FILM & TV GLOSSARY
UKFILMNET FILM & TELEVISION PRODUCTION GLOSSARY
Browse the glossary using this index
Special | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ALL
C |
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cahiers du cinema | ||
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a seminal film journal founded by Andre Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Lo Duca in 1951. Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol, Rohmer, Rivette, and others who later became New Wave directors wrote for it and postulated the auteur policy. | ||
camera angle | ||
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the position of the frame in relation to the subject it shows. A high angle is when camera is looking down, low angle when looking up. | ||
camera movement | ||
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onscreen impression that the framing is changing with respect to the scene being photographed. This is usually achieved by actual movement of camera but also by a zoom lens or special effects. | ||
canted framing | ||
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a view in which the frame is not level. Either right or left side is lower, causing objects in the scene to appear tipped. | ||
categorical form | ||
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a type of filmic organization in which the parts treat distinct parts of some subject. For example, a film about U.S. might be organized into fifty parts, each devoted to a single state. | ||
cel animation | ||
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change-over cue | ||
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small dot or other mark in the top right-hand corner of the frame, often in series, that signals the projectionist to switch from one projector to another(recently popularized as "cigarette burn" in the movie Fight Club) | ||
cheat cut | ||
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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 | ||
cinema verite | ||
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a cinema that utilized lightweight equipment, two-person crews (camera and sound), and interview techniques. It is also now often used loosely to refer to any kind of documentary technique. See direct cinema. | ||
cinematography | ||
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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. | ||
close-up | ||
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a framing in which the scale of the object shown is relatively large, most commonly a person's head seen from the neck up, or an object of a comparable size that fills most of the screen. | ||
closure | ||
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the degree to which the ending of a narrative film reveals the effects of all the casual events and resolves all lines of action. | ||
colour filter | ||
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A colour gel or colour filter, or a lighting gel or simply gel, is a transparent coloured material that is used in theatre, event production, photography, videography and cinematography to colour light and for colour correction. Modern gels are thin sheets of polycarbonate or polyester, placed in front of a lighting fixture in the path of the beam. Gels have a limited life, especially in saturated colours. The colour will fade or even melt, depending upon the energy absorption of the colour, and the sheet will have to be replaced. In permanent installations and some theatrical uses, coloured glass filters or dichroic filters are being used. The main drawbacks are additional expense and a more limited selection. | ||
Compact fluorescent | ||
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A compact fluorescent light (or CFL) is a fluorescent lamp that is increasingly aimed at replacing traditional incandescent lamps (tungsten lighting) as compact arrest and lights are generally agrees to use one 5th to 1/3 the electric power and last 8 to 15 times longer than traditional tungsten lighting. A fluorescent lamp is a gas discharge lamp whereby light is created by the passing of an electrical signal through a usually mercury vapour. This electric field excites the Mercury atoms to produce shortwave ultraviolet light which then causes a phosphor to fluoresce producing what we recognise as visible light. | ||
connote | ||
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A concept can "connote" a particular meaning (or set of close ideas) that goes beyond its defined meaning. It is something else implied. Connotations may be universally understood or may be significant only to a certain group of people or cultures. A rose may connote romance, for example, beyond its direct meaning as a flower | ||
continuity editing | ||
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a system of cutting to maintain continuous and narrative action. It relies upon matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations from shot to shot to give spatial and temporal unity between shots. | ||
contrast | ||
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in the cinematography, the difference between the brightest and the darkest areas within the frame. | ||
contrast Ratio | ||
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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: | ||
Covering | ||
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Covering Is a term used by film or television directors that expresses their way of choosing camera angles and camera moves and different shot types to ensure the footage encompasses (or ‘covers’) the action and dialogue in the script. Hence the term ‘cover shot’ which is usually understood-in film making - to mean a wide-angle shot of the entire scene that covers all the action. The more common name for a cover shot is the ‘master shot’. In photography however the term cover shot is usually referred to as a master shot or photograph used for the cover of a publication. Covering a scene can be achieved by using a single ‘master shot’ or cover shot, but more usually refers to the process of filming and gathering a range of different shot types (wide-angle, extreme close-up etc) in order to give the editor and director creative choices in the editing process after filming. | ||
crane shot | ||
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a shot with a change in framing accomplished by having the camera on the crane and moving through the air in any direction. | ||
crosscutting | ||
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editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneous. | ||
cut (1) | ||
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in filmmaking, the joining of two strips of film together with a splice. | ||
cut (2) | ||
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in the finished film, an instantaneous change from one framing to another. | ||
cut-in | ||
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