Shared Flashcard Set

Details

film key words
n/a
35
Film, Theatre & Television
Undergraduate 2
09/11/2013

Additional Film, Theatre & Television Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term

close-up

Definition

an image that shows the subject from the neck up or frames an object at a close distance.

Term

composition

Definition

the arrangement and relationship of the visual elements within a frame; more precisely, the

organization, distribution, balance and general relationship of stationary objects and figures, as well as of

light, shade, line, and color, within the frame.

Term

continuity editing

Definition

film editing that provides for a sense of uninterrupted and continuous narrative action

within each scene, maintaining the illusion of diegetic reality for the spectator.

Term

cross cutting

Definition

cutting between two separate scenes that occur at the same time or at

different times.

Term

cut

Definition

the juxtaposition or splicing of two shots.

Term

deep focus

Definition

an image with a great depth of field, where foreground, mid-ground, and background objects

are all in focus.

Term
editing
Definition

the task of selecting or joining camera takes OR the set of techniques that governs the relations

among shots.

Term

establishing shot

Definition

a shot, usually at the beginning of a scene, that situates where and sometimes when the

action that is to follow takes place before it is broken up through editing.

Term

graphic match

Definition

two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity in compositional

elements.

Term

high-key lighting

Definition

a scene that is brightly and evenly lit. In contrast, low-key lighting involves the use of

shadow areas and chiaroscuro

Term
long shot
Definition

an image in which the distance between the camera and the subject is great.

Term
pan
Definition

camera pivots side to side, scanning horizontally

Term

point-of-view shot

Definition

a shot simulating the viewpoint of a character or group of characters. Also

called a “subjective shot” or “subjective camera” or “subjective point of view.”

Term

scene

Definition

a dramatic unit composed of a single shot or several shots.  usually takes place in a

continuous time period, in the same setting, and involves the same characters.

Term
shot
Definition

a continuously exposed and unedited image of any length.

Term

superimposition

Definition

two or more shots that appear simultaneously on the screen, in an overlapping fashion.

Term
tilt
Definition

camera pivots up or down, scanning vertically

Term

voice-over

Definition

non-synchronous commentary from an off-screen source. The voice may be that of a

disembodied narrator (in either a narrative film or a documentary) or of a character, either in the form of

an interior monologue or addressing the spectator directly

Term

allegory

Definition

a type of story, film or play in which the objects, characters and plot represent a larger idea than

that contained in the narrative itself.

Term

climax

Definition

the narrative’s turning point, marking the transition between rising action and falling action

Term

content

Definition

the subject of an artwork or the “what” of cinematic expression.

Term

diegesis/diegetic

Definition

the “world of the fiction,” or the world of the fictional film, including both what is

shown (visible in the film) and what is not shown or implied as part of the narrative world.

Term
explicit meaning
Definition

everything that a movie presents on its surface

Term
exposition
Definition

the images, action and dialogue necessary to give the audience the background of the

characters and nature of their situation, laying the foundation for the rest of the narrative.

Term

familiar image

Definition

any image that a director periodically repeats in a movie (with or without variations)

Term

flat character

Definition

a character that is one-dimensional and easily remembered because his or her motivations

and actions are predictable.

Term
form
Definition

the means by which a subject is expressed or the “how” of cinematic expression.

Term
genre
Definition

a type of film that audiences and filmmakers recognize by familiar narrative, stylistic, and

iconographic conventions and characterizations.

Term
implicit meaning
Definition

an association, connection, or inference that a viewer makes on the basis of the given

(explicit) story and form of a film.

Term
intertextuality
Definition

the referencing of other films or texts and their associated narrative and aesthetic elements

Term

mise en scène

Definition

a French term taken from its usage in theater to mean “staging,” or “placement of the

scene.” In film, the term signifies the elements and overall “feel” within a shot and/or frame.

Term

narrative film

Definition

also known as fiction film. A movie that tells a story—with characters, places and

events—that is conceived in the mind of the film’s creator

Term
narrator
Definition

a voice that helps tell the story.

Term

omniscient point of view

Definition

the most basic and common point of view in films. Omniscient means that the

camera has complete or unlimited perception of what the cinematographer chooses for it to see and hear;

this point of view shows what the camera sees.

Supporting users have an ad free experience!