GLOSSARY - Louis Giannetti, Understanding Movies, 2nd edition
Absolute film, Abstract film. A non-representational film in which pure forms – e.g. lines, shapes, colors – constitute the only content. Absolute or abstract films are often likened to music pieces, which similarly are ‘about’ nothing but pure form
Aerial shot. Essentially a variation of the crane shot, though restricted to exterior locations. Usually taken from a helicopter.
Aesthetic distance. Viewers’ ability to distinguish between and artistic “reality” and external reality – their realization that the events of an artistic representation are simulated.
Aleatory techniques. Techniques of filmmaking which depend on the element of chance. Images are not planned out in advance, but must be composed on the spot by a director who usually acts as his own cameraman. Usually employed in documentary or improvisatory situations.
Allegory. A symbolic technique in which stylized characters and situations represent rather obvious ideas. The characters and situations of O Lucky man! for example, are allegorical, representing Religion, Science, Commerce and so on.
Allusion. A reference to an event, person, or work of art, which is usually well known.
Animation. A form of filmmaking characterized by photographing inanimate objects or individual drawings frame by frame, with each frame differing minutely from its predecessor. When such images are projected at the standard speed of 24 frames per second, the result is that the subjects of the images appear to move, and hence, seem "animated.”
Anticipatory camera, Anticipatory setup. The placement of the camera in such a manner as to anticipate the movements of a dramatic action before it occurs. An anticipatory camera often seems to suggest fatality or predestination.
Aspect ratio. The ratio between the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the frame.
Auteur theory. A theory of film popularized by the critics of the French periodical Cahiers du Cinéma in the 1950s. The theory emphasizes the director as the major creator of film art. A strong director (an auteur) stamps his material with his personal vision, often in spite of an externally imposed script.
Available lighting. The use of only that illumination which actually exists on a location, either natural (the sun) or artificial (house lamps). When available lighting is used in interior locations, generally a sensitive fast film stock must also be used.
Avant-garde. From the French, meaning "in the front ranks." Those minority artists and their works characterized by an unconventional daring, and usually associated with obscure, controversial, or highly complex artistic and social ideas.
Bird's eye view. A shot in which the camera photographs a scene from directly overhead.
Blimp. A soundproof camera housing which muffles the noise of the camera's motor so that sound can be clearly recorded on the set.
Boom, mike boom. An overhead telescoping pole which carries a microphone, permitting the synchronous recording of sound without restricting the movements of the actors.
Cels. Transparent plastic sheets which are superimposed in layers by animators to give the illusion of depth and volume to their drawings.
Cinematographer, also director of photography, lighting cameraman. The film technician responsible for the lighting of a shot, and often for the actual photography of a scene.
Cinéma vérité, also direct cinema. A method of documentary filming, using aleatory, direct methods which do not interfere with the way events take place in reality. Such films are made with a minimum of equipment, usually a handheld camera and portable sound apparatus.
Cinestructuralism. See structuralism.
Classical cutting, Découpage classique. A style of editing in which the sequence of shots is determined by considerations of dramatic and emotional emphasis rather than for physical reasons alone. See cutting to continuity, thematic montage.
Closed forms. Used primarily by expressionist film directors, this style is likely to be rather selfconscious and conspicuous, with an emphasis on formal designs and carefully harmonized compositions. The frame is generally exploited to suggest a limited, selfsufficient universe which encloses all the necessary visual information. See open forms.
Closeup, Close shot. A detailed view of a person or object, usually without much context provided. A closeup of an actor generally includes only his head.
Content curve. The amount of time necessary for the average viewer to assimilate most of the major information of a shot.
Continuity. The kind of logic implied in the association of ideas between edited shots. "Cutting to continuity" emphasizes smooth transitions between shots, in which space and time are unobtrusively condensed. "Classical cutting" emphasizes dramatic or emotional logic between shots rather than one based strictly on considerations of time and space. In "thematic montage" the continuity is based entirely on ideas, irrespective of literal time and space. In some instances, "continuity" refers to the spacetime continuum of reality before it is photographed.
Convention. A tacit agreement between the viewer and artist to accept certain necessary artificialities as real in a work of art. In film, editing or the juxtaposition of shotsis accepted as "logical," even though a viewer's perception of reality is continuous and unfragmented.
Cover shots. General shots of an event photographed to be used in editing to insure a smooth continuity in the event that the anticipated continuity will not cut as planned.
Crane shot. A shot taken from a special device called a crane, which resembles a huge mechanical arm. The crane carries the camera and cameraman, and can move in virtually any direction.
Cross cutting. The alternating of shots from two sequences, often in different locales, to suggest the sequences are taking place simultaneously.
Cutting. See Editing.
Cutting to continuity. A type of editing in which the shots are arranged in such a manner as to preserve the fluidity of an action without showing all of it. An unobtrusive condensation of a continuous action. See continuity, classical cutting, thematic montage.
Dadaism. An avant-garde movement in the arts stressing unconscious elements, irrationalism, irreverent wit, and spontaneity. Dadaist films were produced mostly from the later teens to the midtwenties.
Découpage. From the French, "to cut. up." The breakdown of a dramatic action into its constituent shots. See Editing.
Découpage classique. See Classical cutting.
Deep focus. A technique of photography which permits all distance planes to remain clearly in focus, from closeup range to infinity.
Direct cinema. See cinéma vérité.
Dissolve, lap dissolve. These terms refer to the slow fading out of one shot and the gradual fading in of its successor, with a superimposition of images, usually at the midpoint.
Dolly shot, tracking shot, trucking shot. A shot taken from a moving vehicle. Originally tracks were laid on the set to permit a smoother movement of the camera. Today even a smooth handheld traveling shot is considered a variation of the dolly shot.
Dominant contrast. That area of the film image which, because of a prominent visual contrast, compels the viewer's most immediate attention. Occasionally the dominant contrast can be aural, in which case the image serves as a temporary subsidiary contrast.
Double exposure. The superimposition of two literally unrelated images on film. See multiple exposure.
Dubbing. The addition of sound after the visuals have been photographed. Dubbing can be either synchronous or nonsynchronous. Foreign language films are often dubbed in English for release in this country.
Editing. The joining of one shot (strip of film) with another. The shots can picture events and objects in different places at different times. Editing is also called montage.
Epic. A film genre characterized by bold and sweeping themes, usually in heroic proportions. The protagonist is generally an ideal representative of a cultureeither national, religious, or regional. The tone of most epics is dignified and the treatment is larger than life.
Establishing shot. Usually an extreme long or long shot offered at the beginning of a scene or sequence providing the viewer with the context of the subsequent closer shots.
Experimental cinema. See poetic cinema.
Expressionism. A style of filmmaking which distorts time and space as they are ordinarily perceived in reality. Emphasis is placed on the essential characteristics of objects and people, not necessarily on their superficial appearance. Typical expressionist techniques include fragmentary editing, a wide variety of shots (especially closeups), extreme angles, lighting affects, and distorting lenses. See realism.
Extreme closeup. A minutely detailed view of an object or a person. An extreme closeup of an actor generally includes only his eyes, or his mouth.
Extreme long shot. A panoramic view of an exterior location, photographed from a great distance, often as far as a quartermile away.
Eyelevel shot. The placement of the camera approximately 5 to 6 feet from the ground corresponding to the height of an observer on the scene.
Fade. The fadeout is the slow fade of the picture from normal brightness to a black screen. A fadein is the slow brightening of the picture from a black screen to normal brightness.
Faithful adaptation. A film based on another medium (usually a work of literature) which reflects the original in its essentials, and in which cinematic equivalents are offered for specific literary techniques. Jack Clayton's The Great Gatsby is a faithful adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel, for example. See literal adaptation, loose adaptation.
Fast motion, accelerated motion. If a subject is photographed at a slower rate than 24 frames per second, when it is projected at the standard rate of 24 fps, it will appear to be moving at a faster rate than normal. The movements will often seem jerky. See slow motion.
Fast stock, fast film. Film stock that is highly sensitive to light and generally produces a grainy image. Used often by documentarists who wish to shoot only with available lighting. See slow stock.
Filters. Pieces of glass or plastic placed in, front of the lens which change the quality of the light entering the camera.
Final cut. The sequence of shots in a movie as it will be released to the public. See rough cut.
First cut. The initial sequence of shots in a movie, often constructed by the director. Also called "rough cut."
First person point of view. See pointofview shot.
Fisheye lens. An extreme wide angle lens, which distorts the image so radically that the edges seem wrapped into a sphere.
Flashback. An editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the past.
Flashediting, flashcutting. Editing sequences so that the durations of the shots are very brief.
Flashforward. An editing technique that suggests the interruption of the present by a shot or series of shots representing the future.
Flash pan. See Swish pan.
Focus. The degree of acceptable sharpness and clarity in a film image. "Out of focus" means the images are blurred and lack acceptable linear definition.
Footage. Exposed film stock.
Frame. The dividing line between the edges of the screen image and the enclosing darkness of the theatre. "Frame" can also refer to a single photograph from the filmstrip.
Freeze frame, freeze shot. A shot composed of a single frame that is reprinted a number of times on the filmstrip which when projected gives the illusion of a still photograph.
Full shot. A type of long shot which includes the human body in full, with the head near the top of the frame and the feet near the bottom.
Genre. A recognizable type of film which depends on certain established conventions. The most common American genres are westerns, thrillers, musicals, and historical spectaculars.
High angle shot. A shot in which the subject is photographed from above.
High contrast. A style of lighting emphasizing harsh shafts and dramatic streaks of lights and darks. Often used in tragedies and melodramas. See high key.
High key. A style of lighting emphasizing bright, even illumination, with few conspicuous shadows. Used generally in comedies, musicals, and light entertainment films. See high contrast, low key.
Homage. A direct or indirect reference within a movie to another movie, filmmaker, or cinematic style. A respectful and affectionate tribute.
Independent cinema. See underground films.
Intrinsic interest. An unobtrusive area of the film image which nonetheless compels the viewer's most immediate attention because of its dramatic or contextual importance. An object of intrinsic interest will take precedence over the formal dominant contrast. See also subsidiary contrast.
Iris. A masking device that blacks out a portion of the screen permitting only a part of the image to be seen. Usually the iris is circular or oval shaped, and can be expanded and contracted.
Jump cut. An abrupt transition between shots, sometimes deliberate, which is disorienting in terms of the continuity of time and space.
Kinetic. Pertaining to motion and movement.
Leftist. A political term used to describe the acceptance, at least, in part, of the economic, social and philosophical ideas of Karl Marx.
Lens. A ground or molded piece of glass, plastic, or other transparent material through which light rays are refracted so that they converge or diverge to form the photographic image within the camera
Literal adaptation. A film usually based on a stage play, in which the dialogue and actions are preserved more or less intact, though subtly altered by the film director's uniquely cinematic techniques, like editing and miseen~scène. Mike Nichols' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is a "literal adaptation" of Albee's play. See Faithful adaptation, loose adaptation.
Long lens. See telephoto lens.
Long shot. Includes an amount of picture within the frame which roughly corresponds to the audience's view of the area within the proscenium arch of the legitimate theatre.
Long take. A shot of lengthy duration.
Loose adaptation. A film based on another medium (usually a work of literature) in which only a vague general resemblance exists between the two versions of the subject. For example, Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood is an independent reworking of some of the characters and situations found in Shakespeare's Macbeth. See Faithful adaptation, literal adaptation.
Loose framing. Usually in longer shots. The miseen scène is so spaciously distributed that the subject photographed has considerable latitude of movement. See tight framing, open forms.
Low angle shot. A shot in which the subject is photographed from below.