FILM & TV GLOSSARY

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UKFILMNET FILM & TELEVISION PRODUCTION GLOSSARY

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D

decoupage

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
the design of the film, arrangement of its shots. "Decoupage classique" is the French term for the old Hollywood style of seamless narration.

deep focus

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
a use of the camera lens and lighting that keeps both the close and distant planes being photographed in sharp focus.

deep space

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
an arrangement of mise-en-scene element so that there is a considerable distance between the plane closest to the camera and the one farthest away. Any or all of these planes may be in focus.

depth of field

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)

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.

dialectics

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
the system of thought that focuses on contradictions between opposing concepts; in the Marxian sense of the term, historical change occurs through the opposition of conflicting forces and ideas. It is related to Eisenstein's idea that studied juxtaposition of images, often of opposite nature (thesis and antithesis), creates a new meaning in synthesis, which was not present in either image. See montage.

dialogue overlap

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)

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.

diegesis

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
in a narrative film, the world of the film's story. It includes events that are presumed to have occurred and actions and spaces not shown onscreen.

diegetic sound

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)

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

DIGITAL CINEMATOGRAPHY

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
Digital Cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common. Many mainstream Hollywood movies now are shot partly or fully digitally.

direct cinema

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
the dominant style of documentary in the U.S. since the early 60's. Like cinema verite, it depends on lightweight, mobile equipment, but unlike it, it does not permit the filmmaker to become involved in the action, and, in fact, is noted for its avoidance of narration.

direct sound

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)

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

discontinuity editing

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)

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.

dissolve

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
a transition between two shots during which the image of first shot gradually disappears while the image of the second shot gradually appears; for a moment the two images blend in superimposition.

distance of framing

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
the apparent distance of the frame from the mise-en-scene elements. Also called "camera distance" and "shot scale". Close-up and medium long shot are examples of terms referring to distance of framing.

dolly

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
a camera support with wheels, used in making tracking shots.

drawing power

(Last edited: Tuesday, 30 July 2013, 5:41 PM)
The concept of the drawing power of the lens is a lesser-known and somewhat specialist term used in photography and cinematography.

At its simplest, the drawing power of the lens relates to how rapidly an object's furthest components fall away to the vanishing point of a shot, compared to those nearest. It relates to how angler the perspective of a shot it. If you think about a shot featuring a skyscraper, a lens with high drawing power would show quickly tapering tops of the sky scrapers, as the higher floors are further away. Thus typically wider angle lenses (those with a shorter focal length) have a greater drawing power than normal focal length or long (telephoto) lenses.

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