Question | Answer |
3 Act Structure | B_M_E_
Act 1-set stage, Act 2-tension rises, Act 3-story resolves |
Plot vs Story | P-sequence of events in order they appear on screen
S-everything that happened in chronological order |
Inciting Incident | Act 1 sets stage and incident then Act 2 |
Climax | Act 2 tension rises and climax then Act 3 |
Resolution/Denuement | Act 3 story resolves |
Archetypes | basic blueprint for a character |
Theme | Unifying or dominant idea |
Motifs | reoccurring element that has symbolism |
Arc | continuing story line over multiple episodes
(Episodical) |
WS | Wide Shot-establishing shot
(shows large view of location/setting) |
MS | Medium Shot-frames subject from waist up |
CU | Close Up-emphasis on face or other part of the body detail/feature of subject |
ELS/EWS | Extreme Long/ Extreme Wide Shot-large view of location/setting (wide shot) |
LS | Long Shot-whole human figure; shows larger physical movements and activity |
MLS | Medium Long Shot-frames subject from knees up
(cowboy/american shot) |
MCU | Medium Close Up-from chest/shoulders; emphasis of facial expression but connection to broader physical attitude of body is maintained |
ECU | Extreme Close Up-isolates a very small detail/feature to show detail |
Two-Shot | 2 subjects in shot |
Three-Shot | 3 subjects in shot |
Group Shot | 3+ subjects in shot |
Over the shoulder shot (OTS) | reverse shot is from an angle that includes a portion of other person's head/shoulder
(dirty single) |
Steadicam/Glidecam | arm and a system of counterweights and springs to minimize gravitational forces and absorb shock
(move/run/walk and camera stays steady) |
Handheld | cheapest and readily available; hands and arms hold camera/on on shoulder bracing with arm |
Zoom | changes focal length |
Simple shot vs complex/developing shot | S-shot made without movement of the lens,pan,tile, or mounting (NO movement of frame)
C/D-shot made with movement of subject, lens, camera pan, tilt, mounting |
Natural vs artificial lighting | N-light source from nature
A-light source that generates light through electricity |
Available light | light source that ordinarily exist in any given location |
Mixed lighting | combining available sources and artificial lights to achieve look |
Motivated lighting | using movie lights to duplicate where light would logically be emanating from
(strategy for creating naturalistic lighting designs) |
Intensity (high vs low) | strength/brightness of light measured in footcandles
(high-closer subject placed to light=higher light
low-farther subject place to light=lower light) |
3 point lighting (for dramas and interviews)
Key, Fill, Back | K-main source of illumination
F-softens and controls key shadows
B-separate subject from backgound |
Chiaroscuro | using light distribution and dark/shade for effect and to enhance subject
(used in old gangster movies) |
Attached or cast shadows | A-shadows directly defines a form
C-dark areas that occurs on surface between light source and surface |
Off screen space | frame crops real world environment and determines what the audience sees and doesn't see |
Diminishing perspective | notion of receding planes
(objects will appear to be smaller the farther they are from the viewer) |
Vanishing point | point towards which receding parallel lines converge |
Leading lines | create depth; convey distance-relationship between foreground and background of image; draw eyes into picture |
Foreground-Midground-Backgound | give depth to picture/video and prevents flatness |
Mise-en-scene | everything that goes into the composition of a shot
(put on stage) |
Rule of thirds | guide for framing subjects and composition |
Head room | subject frames from head to top of frame |
X/Y/Z axes | X-horizontal
Y-vertical
Z-depth |
Depth of field | range of focus along z-axis |
Rack focus | shift plane of focus between 2 subjects on z-axis |
Follow focus | adjust plane of focus to follow subjects moving along z-axis
(subject moving closer/farther away from camera) |
Soft focus | deliberate blurring or lack of definition |
Dutch angle | canted angle
(camera titles so horizon of composition is oblique)
(make background aesthetically interesting) |
180 degree rule | must shoot all of the shots in a continuity sequence from only ONE side of the action |
Cutting on action | create smooth sense of continuous time and movement from one shot to the next |
Continuity of acting | body, appearance, and movements are identical in takes |
Continuity of mise-en-scene | make sure characters/props/sets/costumes are continuous in shots |
Audio continuity | make sure sound doesn't have radical shifts from shot to shot
(ambient sound) |
Pitch | frequency of cycles per second |
Timbre | quality; tonal composition and characteristics of sound |
Volume | degree of loudness |
Diegetic | sound whose source is visible on screen or implied to be present
(voice of character) |
Non-diegetic | sound whose source is neither visible on screen nor implied in action
(narrator's commentary or background music) |
Internal diegetic | inside a character's mind |
Synch/non sync | Sync-synchronized with on screen action of secondary importance
(audio and video recorded together in sync)
Non sync-sound not synchronized with picture
(room tone and wild sound) |
Natural sound | unadorned production sounds |
Wild sound | sound recorded at any time without sync reference |
Voice-overs | voice/audio recorded separately |
Sound bridges | sound that overlaps from one scene to another |
Sound ambience | background sound of the set
(room tone) |
Atmospheric sound | background noise that naturally occurs in any location |
Room tone | sound of a room without any movement |
Sound effects | dramatic effect/sets mood; helps communicate to the audience; sound production misses |
Foley | means of supplying the subtle sounds that production mics miss |
Sound Motifs | sound effect or combo of sound effects that are associated with setting, character, or idea throughout film
(shapes story and helps unify; conditions audience emotionally and clarify narrative functions) |