the continuity approach to editing which dictates that the camera should stay on one side of the action to ensure consistent spatial relations between objects to the right and left of the frame. The 180-degree line is also called axis of action.

a film that is nonrepresentational, using form and design to produce its effect and often describable as visual music.

a film that presents recognisable images in such a way that the aim is more poetic than narrative.

a type of filmic organisation in which the parts relate to each other through repetition and variation of such visual qualities as shape, colour, rhythm, and direction of movement. See associational form

a term for standardised shape of film frame established by the Academy of Motion Pictures and Arts and Sciences. In the original ratio, the frame was 1 1/3 times as wide as it was high (1.33:1); later the width was normalized at 1.85 times the height(1.85:1)

an old term for documentaries

a cue for suggesting represented depth in the image by presenting objects in the distance less distinctly than those in the foreground

a term used in literary criticism to suggest that it is an error to judge a work of art on the basis of its results, especially its emotional effect

theory that deals with the effect of a work of art rather than its creation.

an artistic technique that utilises chance conditions and probability. In aleatory film, images and sounds are not planned in advance.

the natural light surrounding the subject, usually understood to be soft.

a lens for making widescreen films using regular Academy ratio frame size. The camera lens takes in a wide field of view and squeezes it onto the frame, and a similar projector lens unsqueezes in onto a wide theatre screen. CinemaScope and Panavision are examples of anamorphic widescreen processes.

See camera angle

any process whereby artificial movement is created by photographing a series of drawings or computer images one by one.

a production in contrast to the mass production of studio production. A filmmaker, producer, and crew devote their energy to making a single film.

the relationship of the television or film frame's width to its height.

a type of organisation in which the film's parts are juxtaposed to suggest similarities, contrasts, concepts, emotions, and expressive qualities.

sound that is not matched with image, as when dialogue is out of sync with lip movements

Eisenstein's theory of film analyses the image as a series or collection of attractions, each in a dialectical relationship with the others. In this theory, attractions are thus basic elements of film form.

politique des auteurs, first stated by Francois Truffaut in his article "Une certaine tendance du cinema francais" in Cahiers du cinema in 1954, suggests that one person, usually director, has the artistic responsibility for a film and reveals a personal worldview through the tensions among style, theme, and the conditions of production. It argues that films can be studied like novels and paintings as a product of an individual artist.

an "author" of a film, usually identified as the director, especially a director with a recognisable style and whose personal vision dominates the film or filmmaking process, as opposed to just a "metteur en scene" whose direction is considered more like craftsmanship.

artists who are more intellectually or aesthetically advanced than are their contemporaries (if we assume that art is progressing). Avant garde films are generally non-narrative in structure.

In the continuity editing system, the imaginary line that passes from side to side through a main actors, defining the spatial relations of all the elements of the scene as being to the right or the left. It is also called the 180-degree line. When the camera crosses this axis at a cut, those spatial relations are reversed thereby confusing the audience. It is one of cardinal rules of continuity editing not to cross this axis during a sequence.

A boom operator is an assistant to the location sound mixer. Their main role is microphone placement, sometimes using a "fishpole" or "boom pole" with a microphone attached to the end and sometimes, when the situation permits, using a "boom" (often a Fisher boom) which is a more intricate and specialized piece of equipment that the operator stands on, and that allows precise control of the microphone at a much greater distance away from the actors. He or she will also attach wireless microphones to actors, celebrities and anyone whose voice requires recording.

The boom operator must decide where to place the boom microphone based on a combination of factors, including the location and projection of any dialogue, the frame position of the camera, the source of lighting (and hence shadows) and any unwanted noise sources.

animation that uses a series of drawings on pieces of celluloid (called "cel" for short). Slight changes between the drawings combine to create an illusion of movement.

in the continuity editing system, a cut which presents continuous time from shot to shot but which mis-matches the position of figures or objects

A general term for all the roles of the cinematographer whose principle task is responsibility for all aspects of the visual look and style of the film. This include the lighting positioning and styles, and camera framing and movement. S/he may also be responsible therefore for the choice of lenses, filters and grip to achieve the creative, narrative and emotional audience response desired by the director.

the degree to which the ending of a narrative film reveals the effects of all the casual events and resolves all lines of action.

Contrast Ratio is a measurement of the difference in brightness between the whitest white and the darkest black within an image. A ratio of 300:1 means the brightest point in the image is 300 times as bright as the darkest point. A higher contrast ratio therefore means a larger difference in brightness.

Contrast ratio is of interest in two situations:

1. Cameras: When recording an image (video, film, photography) # TVs, Monitors, etc.
   
   
2. TV Monitors etc - When choosing or setting up a playback device (TV, computer monitor, etc)

editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneous.

in filmmaking, the joining of two strips of film together with a splice.

the measurements of the closest and farthest planes in front of camera lens between which everything will be in sharp focus. For example, a depth of field from 5 to 16 feet would mean everything closer than 5 feet and farther than 16 ft would be out of focus.

in editing a scene, arranging the cut so that a bit of dialogue or noise coming from shot A is heard under a shot of a character B or of another element in the scene.

any voice, musical passage, or sound effect presented as originating from a source within the film's world. See nondiegetic sound.

music, noise, and speech recorded from the event at the moment of filming; opposite of post synchronization.

any alternative system of joining shots together using techniques unacceptable within continuity editing principles. Possibilities include mismatching of temporal and spatial relations, violations of the axis of action, and concentration on graphic relationships. See elliptical editing, intellectual montage, nondiegetic insert.

in Brecht's theory, theatre that appeals more to the audience's reason than to his feeling. See estrangement effect and theatre of cruelty.

an approach that makes liberal use of technical devices and artistic distortion and in which the personality of the director is always paramount and obvious. See German expressionism and formalism.

a cut obeying the axis of action principle, in which the first shot shows a person looking off in one direction and the following shot shows a nearby space containing what he or she sees. If the person looks left, the following shot should imply that the looker is off-screen right.

a shot gradually darkens as the screen goes black (or brightens to pure white or to a colour).

French for "dark film", a term applied by French critics to a type of American film, usually in the detective or thriller genres, with low-key lighting and a sombre - often fatalistic - mood, especially common in the late 40's and early 50's.

a piece of glass or geltine placed in front of camera or printer lens to alter the quality(colour) or quantity of light striking the film in aperture.

the distance from the centre of lens to the point at which the light rays meet in sharp focus. The focal length determines the perspective relations of the space represented on the flat screen.

the compositional unit to film design.

a method of combining images. Live action is filmed against a highly reflective screen on which an image from a slide or movie projector is projected by means of mirrors along the axis of the taking lens so that there are no visible shadows cast by the actors. When the screen is exceptionally reflective and the live actors are well lit, no image from the projector should be visible on the actors or props in front of the screen.

The width of the film strip, measured in millimetres. 35mm is most commonly used filmstock, 65mm and 70mm are used for major epic productions.

the film in the camera when the shot is taken is "first generation". A print of this negative will be "second generation". An internegative made from this positive will be "third generation" and so on. Each generation marks a progressive deterioration in the quality of the image.

various types of films which audiences and filmmakers recognize by their familiar narrative conventions. Common genres are musical, gangster, and western films.

two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements (ex. colour, shape).

a round, moving mask that contracts to close down to end an scene or emphasize a detail, or opens to begin a scene or to reveal more space around a detail.

lighting that creates strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot, with deep shadows and little fill light.

an opaque screen placed in the camera or printer that blocks part of the frame off and changes the shape of photographed image, leaving part of the frame a solid colour. As seen on the screen, most masks are black, although they could be white or coloured.

a framing in which the scale of the object is of moderate size; a human figure seen from the waist up would fill most of the screen.

originally, simply a drama with music; more precisely, the type of 19th century drama that centred on the simplistic conflict between heroes and villains.

a kind of extreme, simplified realism, best exemplified by films of Carl Dreyer, Robert Bresson, and early Andy Warhol; minimal dependence on the technical power of the medium.

all the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed, that is, part of the cinematic process that take place on the set, as opposed to montage, which takes place afterward. It includes the settings and props, lighting, costumes and make-up, and figure behaviour. Mise-en-scene tends to be very important to realists, montage to expressionists.

colour design which emphasizes a narrow set of shades of a single colour.

an approach to editing developed by the Soviet filmmakers of the 1920's; it emphasizes dynamic, often discontinuous, relationships between shots and the juxtaposition of images to create ideas not present in either one by itself. Also called montage of attraction.

the process through which the plot conveys or withholds story information. It can be more or less restricted to character knowledge and more or less deep in presenting characters' mental perceptions and thoughts.

a style of filmmaking identified with Italian directors such as Vittorio De Sica, Roberto Rossellini, and Luchino Visconti in the mid- and late 1940's and characterized by the use of nonprofessional actors, location shooting, and some hand-held camerawork, and political messages.

the group of filmmakers (Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol, Rohmer, Rivette, etc) who began as critics on Cahiers du cinema in the 1950's and who were influenced by Andre Bazin. Also called Nouvelle Vague.

more loosely, the young French filmmakers of the 1960's, or any new group of filmmakers.

the earliest film theatres, the term stemming from the admission price of five cents.

diegetic sound that comes either earlier or later than the accompanying image of the source.

Looking from behind a person at the subject, cutting off the frame just behind the ear. The person facing the subject should occupy about 1/3 of the frame.

This shot helps to establish the positions of each person, and get the feel of looking at one person from the other's point of view.

from the Latin for "mask", a character in a literary, cinematic, or dramatic work. More precisely, the psychological image of the character that is created, especially in the relationship to the other levels of reality.

a form of single-frame animation in which three-dimensional objects, often people, are made to move in staccato bursts through the use of stop-action cinematography thereby breaking the illusion of the continuous movement.

a shot taken with the camera placed approximately where the character's eyes would be, representing what the character sees; usually cut in before or after a shot of the character looking.

the process of adding sound to images after they have been shot and assembled; includes dubbing of voices, inserting diegetic music or sound effects. It is opposite of direct sound

any shot involving rephotography to combine two or more images into one, or to create a special effects; also called composite shot.

a return to a view of an entire space after a series of closer shots following the establishing shot.

a process in which a foreground action is combined with a background action filmed earlier to give impression that actors are in the location of background scene, for instance. The foreground is filmed in studio, against a screen; the background imagery is projected from behind the screen. Largely superseded at present by front projection and matte technique.

short panning or tilting movements to adjust for the figures' movements, keeping them onscreen or centred.

the perceived rate and regularity of sounds, series of shots, and movements within the shots. Rhythmic factors include beat (or pulse), accent (or stress), and tempo (or pace).

the rotation of camera around the axis that runs from the lens to the subject. This is not common because its effect usually disorients the viewer.

the right-left relationship in a scene, set up in an establishing shot and determined by the position of characters and objects in the frame, by the directions of movement, and by the character's eyelines. Continuity editing will attempt to keep screen direction consistent between shots. See axis of action, eyeline match, 180-degree system.

a type of comedy prevalent in 1930's and typified by frenetic action, wisecracks, and sexual relationships as an important plot element; usually about upper-class characters and therefore often involving opulent sets and costumes a visual elements; highly verbal as opposed to its predecessor, the slapstick comedy. Examples include It Happened One Night and Brining Up Baby

a term commonly used for moderately large segment of a film, involving one complete stretch of action and consisting of one or more scenes.

a restricted depth of field, which keeps only those planes close to the camera in sharp focus; the opposite of deep focus.

diegetic sound that is represented as occurring at the same time in the story as the image it accompanies.

at the beginning of a scene, the sound from the previous scene carries over briefly before the sound from the new scene begins. Or conversely, at the end of a scene, the sound from the next scene is heard, leading into that scene.

any sound that is not represented as being directly audible within the space and time of the images on the screen. This includes both non-simultaneous diegetic sounds and nondiegetic sounds.

sound that is matched temporally with movements occurring in the images, as when dialogue corresponds to lip movements.

Antonin Artaud's theory of theatre that emphasizes the stage as a concrete physical space requiring its own physical language. By "cruelty" Artaud meant a theater was difficult in that it insisted on the involvement of the spectator in the theatrical process; it sought to be free from "subjugation to the text," and return to basic, mystical, cathartic qualities.

a camera movement by swivelling upward or downward on a stationary support. It produces a mobile framing that scans the space vertically.

a mobile framing that travels through space forward, backward, or laterally. It could move on tracks or dolly, or hand-held. Also called "travelling shot."

the length of time it takes to watch a film when it is projected at the appropriate speed.

an extremely fast movement of camera from side to side, which causes the image to blur into a set of indistinct horizontal lines briefly. Often imperceptible cut joins two whip pans to create a trick transition between scenes.