, dissolves, multiple exposures, etc.
3. Photography low-key lighting: - style of lighting that emphasizes diffused shadows & atmospheric pools of light
- often used in mysteries & thrillers
3. Photography fast stock: - film stock that's highly sensitive to light & generally produces a grainy image
- often used in documentaries who wish to shoot only in available light
3. Photography warm colours: .
3. Photography selective focusing aka rack focusing: - blurring of the focal planes in sequence, forcing the viewer's eyes to travel with those ares of an image that remain in sharp focus
3. Photography close-up, close shot: - detailed view of a person or object
- close-up of an actor usually includes only his or her head
3. Photography 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
3. Photography establishing shot: - usually an extreme long or long shot offered at the beginning of a scene, providing the viewer with the context of th subsequent closer shots
3. Photography wide-angle, Deep-focus shot: - technique of photography that permits all distance planes to remain clearly in focus, from close-ups to infinity
3. Photography eye-level shot: - placement of camera approximately one and a half to two metres from the ground, corresponding to the height of an observer on the scene
3. Photography standard lens: .
3. Photography fish-eye lens: .
3. Photography high-key lighting: - a style of lighting emphasizing bright, even illumination, with few conspucious shadows
- used mostly in comedies, musicals, & light entertainment films
3. Photography back lighting: - when the lights for a shot derive from the rear of the set, thus throwing the foreground figures into semidarkness or silhouette
3. Photography slow stock: - film stocks that are relatively insensitive to light & produce crisp images and a sharpness of detail
- when used in interior settings, these stocks generally require considerable artificial illumination
3. Photography point of view shot aka pov shot, 1st person shot, subjective camera: - any shot that is taken from the vantage point of a character in film, showing what the character sees
3. Photography available light: - the use of only that light which actually exists on location, either natural (the sun) or artificial (house lamps)
- when available lighting is used in interior locations, generally a sensitive fast film stock must also be used
3. Photography extreme close up: - a minutely detailed view of an object or person
- an extrme close-up of an actor generally includes only his or her eyes or mouth
3. Photography long shot: - shot that includes an area within the image that roughly corresponds to the audience's view of the area within the proscenium arch in the live theatre
3. Photography reaction shot: - cut to a shot of a character's reaction to the contents of the preceding shot
3. Photography bird's eye view: - a shot in which the camera photographs a scene from directly overhead
3. Photography low-angle shot: - shot in which subject is photographed from below
3. Photography telephoto lens (long): - lens that acts a telescope, magnifying the size of objects at a greater distance
- side effect is its tendency to flatten perspective
3. Photography filters: - pieces of glass & plastic placed in front of camera lens that distort the quality of light entering the camera & hence the movie image
3. Photography high-contrast lighting: - style of lighting emphasizing harsh shafts & dramatic streaks of lights and darks
- often used in thrillers and melodramas
3. Photography overexposure: - too much light enters the the aperture of a camera lens, bleaching out the image
- useful for fantasy & nightmare scenes
3. Photography cool colours: .
3. Photography reverse angle shot: - shot taken from an angle 180 degrees opposed to the previous shot
- camera is placed opposite its previous position
4. Mise-en-Scene composition: .
4. Mise-en-Scene top of the frame: .
4. Mise-en-Scene iris: - masking device that blacks out portions of the screen, permitting only a part of the image to be seen
- usually circular or oval in shape & can be expanded/contracted
4. Mise-en-Scene proxemic patterns: - spatial relationships among characters within the mise en scene, & the apparent distance of the camera from the subject photographed
4. Mise-en-Scene dominant contrast: - area of the film image that compels the viewer's most immediate attention, usually because of a promiment visual contrast
4. Mise-en-Scene bottom of the frame: .
4. Mise-en-Scene closed form (tightly framed): - visual style that inclines self-conscious designs & carefully harmonized compositions
- frame is exploited to sugget a self-sufficent universe that encloses all necessary visual information, usually in an asthetically, pleasing manner
4. Mise-en-Scene aspect ratio: - ratio between the horizontal & vertical dimensions of the screen
4. Mise-en-Scene masking: - technique whereby a portion of the movie image is blocked out, thus temporarily altering the dimensions of the screen's aspect ratio
4. Mise-en-Scene open form (loosely framed0: - used primarily by realist filmmakers
- these techniques are likely to be unobtrusive, with an emphasis on informal compositions & apparently haphazard designs
- frame is exploited to suggest a temporary masking, a window that arbitrarily cuts off part of the action
5. Movement pan: - short for panorama, this is a revolving horizontal movement of the camera from left to right or vice versa
5. Movement tracking shot OR trucking shot/dolly shot: - shot taken from a moving vehicle
- originally tracks were laid on the set to permit a smoother movement of the camera
5. Movement zoom: - lens of variable focal length that permits the cinematographer to change from wide-angle to telephoto shots (and vice versa) in one continuous movement, often plunging the viewer in or out of a scene rapidly
5. Movement animation: - form of filmmaking characterized by photographing inanimate objects or individual drawings frame by frame, with each frame differing minutely from its predecessor
- when such images are projected at the standard speed of 24 fps, the result is that the objects or drawings appear to move, and hence seem animated
5. Movement reverse motion: - a series of images are photographed with the film reversed
- when projected normally, the effect is to suggest backward movement-an egg "returning" to its shell, for ex.
5. Movement tilt: - shot photographed by a tilted camera
- when the image is projected on the screen, the subject seems to be tilted on a diagonal
5. Movement crane shot: - shot taken from a special device called a crane, which resembles a huge mechanical arm
- crane carries the camera and the cinematographer and can move in virtually any direction
5. Movement hand-held shot: - shot taken with a moving camera that is often deliberately shaky to suggest documentary footage in an uncontrolled setting
5. Movement fast motion: - shots of a subject photographed at a slower rate than 24 fps, which, when projected at the standard rate, conveys motion that is jerky and slightly comical, seemingly out of control
5. Movement freeze frame: - shot composed of a single frame that is reprinted a number of times on the filmstrip; when projected, it gives the illusion of a still photograph
5. Movement dolly shot: - same as tracking shot
- shot taken from moving vehicle
5. Movement aerial shot: - essentially a variation of the crane shot, though restricted to exterior locations
- usually taken from a helicopter
5. Movement swish pan: - horizontal movement of the camera at such a rapid rate that the subject photographed blurs on the screen
5. Movement slow motion: - shots of a subject photographed at a faster rate than 24 fps, which when projected at the standard rate produce a dreamy, dance-like slowness of a motion
6. Editing shots: - images that are recorded continuously from the time the camera starts to the time it stops = an unedited strip of film
6. Editing continuity: - the kind of logic implied between edited shots, their principle of coherence

- cutting to continuity: emphasizes smooth transitions between shots, in which time & space are unobtrusively condensed

- classical cutting: linking of shots according to an event's psychological as well as logical breakdown

- thematic montage: continuity is determined by the symbolic association of ideas between shots, rather than any literal connections in time and space
6. Editing jump-cut: - an abrupt transition between shots, sometimes deliberate, which is disorienting in terms of the continuity of space and time
6. Editing classical cutting: - developed by Griffith
- sequence of shots is determined by a scene's dramatic & emotional emphasis rather than by physical action alone
- sequence of shots represents the breakdown of the event into its psychological as well as logical components
6. Editing flashback: - editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the past
6. Editing dialectics: - an analytical methodology, derived from Hegel & Marx, that juxtaposes pairs of opposites - a thesis & antithesis - to arrive at a synthesis of ideas
6. Editing New Wave: - group of young French directors who came to prominence during the late 1950s.
- most widely known: Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, & Alain Resnais
6. Editing scenes: - imprecise unit of film, composed of a number of interrelated shots, unified usually by a central concern - a location, an incident, or a minor dramatic climax
6. Editing fade: - snuffing of an image from normal brightness to a black screen

- opposite: fade-in
6. Editing D.W. Griffith: .
6. Editing thematic cutting, montage: - propounded by Eisenstein
- separate shots are linked together not by their literal continuity but by symbolic association
- common in documentaries, in which they are connected in accordance to the filmmaker's thesis
6. Editing flashforwards: - editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the future
6. Editing Andre Bazin: .
6. Editing first cut: - aka rough cut
- initial sequence of shots in a movie, often constructed by the director
6. Editing sequences: - lengthy shots, usualy involving complex staging & camera movements
6. Editing dissolve: - slow fading out of one shot and the gradual fading in of its successor, with a superimposition of images, usually at the midpoint
6. Editing cutting to continuity: - emphasizes smooth transitions between shots, in which time & space are unobtrusively condensed
6. Editing parallel editing: aka cross-cutting

- alternating of shots from 2 sequences, often in different locales, suggesting that they are tkaing place at the same time
6. Editing Sergei Eisenstein: .
6. Editing personalism: .
6. Editing final cut: aka release print

- sequence of shots in a movie as it will be released to the public
7. Sound three types of sound: .
7. Sound high-pitched sound: .
7. Sound atonal music: .
7. Sound synchronous sound: - agreement or correspondence between image and sound, which are recorded simultaneously, or seem so in th finished print
- synchronous sounds appear to derive from an obvious source in the visuals
7. Sound musical motifs: .
7. Sound dubbing: - addition of sound after the visuals have been photographed
- dubbing can be either synchronous with an image or nonsynchronous
- foreign language movies are often dubbed in English for release in this country
7. Sound low-pitched sound: .
7. Sound dialogue: .
7. Sound non-synchronous sound: - sound and image that are not recorded simultaneously, or sound that is detached from its source in the film image
- music is usually nonsynchronous in a movie, providing background atmosphere
7. Sound melodrama: .
7. Sound voice over: - a nonsynchronous spoken commentary in a movie, often used to convey a character's thoughts or memories
7. Sound dramatic effects of music: .
7. Sound monologue: .
7. Sound sub-text: - a term used in drama and film to signify the dramatic implications beneath the language of a play or movie
- often the subtext concerns ideas and emotions that are totally independent of the language of a text
7. Sound mickey-mousing: - a type of film music that is purely descriptive and attempts to mimic the visual action with musical equivalents
- often used in cartoons
8. Acting persona: - Latin: mask
- an actor's public image, based on previous roles, and often incorporating elements from his or her actual personality as well
8. Acting method: - style of performance dervied from stage director Stanislavsky, whcih has been the dominant acting style in America since the 1950s
- emphasize psychological intensity, extensive rehearsals to explore a character, emotional believability rather than technical mastery, and "living" a role internally rather than merely imitating the external behaviour of a character
8. Acting star system: - technique of exploiting the charisma of popular performers to enhance the box-office appeal of films
- developed in America and has been the backbone of the American film industry since the mid-1910s
8. Acting improvisation: .
8. Acting casting: .
8. Acting actor vs. personality star: - personality star tends to play only those roles that fit a preconceived public image, which constitutes his or her persona
- an actor star can play roles of greater range and variety

ex. Barbra Streisand - personality star; Robert De Niro - actor star
9. Non-Fiction Films documentary vs. fiction film: .
9. Non-Fiction Films cinema verite: - method of documentary filming using aleatory methods that don't interfere with the way events take place in reality. Such movies are made with a minimum of equipment, usually a handheld camera & portable sound apparatus
10. Canadian Cinema National cinemas: .
11. Theory realist theory: .
11. Theory iconograpy: - use of a well-known cultural symbol or complex of symbols in an artistic representation
- movies: iconography can involve a star's persona, the preestablished conventions of a genre (like shootout in a western), use of archetypal characters and situations, and such stylistic features as lighting, settings, costuming, props, and so on
11. Theory postmodernism: .
11. Theory Fredric Jameson: .
11. Theory formalist theory: .
11. Theory Marxist theory: .
11. Theory Jean Baudrillard: .
11. Theory pastiche: .
11. Theory auteur theory: - popularized by critics of the French journal Cahiers du Cinema in the 1950s
- emphasizes the director as the major creator of film art, stamping the material with his or her own personal vision, style, and thematic obsessions
11. Theory semiology: .
11. Theory hyperreality: .
11. Theory intertextuality: .

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