Film Lexicon

ANGLE OF ILLUMINATION: See DIRECTION OF LIGHTING.

AXIS OF ACTION: An invisible line, known as the 180 DEGREE LINE or axis of action, runs through the space of the scene. The camera can shoot from any position within one side of that line, but it may never cross it. This convention ensures that the shot will have consistent spatial relations and screen directions. (See also 180 DEGREE RULE and CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)

BACKLIGHTING: See DIRECTION OF LIGHTING.

BLOCKING: The arrangement of the characters' positions and movements in a shot or sequence.

CAMERA ANGLE:

HIGH ANGLE SHOT: The camera looks down on a figure from a viewpoint above the figure's eyeline.
LOW ANGLE SHOT: The camera looks up at a figure from below the figure's eyeline.
OVERHEAD SHOT: The camera looks down from directly above the figure.
STRAIGHT ON or FULL FACE SHOT: The camera looks at the figure from a frontal view.
SIDE VIEW: The camera looks at the figure from (you guessed it) the side. Also reffered to as a profile view.
THREE-QUARTER VIEW: The camera looks at the figure from an angle.

CAMERA DISTANCE: See SHOT SCALE.

CAMERA MOVEMENT:

TRACKING SHOT: The camera mounted on a mobile support guided by rails moves smoothly through space horizontal to the ground in a consistent direction: forward, backward, sideways left, sideways right. (It is generally impossible to tell the difference between a track and a straight-line dolly).
DOLLY SHOT: The camera mounted on a moving support moves freely through space horizontal to the ground. Unlike a tracking shot, it is not restricted to simply rectilinear movements. Nevertheless, it is often difficult for viewers to distinguish between dolly and tracking shots.
CRANE SHOT: The camera appears to move freely above the ground.
HAND-HELD SHOT: The camera-operator's body serves as the camera support.
PAN: The camera scans along its horizontal axis, from right to left or vice versa. A pan rapid enough to blur the image is refered to as a SWISH or WHIP PAN.
TILT: The camera swivels up or down along its vertical axis.

CANTED FRAME: An unlevel framing creating a view in which objects appear to be slanted or tilting.

CLASSICAL EDITING: See CONTINUITY SYSTEM.

CLOSE-UP: See SHOT SCALE.

CONTINUITY EDITING: See CONTINUITY SYSTEM.

CONTINUITY SYSTEM (also called CONTINUITY EDITING, HOLLYWOOD EDITING, CLASSICAL EDITING): A highly standardized system of editing, now virtually universal in commercial film and television but originally associated with Hollywood cinema, that matches spatial and temporal relations from shot to shot in order to maintain continuous and clear narrative action. Generally speaking, the continuity system aims to present a scene so that the editing is "invisible" (not consciously noticed by the viewer) and the viewer is never distracted by awkward jumps between shots or by any confusion about the spatial lay-out of the scene. Classical editing achieves a "smooth" and "seamless" style of narration, both because of its conventionality (it is "invisible" in part because we are so used to it) and because it employs a number of powerful techniques designed to maximize a sense of spatial and temporal continuity. A key element of the continuity system is the 180 DEGREE RULE, which states that the camera must stay on only one side of the actions and objects in a scene. An invisible line, known as the 180 DEGREE LINE or AXIS OF ACTION, runs through the space of the scene. The camera can shoot from any position within one side of that line, but it may never cross it. This convention ensures that the shot will have consistent spatial relations and screen directions. In other words, characters and objects never "flip flop:" if they are on the right side of the screen, they will remain on the right from shot to shot; those on the left will always be on the left. For example, an actor walking from the left side of the screen to the right will not suddenly, in the next shot, appear to be walking in the opposite direction -- a reversal that would strike the viewer, if only fleetingly, as confusing or jarring. With the 180 DEGREE RULE, the viewer rarely experiences even a momentary sense of spatial disorientation. In theory, the camera may move anywhere on one side of the axis of action. In practise, however, the continuity system tends to follows a conventional pattern of camera placement and editing. For example, in a classic instance of two people facing each other in a conversation, a sequence would begin with an ESTABLISHING SHOT, a shot presenting a more or less complete view of the setting, showing the spatial relations among the key figures. The establishing shot gives the spectator an overview so that subsequent shots dissecting the space at a closer range are much less likely to be spatially ambiguous or disorienting. Periodically, the director will provide a RE-ESTABLISHING SHOT, to refresh the viewer's sense of the scene's overall geography. After the establishing shot, the camera typically moves incrementally closer to the action. One might see a LONG SHOT of the characters in conversation, followed by a MEDIUM SHOT. Any shot focusing on two people is referred to as a TWO SHOT. As the scene progresses to moments of emotional or dramatic intensity, the camera typically presents closer shots of the individual characters -- MEDIUM CLOSE-UPS and CLOSE-UPS. These shots usually alternate between the two speakers, with the camera placed at more or less opposite ends of the axis of action between them. This pattern of alternating shots is called the SHOT/REVERSE SHOT structure. There are three common variations of the SHOT/REVERSE SHOT: 1) In a simple SHOT/REVERSE SHOT, the camera simply alternates between shots that show one person at a time (usually the person talking). 2) An OVER-THE-SHOULDER TWO SHOT is also commonly used in conversation sequences. The camera is placed behind the shoulder of one of the people in the conversation. We see both characters -- one more or less frontally and the other from behind (usually we see just part of the head and torso). 3) A somewhat less common approach to the SHOT/REVERSE SHOT is to use a POINT-OF-VIEW SHOT or POV. The camera is placed where a character's eyes would be (either exactly or approximately). In a conversation sequence, a POV would generally show a more frontal, head-on perspective of the other character. (The POV, of course, is not found only in conversation sequences. More commonly, a POV shot is cut in before and/or after a shot of the character looking. Hitchcock's Rear Window, for example, is comprised largely of shots showing the Jimmy Stewart character's POV as he spies on the apartments across the way, followed by REACTION SHOTS showing him respond to what he sees). A key aim of the CONTINUITY SYSTEM is to ensure that no edit calls attention to itself or strikes the viewer as spatially confusing, inconsistent or awkward. The 180 DEGREE RULE and the conventionality of the editing formula described above do a great deal to achieve this end. Three other standard editing techniques in classical editing are also important: First, Hollywood editing typically embeds cuts in the middle of an action.-- a technique known as a MATCH ON ACTION. This technique helps "hide" the cut, since the viewer is paying attention to the action rather than the edit. Second, Hollywood editing typically adheres to the 30 DEGREE RULE, which holds that the camera must move at least 30 degrees between shots. In other words, it is taboo to show one shot and then cut to another shot that is almost the same as the first. If the angle of framing of two adjacent shots is too similiar, it creates the appearance that an object is jumping in a stacatto burst from one position to another. Although a number of modernist directors take advantage of this effect, called the JUMP CUT, to draw attention to editing, Hollywood editing avoids it for precisely the same reason. Finally, Hollywood editing employs the EYELINE MATCH to preserve spatial continuity and make the cut less noticeable. In an eyeline match, shot A shows a character looking offscreen and shot B shows what the character is looking at. The character's gaze is directed precisely so that it corresponds to the spatial lay-out established in earlier shots. This matching keeps the spatial relations among characters and objects consistent from one shot to the next. At the same time, the eyeline match makes the cut slightly smoother, since the viewer expects the cut and is eager to see what the next shot will show.

CRANE SHOT: See CAMERA MOVEMENT.

CROSSCUTTING AND PARALLEL EDITING:

CROSSCUTTING is a pattern of editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring simultaneously in different places. (A classic example would be shots of a burning house alternating with shots of fire engines racing towards the scene).
PARALLEL EDITING involves the same pattern of alternation, but does not necessarily imply temporal simultaneity. (An example would be shots contrasting scenes of poverty and opulence).

CUT: See SHOT TRANSITIONS.

DEEP FOCUS: See DEEP SPACE/ DEEP FOCUS/ DEPTH OF FIELD.

DEEP SPACE/ DEEP FOCUS/ DEPTH OF FIELD:

DEEP SPACE: An arrangement of the mise-en-scene so that there is a considerable distance between the foreground and background planes of a shot (regardless of focus).
DEEP FOCUS: The use of the camera lens and lighting to keep the foreground, middleground, and background planes in sharp focus at the same time.
DEPTH OF FIELD: The measurement of the closest and farthest planes in front of the camera between which objects will be in sharp focus. A DEEP FOCUS shot necessarily has a long depth of field. While Olivier's visual style stresses long depth of field (probably emulating Orson Welles), Zeffirelli's shots tend to have a very short depth of field, blurring the background in order, in part, to direct attention to the facial expressions of the key character.

DEPTH OF FIELD: See DEEP SPACE/ DEEP FOCUS/ DEPTH OF FIELD.

DIEGESIS: The world of a film's story, including the spaces and actions we see on screen as well as those presumed to occur off-screen. (For example, the diegesis of Romeo and Juliet is Verona, although we do not see much of the city on screen). [See also NON-DIEGETIC INSERT.]

[Note: diegesis as a literary term originates with Aristotle, in whose usage it means something closer to "narrative," or "narration." In contemporary usage, the term almost always refers to film, and has a wider meaning, referring (as stated above) to the fictional or narrative locations and settings shown on screen as well as to the events that take place in those locations.]

DIEGETIC INTERNAL SOUND: See SOUND - SPATIAL RELATIONS TO IMAGE.

DIEGETIC OFFSCREEN SOUND: See SOUND - SPATIAL RELATIONS TO IMAGE.

DIEGETIC ONSCREEN SOUND: See SOUND - SPATIAL RELATIONS TO IMAGE.

DIRECTION OF LIGHTING (angle of illumination):

FRONTAL LIGHTING: Lighting cast from a position near the camera and tending to eliminate shadows.
SIDE LIGHTING: Lighting cast from the side of a figure or object.
BACKLIGHTING: Lighting cast from behind a figure or object, highlighting its outline.
UNDERLIGHTING: Lighting cast from a point below the figure.
TOP LIGHTING: Lighting cast from above the figure.

DISSOLVE: See SHOT TRANSITIONS.

DOLLY SHOT: See CAMERA MOVEMENT.

EDITING: The juxtaposition of two or more shots and the relations thereby created.

ELLIPSIS or ELLIPTICAL EDITING: In a film, the term refers to the abbreviation of time resulting when parts of an action, event, or story are cut out through editing. In a film adaptation, narrative ellipsis may originate either in the original text or in the screenwriting and editing processes.

ESTABLISHING SHOT: A shot presenting a more or less complete view of the setting, showing the spatial relations among the key figures. The establishing shot gives the spectator an overview so that subsequent shots dissecting the space at a closer range are much less likely to be spatially ambiguous or disorienting. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM and RE-ESTABLISHING SHOT.)

EXPRESSIONISM: A non-naturalistic or highly stylized rendering of any or all components of the mise-en-scene (i.e., lighting, setting, costume and make-up, performance style), particularly in order to convey the emotional state of a character or characters, or the emotional register of the situation.

EXTREME CLOSE-UP: See SHOT SCALE.

EXTREME LONG SHOT: See SHOT SCALE.

EYELINE MATCH: The alternation of a shot showing a person looking offscreen with a shot of what that person is looking at. Or more generally, the precise directing of a character's gaze so that it corresponds to the spatial lay-out of characters and objects established in earlier shots. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)

FADE (FADE-IN or FADE-OUT): See SHOT TRANSITIONS.

FILL LIGHT: See LIGHTING SOURCE.

FRAMING: The selection and composition of the onscreen contents of a shot with respect to the edges of the screen. (See also INTERNAL FRAMING.)

FRONTAL LIGHTING: See DIRECTION OF LIGHTING.

FULL FACE SHOT: See CAMERA ANGLE.

GRAPHIC MATCH: Any shot transition that reveals a strong visual similarity between the shots. (A classic example is the graphic match in the shower sequence in Psycho: a slowly spiraling close-up of Marian's eye dissolves into a close-up of the blood spiraling down the shower drain).

HAND-HELD SHOT: See CAMERA MOVEMENT.

HEIGHT OF FRAMING: The distance of the camera above the ground, regardless of the camera's angle. Thus, a LOW CAMERA SHOT is not necessarily the same as a LOW-ANGLE SHOT, although in practice they do generally coincide.

HIGH ANGLE SHOT: See CAMERA ANGLE.

HIGH/LOW CONTRAST LIGHTING (quality of illumination): High contrast or "hard" lighting creates sharp differences between the light and dark areas of the image. Low contrast or "soft" lighting avoids extremes of light or dark and creates a gradual transition between lighter and darker areas.

HIGH-KEY LIGHTING: See LIGHTING SOURCE.

HOLLYWOOD EDITING: See CONTINUITY SYSTEM.

INTERNAL FRAMING: The placement of a figure or figures (or other important objects) within boundaries formed by other mise-en-scene elements (sets, objects, other figures, etc.) A composition often referred to as "frame within the frame." (See also FRAMING.)

JUMP CUT: A cut that, from shot to shot, either: 1) keeps the exact same background but changes the position of the figure(s). Or.... 2) keeps the figure(s) in the exact same position but changes the background. The Hollywood CONTINUITY SYSTEM tries to avoid jump cuts, since they draw attention to the editing.

KEY LIGHT: See LIGHTING SOURCE.

LIGHTING: See DIRECTION OF LIGHTING; LIGHTING SOURCE; HIGH/LOW CONTRAST LIGHTING.

LIGHTING SOURCE:

KEY LIGHT: The main source of lighting in a scene.
LOW-KEY/ HIGH-KEY LIGHTING: Two terms whose meanings are contrary to what one might expect. With low-key lighting, the key light is positioned low with respect to the figure or object, creating an intense illumination. With high-key lighting, the key light is high above the figure, so the illumination is less strong.
FILL LIGHT: Lighting used to soften the shadows created by the key light.
THREE-POINT LIGHTING: A common arrangement of key, fill and back lighting that models the figure while maintaining more or less even illumination in the scene.

LONG SHOT: See SHOT SCALE.

LONG TAKE (also called SEQUENCE SHOT): A continuous shot whose duration is appreciably longer than usual. Certain directors (eg. Ozu, Renoir, Welles) tended to present unfolding action through long takes (often in conjunction with DEEP FOCUS cinematography) instead of editing. ( LONG TAKE should not be confused with LONG SHOT, which has to do with camera distance, not shot duration).

LOW ANGLE SHOT: See CAMERA ANGLE.

LOW CONTRAST LIGHTING: See HIGH/LOW CONTRAST LIGHTING.

LOW-KEY LIGHTING: See LIGHTING SOURCE.

MATCH ON ACTION: A cut from one shot of an action to a different shot of the action, edited such that the second shot picks up at precisely the moment that the first shot left off, making the action appear to continue uninterrupted, with no ELLIPSIS. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)

MEDIUM CLOSE-UP: See SHOT SCALE.

MEDIUM LONG SHOT: See SHOT SCALE.

MEDIUM SHOT: See SHOT SCALE.

MISE-EN-SCENE: Strictly speaking, mise-en-scene refers to any elements placed in front of the camera. These "pro-filmic" elements fall into four main categories: Sets and props; Costume and make-up; Acting (blocking; performance style, etc.); and Lighting. The term also suggests the composition of a film image -- the arrangement objects, figures, masses, shadows, patterns of color, etc.

NON-DIEGETIC INSERT: A shot or series of shots cut into a sequence, showing objects from outside the space and time of the narrative. [See also DIEGESIS.]

NON-DIEGETIC SOUND: See SOUND - SPATIAL RELATIONS TO IMAGE.

OFFSCREEN SPACE: The areas not visible on screen but still part of the space of a scene. There are six offscreen areas: -- To each side of the frame -- Above and below the frame -- Behind the set -- Behind the camera

180 DEGREE RULE: A central convention of the CONTINUITY SYSTEM that states that the camera must stay on one side of the axis of action (also known as the 180 degree line) -- an imaginary line running through the space of the scene (often between two key actors). When the camera stays on only one side of this line, the shot will have consistent spatial relations and screen directions. That is, characters and objects on the right side of the screen remain on the right from shot to shot, and those on the left will always be on the left (at least, until they move and a new axis of action is established). We consistently see the same side of the actors. Sightlines obey the axis of action principle. An actor looking from the left side of the screen to the right will not suddenly, in the next shot, appear to be looking from the right to the left. Beyond maintaining consistant spatial relations and directions of movement and looking, the180 degree rule also insures that the space in each shot will be immediately legible, since there will be more or less consistent and recognizable background from one shot to the next. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)

OVERHEAD SHOT: See CAMERA ANGLE.

OVER-THE-SHOULDER SHOT: A shot containing people viewed over the shoulder of one of them. If one person is viewed, it is called an over-the-shoulder two shot. If two are viewed, it is an over-the-shoulder three shot, and so on. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)

PAN: See CAMERA MOVEMENT.

PARALLEL EDITING: See CROSSCUTTING AND PARALLEL EDITING.

PLAN AMERICAIN: See SHOT SCALE.

POINT OF VIEW SHOT (POV): A shot implying a character's field of vision, showing what the character sees; usually cut in before and/or after a shot of the character looking. In an exact POV, the camera is placed where the character's eyes would be. Many POVs, however, are merely approximate: for example, in cases where the camera is placed closer to the object than the character's eyes would be. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)

QUALITY OF ILLUMINATION: See HIGH/LOW CONTRAST LIGHTING.

REACTION SHOT: A shot, typically a close-up or MCU, in which a character visibly responds to the events presented in the previous shot. Often, a reaction shot is the third shot of a three-shot unit, comprised of a shot of the character looking offscreen, a shot (usually a POV) of what is seen, and a shot showing the character's reaction. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)

RE-ESTABLISHING SHOT: A shot used to refresh the viewer's sense of the scene's overall geography. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM and ESTABLISHING SHOT.)

REFLEXIVITY: A general term for the many ways cinema can refer to itself or to the specifics of production and exhibition. Very literal examples include Man with a Movie Camera (Russian: Chelovek C Kinapparatom), directed by Tziga Vertov, in which a camera and a cameraman are nearly always on screen, shown in the process of filming many scenes from everyday life in Russia. Godard's Vivre sa Vie also offers a classic instance of reflexivity when a mirror in the cafe where the main characters are having a drink intentionally shows the audience the camera that is filming them. But reflexivity can also refer to more subtle ways in which cinema foregrounds the cinematic apparatus or processes, or even the conventions of cinema stardom, sometimes merely by exaggerating them.

REVERSE ANGLE SHOOTING: See SHOT/REVERSE SHOT.

SEQUENCE SHOT: See LONG TAKE.

SHOT: One uninterrupted image taken by a static or mobile camera.

SHOT/REVERSE SHOT (or REVERSE ANGLE SHOOTING): A conventional pattern of editing and camera placement in sequences showing a conversation between two (or more) people. The camera alternates between shots of person A and shots of person B, taken from opposite ends of the axis of action. The camera must move at least 90 degrees between the two shots (in order to move from person A's end of the axis to person B's), while staying on only one side of the figures (that is, one side of the 180 degree line). Olivier uses hardly any shot/reverse shot structures. This is a consequence of three stylistic tendencies: 1) He almost always uses a two shot in conversation sequences, rather than dissecting the space into one-shots. 2) When Olivier wants to change the framing during a conversation scene, he generally uses camera movement rather than editing. 3) Olivier also emphasizes character mobility within the space of a scene -- characters do not stay put long enough to switch back and forth between them in a shot-reverse-shot pattern. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)

SHOT SCALE (also called CAMERA DISTANCE):

EXTREME CLOSE-UP: A small object or part of the body fills most of the screen.
CLOSE-UP: A person's head, or an object of a comparable size, fills most of the screen. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)
MEDIUM CLOSE-UP: A person's head and chest would fill most of the screen.
MEDIUM SHOT: A person seen from the waist up would fill most of the screen. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)
MEDIUM LONG SHOT: (also called THREE-QUARTER SHOT and PLAN AMERICAIN): A person from the knees up would fill most of the screen.
LONG SHOT: The full figure of a standing person would appear nearly the height of the screen. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)
EXTREME LONG SHOT: A building, landscape or crowd of people would fill the screen.

SHOT TRANSITIONS:

CUT: An instantaneous transition from one shot to another.
FADE: In a FADE-IN, the image gradually brightens into view from black, white, or any other solid color. In a FADE-OUT, the image gradually disappears from view.
DISSOLVE: A gradual transition in which a fade in is superimposed over a fade out. This device is used as a "softer" transition, but the overlap of two images also allows the director to make associations and convey rhetorical narration.
WIPE: A shot transition in which one image gradually replaces another through a horizontal, vertical, diagonal, spiral or other movement across the screen.

SIDE LIGHTING: See DIRECTION OF LIGHTING.

SIDE VIEW: See CAMERA ANGLE.

SOUND BRIDGE: A transitional sound device in which either 1) the sound from shot A is carried over for a few seconds into shot B, or, more comonly, 2) the sound from shot B begins a few seconds before the end of shot A. Sound bridges are generally used to create a smoother, less jarring, transition between shots or sequences.

SOUND - SPATIAL RELATIONS TO IMAGE: There are four possible spatial relations of sound to image. They are often used in combination:

DIEGETIC ONSCREEN SOUND: Sound comes from sources we see on screen. (See also DIEGESIS.)
DIEGETIC OFFSCREEN SOUND: Sound comes from sources we do not see on screen in a given shot (although we might see it later on). (See also DIEGESIS.)
DIEGETIC INTERNAL SOUND: We hear sounds from inside a character's head. (See also DIEGESIS.)

NON-DIEGETIC SOUND: Sound comes from outside the world of the film. The most common example is soundtrack music, paralleling the emotions conveyed by the action on screen. An omnicient narrator's VOICE-OVER is another typical source of non-diegetic sound. Avant-garde directors such as Godard have used other varieties of non-diegetic sound in their experiments with REFLEXIVITY.
(See also DIEGESIS.)

STRAIGHT-ON SHOT: See CAMERA ANGLE.

SWISH: See CAMERA MOVEMENT.

30 DEGREE RULE: A convention in Hollywood editing which holds that the camera must move at least 30 degrees between shots. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)

THREE-POINT LIGHTING: See LIGHTING SOURCE.

THREE-QUARTER SHOT: See SHOT SCALE.

THREE-QUARTER VIEW: See CAMERA ANGLE.

TILT: See CAMERA MOVEMENT.

TOP LIGHTING: See DIRECTION OF LIGHTING.

TRACKING SHOT: See CAMERA MOVEMENT.

TRUNCATION: The cropping-off of parts of the human figure (or other key object) by the boundaries of the frame. Technically speaking, most shots involve truncation (a three-quarter shot, for example, crops the parts of the body below the knees). But the term is used more specifically to refer to an unconventional cropping of key figures -- a framing that obstructs a clear view of important people or objects.

TWO SHOT: Any shot focusing on two people. (See also CONTINUITY SYSTEM.)

UNDERLIGHTING: See DIRECTION OF LIGHTING.

VOICE-OVER: A voice heard during a sequence, but not issuing from a character talking on screen. There are several varieties, among them: -- we hear the voice of a narrator who is not a character in the action and is never seen or identified. This would be a form of non-diegetic sound. -- we hear the voice of a character, but the voice is not synchronous with the action seen on screen. That is, the speech is presumed to occur before or after the actions on screen. -- we hear the internal thoughts of a character as we see the character on screen. This form of voice-over is also known as diegetic internal sound.

WHIP PAN: See CAMERA MOVEMENT.

WIPE: See SHOT TRANSITIONS.

ZOOM: A mobile framing achieved without moving the camera, but rather by using a special lens whose focal length can be changed during a shot. A zoom gradually changes the magnification of an image, as well as the apparent distance between foreground and background planes. A shift towards the telephoto range (a zoom in) enlarges the image and flattens its planes together, giving us an impression of moving into the scene's space. A shift towards the wide-angle range (a zoom out) has the opposite effect. The zoom was first refined for mainstream film-making in the early Sixties. There are no zooms in Olivier's Hamlet, since the film pre-dates this technique.