FILM TERMS GLOSSARY English 30-1 Film Analysis Unit

FILM TERMS GLOSSARY

English 30-1 Film Analysis Unit

AUTEUR

French for “author”

Used by critics writing for Cahiers du cinema and

other journals to indicate the figure, usually the

director, who stamped a film with his/her own

“personality”.

Auteur theory emphasizes the director as the major

creator of film art.

BIOPIC

Biopic

A biographical film normally about

the life of a famous person.

CAPTIONS/ TITLES

Written labels on the screen.

A title designer is responsible for the captions.

One of the most famous title designers was Saul

Bass who worked on many of Hitchcock’s films.

Here are the titles for Vertigo.

The artist responsible for the lighting of a shot and

the quality of the photography in a film.

Cinematographer

Director of Photography

DIAGETIC VS. NON-DIAGETIC SOUND

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_4hOY-9nKA

D O L LY S H O T, T R A C K I N G S H O T, T R U C K I N G S H O T

A shot taken from a moving vehicle. In the past

tracks were laid on the set to permit a smoother

movement of the camera.

In Hitchcock’s North by Northwest we can see this

example of a dolly shot.

E D I T I N G

The joining together of clips of film into a single

filmstrip. The cut is a simple edit but there are many

other possible ways to transition from one shot to

another.

The following was a short film. This video was time

lapsed.

https://vimeo.com/4636202

FLASHBACK / FLASH-FORWARD

A jump backwards or forwards in diegetic  time.

With the use of flashback / flashforward the order of events in the plot

no longer matches the order of events in the story. Citizen Kane(Orson

Welles, 1941) is a famous film composed almost entirely of flashbacks

and flash-forwards. The film timeline spans over 60 years, as it traces

the life of Charles Foster Kane from his childhood to his deathbed —

and on into the repercussions of his actions on the people around him.

Some characters appear at several time periods in the film, usually

being interviewed in the present and appearing in the past as they tell

the reporter of their memories of Kane.

FOCUS

Focus refers to the degree to which light rays coming

from any particular part of an object pass through the lens

and re-converge at the same point on a frame of the film

negative, creating sharp outlines and distinct textures that

match the original object.

“Out of focus” means the images are blurred and lack

acceptable linear definition.

FREEZE FRAME

A device which allows you

to pause the film and freeze

the image.

GENRES

Types of film recognized by audiences and/or

producers.

These types are distinguished by narrative or

stylistic conventions.

Here is short clip of the American Film

Institute’s Top 10 films by genre.

MISE-EN-SCENE

All the things that are “put in the scene”:

the setting, the decor, the lighting, the

costumes, the performance etc.

In this short clip there is an explanation

and examples of mise-en-scene.

SCENE

A scene is a segment of a narrative film that

usually takes place in a single time and place, often

with the same characters.

Here is one of the most famous scenes from

Hitchcock’s Rear Window.

SCRIPT, SCREENPLAY, SCENARIO

A written description  of a film’s

dialogue and action, sometimes with

basic camera directions.

SHOT

A single stream of images,

uninterrupted by editing; a unit of film in

which the camera does not stop filming.

TYPES OF SHOT:

ANGLES

Aerial shot:A shot taken from a crane, plane, or helicopter,

restricted to exterior locations.

The trailer for Psycho starts with an aerial shot of

Hitchcock outside The Bates Motel.

BIRDS' EYE VIEW

A shot in which the camera photographs the scene

from directly overhead.

Crane shot

A shot taken from a mechanical device called a

crane which can carry the camera in any direction.

High angle shot

A shot taken from above the subject.

Low angle shot

A shot taken from below the subject.

SHOT SIZES

Extreme long shot

A framing in which the scale of the object shown is very small; a building,

landscape, or crowd of people will fill the screen.

 Establishing shot

An establishing shot is usually the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience

where the action is taking place. It is usually a very wide shot or extreme wideshot.

Long or full shot A type of long shot that includes the human body in full,

with the head near the top of the frame and the feet near the bottom.It makes for a relatively stable shot that can accomodate movement without reframing .

Three shot A medium featuring three actors in the same frame.

Dutch Tilt A shot in which  the camera angle is deliberately slanted to

one side. This can be used for dramatic effect and helps portray unease, disorientation, frantic or desperate action, intoxication or madness.

Stills Still pictures taken from from a film. This short clip looks at the work of a film stills

photographer.

Synopsis A short description of the

main parts of a story. In this clip we have an

explanation of how to write a film synopsis.

Teaser An opening sequence

designed to catch the interest of the audience.

The opening sequence of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs certainly grasp the audience’s attention.