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Film Studies

A Glossary of Film Terms

Mise en scène
3-point lighting Key, back and fill lights give the most common natural lighting
set-up

acting Sometimes referred to as figure expression and movement.

Apperance, gesture, facial expression. Importance of function.

costume / make-up Usually contemporary, stylised or genre.

lighting Made up of quality, direction, source, colour

mise en scène From the French theatrical term meaning: “putting into the
scene”, “setting the scene” or “staging the action”. Broadly used
to describe visual construction within the frame (including
dimensions of cinematography such as framing). Therefore: the
arrangement of pro-filmic space (but also in time). In a narrow
sense mise en scène refers to all that cinema shares with the
theatre.

motivation We assume that everything within the mise en scène

contributes to our understanding of what is happening in any
film. Nothing is irrelevant, everything is motivated. Every part of
the mise en scène has a function.

pro-filmic space The area in front of the camera’s recording field.

realism The construction of a setting to look as we imagine it to appear

in “real life”/actuality. Sometimes the setting is not realistic in a
narrow sense and therefore should be understood in terms of
function in relation to meaning. This is a contentious term within
film studies and there is much debate on what this actually
might be.

setting This can be either natural (location shooting) or artificial

(studio).

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Cinematography
anamorphic lens The image is “squashed” by the lens in the camera, and then
“stretched” by a lens in the projector. Often used to create
widescreen framing.

angle Camera can be positioned at either high or low angle in relation

to its subject.

crane shot Camera moves above ground level (sometimes: helicopter

shot).

depth of field Range of distances within which objects are in focus:

• shallow focus: foreground only in focus
• long focus: background in focus
• deep focus (nb. distinct from deep space): all planes in
focus

distance • Extreme Long Shot (ELS)

• Long Shot (LS) – figures discernible
• Medium Shot (MS) – Gesture & Expression
• Medium Close-Up (MCU) – Chest & up
• Close-Up (CU) – Head, small object
• Extreme Close-Up (ECU)– Lips, eye, etc.

focal length The lens:

• Short-focal-length (wide angle) <35mm (distorted image)
• Middle-focal-length (normal) 35mm-70mm
• Long-focal-length (telephoto) 75mm-250mm > (flattened
image)

frame dimensions • Academy Ratio (early 1930s) – 1.33:1

• Widescreen – 1.85:1 (approx. 16:9)
• 70mm – 2.2:1
• Cinemascope (widescreen standard) - 2.35:1

frame rate Contemporary film runs at 24 frames per second (fps). Hand-
cranked cameras and projectors had variable speeds. Silent
era: 16 – 20 fps.

hand-held Mobile camera with erratic framing.

height Camera can be either high or low, but parallel to the ground.
Camera usually position at eye level.

planes Scenes often have a number of spatial levels (foreground,

midground, background).

letterboxing Process of transferring widescreen films to standard (non-

widescreen) televisions to avoid losing any part of the image:
top and bottom of television frame remain black. Also known
as matte boxing.

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level Camera can be horizontally straight or angled (cant).

long take Shot is relatively longer in duration (not to be confused with

long shot which indicates the distance of the camera from its
subject).

offscreen space This can be divided into six zones (Noël Burch): the space
beyond each of the 4 edges of the screen; the space behind
the set; the space behind the camera.

pan Camera turns from one side to the other horizontally

(panorama).

steadicam Mobile camera with smooth framing. Special camera rig

attached to operator.

tilt: Camera rotates either up or down.

track Camera as a whole is in motion (also dolly). Derives from the

fact that camera is usually put on physical rails or tracks.

zoom Change of focal length.

Editing
180º system/rule A line of action is established and all shots are normally taken
from only one side of this line in order to maintain consistent
screen direction from shot to shot.

continuity editing Editing style that emphasises story coherence.

cross-cutting Editing between two or more lines of action occurring at the

same time in difference spaces. The actions are usually
related.

cut Immediate transition from shot A to B.

cutaway A brief shot that interrupts the action of the film or is inserted
between two more important actions.

dissolve Transition of shot A to B via superimposition.

ellipsis Unnecessary action omitted via editing. Usually involves a jump

in time and/or space. Not to be confused with jump cut.

establishing shot A long shot, usually at the beginning of a scene, which shows
the place of action.

expansion Opposite of ellipsis: significant action is repeated.

eyeline match Coordination of looks with other subjects or objects. Matching

the camera height to the height of subjects’ eyelines within
frame

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fade-in Shot lightens from black.

fade-out Shot darkens to black.

frame Smallest unit of film. A single frame.

frequency Shot repetition. Usually if an action happens once in the story

world, it should only occur once on film. See expansion and
ellipsis.

graphic match Consecutive shots match on object shapes, colours (opposite:

graphic clash).

jump cut A cut that appears to lose some pertinent material. Usually
noticeable if the camera moves less than 30º between shots.
Often seen as a mistake in continuity editing, it can be used to
achieve certain effects within adventurous filmmaking.

match on action 1. A movement is carried across the break between two

shots.
2. A movement is started in one shot and completed in the
next – middle is elided.

montage 1. The theory that meaning in a film is created by the

relationship between shots (Sergei Eisenstein).
2. A sequence in which images are quickly edited together.

non-diegetic insert A shot which is not part of the story world but which comments
metaphorically on it. See cutaway.

order of events Usually presumed to be temporally logical.

parallel editing Editing between two concurrent actions that are not necessarily
related. See cross-cutting.

point-of-view A shot that is presumed to accurately mimic what a character is

seeing. Often handheld.

point-of-view A version of the shot/reverse shot where the reverse shot is a

cutting POV.

rhythmic editing Duration of shots used to create a rhythm. Tempo.

scene A distinct section of the film, usually in a single location.

sequence A meaningful section of the film, not necessarily in one location.

shot A single take, without edits.

shot/reverse shot Common editing pattern, esp. in dialogue scenes. A

subsequent shot is presumed to be opposite the first, i.e. if a
shot shows a face, the next shot is presumed to show what that
person is looking at.

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spatial relations Continuous space presumed to exist between edited shots.

wipe Transition from shot A to B via moving boundary line.

Sound
3 categories Speech (dialogue), Music, Noise (sound effects).

dialogue hook Dialogue in one scene is used as a cue as to the content of the
next. Often used against expectation in comedy.

diegetic sound Source of sound in the story world.

fidelity A close match between perceived sound and its supposed

origin (e.g. a cat barking would not have a high fidelity).

internal diegetic Source “inside” the mind of a character.

sound
Mickey Mousing Close association between rhythm of action and the rhythm of
the music track (particularly in non-dance sequences)

non-diegetic sound Source outside the story world.

onscreen / Sound source visible or not within the frame.

offscreen
sound bridge A sound used to link two scenes across an edit.

theme A musical motif associated with a particular character, place or

action.

voice-over Non-diegetic speech. Always use VO, not “narration”.

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Narrative

three narrative Equilibrium, disequilibrium, restoration of equilibrium.

stages
cause-effect logic Every event within the narrative is presumed to be the result of
a cause and the source of an effect.

dual-focus Many narratives have a genre and a romance plot, with one
narrative being more central.

plot (syuzhet) The way in which the narrative is presented to its audience.
The sequence of events as presented by the film.

story (fabula) The sequence of events following chronology and cause-effect.

goal orientation Character actions often motivated by the desire to achieve a

specific goal.

narrative A series of events related to each other by cause and effect.

transformation At the end of a narrative a significant change has often taken

place.

Narration

hierarchy of Who knows more than who? Does the spectator know more or
knowledge less than any of the characters? Which characters know more
than the others.

• Mystery: characters and audience know the same

• Surprise: characters know more than audience
• Suspense: audience knows more than characters

narration The way in which a story is told; how the narrative is presented
to the viewer. If narrative is “what happens”, narration is the
way in which those events are presented to us.

omniscient Story presented through a number of characters (the audience

narration knows more than any one character). Suspense may be the
effect.

restricted narration Story presented via one character in particular. Mystery or

surprise may be the effect of this form of narration.