Medium
Shot: A shot showing around half of a person to
their waist. Normally used to show their
emotions and some of their body language and setting in order to aid our
understanding
Over The
Shoulder Shot: A shot
which is filmed just over the shoulder of one character, normally looking at
another character. This is used to make
us feel like we are part of the scene and show us some of the character’s
perspective.
Pan: camera action involving gently moving the
camera left or right across the subject matter horizontally
Point-of-View
Shot (POV or Subjective Filming): a camera shot taken from the
position of the subject, used to enhance a sense of realism and audience
involvement in the action.
Pull Focus
– Describes a shot where one thing was in focus, and then the lens is changed
so that something else stops being blurry and becomes in focus. Often used to draw the audience’s attention
to something.
Shallow
Focus – Describes a shot where an
object near the front is in focus, and everything else behind is out of focus
(blurry). Often used to make one thing
seem more important.
Soft focus: in
images, the use of a special lens or filter to create a hazy light around the
subject. Soft focus shots are associated
with the romantic or sentimental treatment of subject matter.

Subjective
Filming (or POV): a type of shot in which the camera is
positioned as if looking at the world through the character’s eyes.
Tight
Frame: Describes
a shot that is composed with the person or object given very little space
around them. Often used to make them
seem important, or trapped.
Tilt: a
camera movement that involves moving the camera vertically up and down from a
fixed
position.
Often used to show something off to the audience like a character’s
body.Tracking
Shot: a camera shot in which the camera moves along
rails to follow the subject. When the
rails are replaced by a moving platform on wheels, the shot is called a dolly
shot. As you won’t know how this shot
was filmed you can call it either a Tracking OR a Dolly shot. A tracking shot normally helps us feel like
we sympathise with the character, or focuses our attention on them as
important. Trombone
Shot – A shot that allows the subject to stay roughly
the same size whilst their surroundings appear to move and get bigger or
smaller. Often used to show them
realising something, or being massively effected by something. Most famous in the scene in Jaws where Chief
Brody realises the shark is attacking people in the sea. Two Shot: A shot that frames two people on screen at
the same time. It is used to show the
audience the relationship between two characters.
Whip Pan:
a very fast pan between two or more characters or points of interest. It gives the impression that the camera has
been ‘surprised’ by activity and is used in the place of a more conventional
shot/reverse shot. It can help to speed
up the pace
Wide shot:
A shot where the whole subject is shown within the frame. Also known as a Long Shot. This can be used as an establishing shot of a
set or location or to show a large crowd of people. They can also emphasize the isolation of a
single figure.
Zoom/Reverse
Zoom: the adjustment of the camera lens which makes
the scene / character appear to get bigger or smaller in the frame. A zoom is normally used to focus our
attention on something as important.
180 degree
Rule – Where, during a scene featuring two people or
more, we can imagine a make believe line joining those two people
together. Adhering to the 180 degree
rule would mean you would always ensure your camera was on one side of that
line and the camera would never be crossed to the other side. Sticking to the 180 degree rule allows the
viewer to feel comfortable, helps us understand the positioning of the
characters and makes it feel like real life.
Breaking
the 180 degree rule (Crossing the Line) – Where,
during a conversation or a scene between two people, the camera does NOT stick
to one side of the line (see above) and crosses over at some point. This disorientates the viewer as we are
unable to work out the position of the characters within the room. It makes the scene seem odd or strange and
may reflect the feeling of the characters.
Editing Terminology Action
match: A shot that cuts that features some sort of
action that cuts to another shot where the action is continued smoothly so it
helps make the cut invisible to the audience. For example we might see someone
shoot a gun, and the editor would perform an action match so we then see the
bullet hit someone else and they fit together seamlessly so we see both
people’s perspectives. Is often used to
make the scene feel more real. Colourising
– The process of changing the colour of an image or video shot. For example, making the shot seem warmer,
making it sepia etc.. Cropping –
removing unwanted areas of a photo or video clip to focus the viewer on
something important Cross
cutting – Where an editor cuts between two separate
scenes happening in two separate locations at the same time. This serves to illustrate a contrast or a
link between them. For example, cross
cutting between adults having a quiet drink in a pub, and a wild teenage party
will contrast the two age groups.
Another example is in the Godfather where the editor cut back and forth
between the christening of a child in a catholic church, and the violent
killing of several men. The cross
cutting in this sequence emphasises the violence as we see it juxtaposed against
childlike innocence and religion. Cut
– The move from one shot to another which can tell us lots of things. For example, it can draw our attention to
things. If a woman is day dreaming at
her desk and the editor cuts to a scene of a man, we might assume that she may
be dreaming about him. Cutaway: a
brief shot that is not totally necessary but is cut into a scene showing a
related action, object or person, not necessarily part of the main scene,
before cutting back to the original shot.
For example a couple may be having an argument which is the main scene
but the editor may choose to include a cutaway shot of their child crying
before cutting back to the couple arguing.
This emphasises the child’s emotions and helps the audience to
understand that we are to disapprove of these people’s argument. Dissolve
- A dissolve is when the first shot is
on screen and the 2nd shot starts appearing on top of it more and
more until all you can see is the 2nd shot. Often used to link two scenes or two people
together. Sometimes used to show time
moving on etc.. If the 1st shot never disappears and stays on screen with the 2nd
shot this is called super-imposition. Ellipsis:
the removal or shortening of scenes in a narrative to speed up the action. For example an editor might use ellipsis in a
sequence about a young man taking a drink by cutting straight to him lying in
the street, drunk. The editor has missed
out the story in the middle to speed up the action and show us how quick this
man’s night has passed. Eyeline
Match: a type of editing that maintains the eyeline
or level when cutting from a character to what’s the character sees. The effect of the edit is to create a sense
that what the camera sees is what the character sees. It puts us in the position of the characters
and helps us feel empathy for them. Fade: a
type of moving image editing where the image gradually fades and disappears,
leaving a white or black screen. A fade
to black often suggests that time has passed or a situation has ended. A fade to white often suggests a dream sequence. Graphic
match – A cut from one shot to another that look
visually the same (possibly linked by a similar shape, a similar colour
etc. They are there to show us a clear
link between two scenes. Often this is
making a comment on the issue. For example,
a young girl playing with a red doll then is cut together using a graphic match
with a woman holding a baby dressed in red.
This might suggest that the young girl has grown up into the woman. Or it might emphasise the gender stereotype
of women looking after babies.

Jump
Cuts – a cut that moves to a very
similar part of the same scene but missing a VERY small piece of action out (eg
a character is on the top step of the stairs and then it cuts to him being down
a few steps without us having seen him do that bit of walking). They are often used to disorientate the
viewer, or show how disorientated a character is. For example, if a party of young people was
being shown and included lots of jump cuts, it would represent the young people
as disorientated, implying they were drunk and wild. Long take:
each time a shot is recorded it is called a take. A long take is one that is allowed to remain
on screen for a long duration before it is cut.
Long takes are often used to slow the pace of the scene down, making it
calmer and more peaceful . Alternatively
if a REALLY long take is used, it can make the audience feel uncomfortable as
we are forced to watch a scene with nothing to break it up. Montage
– a montage is a series of shots edited together to show time passing and
something happening in that time. It is
a popular way of speeding up the narrative and showing us a lot of narrative in
a short period of time. Famous examples
are in Rocky where we see a montage of shots of Rocky training and getting
better and better before his fight Non
Continuity Editing – Where the editor shows the story in a strange
order. For example we might see the end
of the scene, and then cut back to the beginning of the narrative to explain
how it all happened. This stops the clip
feeling like “real life” for the viewer. Short
take: a short take is one that is allowed to remain on
screen for a short time before the editor cuts to something else. Short takes are often used to speed the pace
of the action up, making it more dramatic and exciting. Shot /
Reverse Shot – cutting between two people having a
conversation (rather than including them both in one static mid shot) can help
to contrast them and make them seem different.
It highlights their differences and also allows us to see the reactions
of characters. Slow
motion: used in the editing process to slow down the
action for emotional or comic effect.
Often makes something seem more romantic or special or dramatic.
Split
Screen: an editing technique which
involves the cinema screen being split into two or more parts to allow the
showing of events that are taking place at the same time.
Superimposition:
the appearance of writing/symbols or images on top of an image so that both are
visible at once, increasing the amount of information the viewer has in one
shot and sometimes to suggest the two scenes are happing at the same time.
Visual
effects – any special effects such as lightning,
explosions, colour changes, magical effects, CGI etc, .. Often it depends on
what the character’s reactions to these special effects are. For example, a man who has no reaction to a
massive fiery explosion will seem brave and masculine. Graphics on screen (eg numbers and facts as seen
in CSI, may represent someone as intelligent or competent in their work. Showing someone in colour when the rest of
the image is in black and white emphasises them and draws the audience’s
attention to them as important.
Wipe:
a moving image editing technique that involves one image wiping another off the
screen. This suggests that whatever
scene / character pushes the other one off the screen, is more important or
powerful. Sometimes if suggests the two scenes are happening at relatively the
same time. It often makes the scene seem light hearted or comical. Wipes can go left or right, up or down and
even be in shapes like stars!
Sound Terminology
Accent –
the way a person pronounces their words.
Their accent can often tell you where someone is from, how educated they
are, what class they fall in to. The
accent you hear might give you a clue as to who the target audience is.
Ambient sound
- The
natural sounds of the location eg water noises near a river, cows mooing in a
farm, cars beeping their horns in the street etc. They tell us what kind of place we are in and
if we see how characters react to these sounds it tells us a lot. Noisy cars,
horns, people, traffic represent a region as being busy and urban and not very
homely.
Asynchronous
sound –Where the sound is either out of sync with the
visuals. Sound that is just out of sync
would make the viewer feel disorientated and would make the characters and
scene seem strange.
Contrapuntal
sound –This is where sound or music has a different
mood / atmosphere to what we are seeing on screen. For example in the film the Shining, during
beautiful scenes of winding roads and countryside on a sunny day, we hear quite
scary ominous music to foreshadow the scary events that are to come. For a
second example, in the Godfather film, we see scary scenes of a man murdering
people in cold blood, but hear the friendly, calm sounds of a priest
christening a baby. This contrast
emphasises the loss of innocent life.
Dialogue
– the words the characters say. What do
the characters actually say? Do they reveal their beliefs, or their attitudes /
values? How do they say it? If someone’s
voice sounds nervous and wobbly it tells us a lot about their character. If they speak softly it implies they are weak
or emotional. If they have a deep
booming voice it makes them seem more masculine. Don’t forget accents as they tell us where
someone is from and emphasise their differences from others. Pay attention to slang, swearing, sophisticated
and simple language etc.
Diegetic
Sound: sound that you could hear if YOU were one of the
characters inside the scene. This
include words the characters say, background noises like traffic, weather and
crowd noise and even music IF it is heard by the characters eg at a club, on a
television etc Diegetic sound can set
the mood of the piece, tell us how a character is feeling, and help the viewer
to see a scene as realistic etc.
Non
Diegetic Sound – Other sound that the characters in the scene
could not hear. For example, a musical
soundtrack, a voice over etc. Non
diegetic music sets the scene and time period as well as atmosphere. A voice over allows the audience to hear
someone’s thoughts and empathise with them.
Different instruments have different effects. Violins can be both romantic and frightening,
saxophones sound sultry and sexy, drums can seem military-like and woodwind
instruments seem sad.
Pitch
– Low pitch described a sound / music that is deep and low (eg Thunder) and
often sounds menacing or threatening.
High pitch describes a sound that is higher and lighter (eg a phone
ringing) and is often more light-hearted.
Rhythm
– Describes the beat of the music, whether it is fast or slow. Sound or music with a fast rhythm is often
used to increase a sense of urgency or threat.
Sound or music with a slow rhythm is often used to depict calmness and
peace. Sound or music with an irregular
rhythm is used to confuse the audience and make them feel uncomfortable.
Score: Describes any non-diegetic
music in a scene. Think about the beat
and instruments used. For example a high
energy dance track with loud crashing tones will emphasise someone’s youth.. a
girly soft piano music might help us to see a woman as stereotypically delicate
and feminine.
Sound
motif – Hard to spot in a short clip. But this is a sound which normally represents
or accompanies a certain character. For
example the Da DA of the shark in the film Jaws. We associate that music with them. Some institutions have sound motifs associated
with them eg in adverts for Intel Pentium computer products there is a
recognisable sound motif for the company in every one.
Tone Of
Voice – Describes the way a person’s voice
sounds. For example, firm, dismissive,
patronising, nervous, apologetic, and aggressive. Their tone will tell you a lot about their
feelings.
Voice over: A piece of speech played over a scene,
showing us the inner feelings of a character or explaining the story via a
narrator. It allows the audience to see
inside the head of a character, helping us to empathise with them. MISE-EN-SCENE TERMINOLOGY
Body
Language – the way a character’s body looks and the way
they hold their body eg confident, slumping down, cowering from someone
etc It tells us what type of person they
are and how they feel about others or the product / company they are
advertising.
Chiaroscuro Lighting – a scene
lit with VERY low key lighting, often extreme lighting, lots of shadows, some
very bright parts. See the effects of
low key lighting. Also used to make a
location or character seem very dramatic and unusual
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Colour – Colours in a scene often represent
things. Red can represent anger,
passion, danger, love. Blue can seem
calm and peaceful, sometimes sad. You must
pick the most appropriate meaning for the scene. Colour
Palette – The small range of colours used in a media product. Costumes
– clothes a character is wearing. You
could comment on the style, shape, choice of item, colour, etc. They can tell us lots about a character, what
type of person they are, how they are feeling etc. For example a floaty dress might represent
someone as being traditionally girly. A
policeman’s uniform might represent someone as having authority and power. Baggy, shapeless clothes might suggest
someone is shy, where as tight clothing might suggest they are confident and
flirtatious. De-saturated
– When a shot has had the colour drained out of it so it is either totally
colourless (black and white) or very nearly colourless Facial
Features and Expression – the way a character’s face looks and shows
emotion. For example a shocked expression,
sadness, a look of love. You can also
comment on the way they look such as a interesting features such as bad teeth,
small, squinty eyes etc It tells us what
type of person they are and how they feel about others. Hair &
Make Up – the appearance of the hair
of a character and the cosmetics a character might be wearing such as lipstick,
a skin head etc. They tell us things
about the character. For example a woman
wearing very little make up might be seen as being very naive and innocent.
High
Key Lighting – A
bright and well lit scene with very few shadows
Lighting
(general) – can be used to highlight important
characters or focus the audience’s attention on a specific element Location
– A place where the scene is set. A
location can tell us lots about the people in it. For example a dirty, bloodstained basement
could signify that a character was a villain or up to no good. A messy bedroom might signify that the
character who owned it was disorganised.
Don’t forget to look out for how a character reacts to their location as
well (eg if they are comfortable there or not)
Low key Lighting – a dimly lit scene with lots of shadows. Often used to make a location or character
seem shady, untrustworthy, dangerous, unsafe.
Props – Items a
character possesses or picks up eg a gun or a bunch of flowers etc.. They can
tell us lots about what type o a distance shot where the camera is a long way
from the subjects being filmed. A long
shot can be effective as an establishing shot that sets the scene for the
action and roles in the viewer.
Saturated
– When a shot has had the colour enhanced to make it even more colourful than
it was in real life. How does this information help me? This post helped me get to know more about different camera angles, sound effects and lighting techniques. This will help me when I'm filming my project because I now know how certain shots create certain effects, and how different sounds can control the audiences emotions. If you show a character in a certain lighting, the audience automatically begin to assume things about that character (Dark = Bad). This will help me to control the narrative. As a whole, I found this information really useful and it will will help improve the quality of my productions.
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