Film Direction Technical Terms

Film Direction Technical Terms and Definition- Part 3

• Fade– It is the gradual change in the intensity of an image or sound, such as from a normally-lit scene to darkness or vice versa, or from silence to sound or vice versa.
• Fast Motion– An effect created by filming a scene with the film running at a rate less than the normal 24 frames per second and then projecting it back at standard speed, thereby creating the effect of moving faster than normal.
• Fish-eye Lens– A type of super wide-angle lens that distorts the linear dimensions of the image, giving it a sense of curvature.
• Focus– It is the amount of sharpness of an image or a particular area of an image.
• Foley– Foley Sounds are reproduced sound effects of everyday objects or movements synced with the visual of the film like footsteps, gunshots, punches, explosions, etc.
• Following shot– A shot in which the camera follows a moving subject onscreen.
• Freeze-frame– An effect in which a single frame image is identically repeated over several frames which gives the illusion of a still photograph in which the action has ceased.

• Handheld shot– A shot taken with a handheld camera which appears unstable and shaky.

• High-angle shot– A shot where the subject is filmed from above to make the subject appear weak and vulnerable.

• Highlighting– The use of beams of light to illuminate selected parts of the subject.

• Insert shot– a shot that occurs in the middle of a larger scene that draws audience attention and provides some specific information.

• Intercut shots– It is a series of shots that alternates between two simultaneous events. For example, shots of two people involved in a telephone conversation.

• Iris– A video effect where an expanding or diminishing circle, reveals or hides an image.

• Jump Cut– An abrupt cut in between a continuous shot, where the onscreen action is noticeably advanced in time. It is often done deliberately to create discontinuity.

• Key Light– The most prominent light source in the frame that has the highest intensity.

• Location sound– It is the ambient sound of the location of the scene which adds to the realism of the scene.

• Locked-down shot– A shot where the camera remains static while something happens off-screen. It is used to create suspense.

• Long-shot– A shot where the camera is placed at a considerable distance from the subject so that it appears relatively small in the frame.

• Long take– A shot of lengthy duration.

• Looping– It is the process of re-recording dialogues by actors in the studio during post-production, matching the actor’s voice to lip movements on screen. It is also known as ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement).

• Low-angle shot– A shot where the subject is filmed directly from below, to make the subject appear larger than life and more dominating.

Depth of Field - While a lens focuses on a single plane of depth, there is usually an additional area in focus behind and in front of that plane. This is depth of field. Depth of field increases as the iris is closed. There is more depth of field the wider the lens and less the longer the lens. There is a deeper area in focus the further away a lens is focused than there is when a lens is focused close. Depth of field does not spread out evenly; the entire area is about 1/3rd in front and 2/3rds behind the plane of focus. To factor together all these variables it is best to consult a depth of field table, such as the ones found in the American Cinematographer’s Manual.

Dissolve - A transition between two shots, where one shot fades away and simultaneously another shot fades in. Dissolves are done at the lab in the printing phase, but prepared by the negative cutter, who cuts in an overlap of the two shots into the A&B rolls. Labs will only do dissolves in fixed amounts, such as 24 frames, 48 frames, etc.

Dolly Shot - A dolly shot is one where the camera is placed on a dolly and is moved while filmming. Also known as a tracking shot.

Edit - 1.: The cutting and arranging of shots. 2.: In the different stages, or at the completion of editing the edited film itself can be referred to as “the cut” or “the edit.”

Fade - A transition from a shot to black where the image gradually becomes darker is a Fade Out; or from black where the image gradually becomes brighter is a Fade In. Fades are done at the lab in the printing phase, but prepared by the negative cutter, who cuts in an overlap of black into the A&B rolls. Labs will only do fades in fixed amounts, such as 24 frames, 48 frames, etc.

Follow Focus - A shot where focus is changed while shooting to correspond with the moment of the subject (or the camera).

Frame - A single image (of a series of them) on a piece of film. There are 24 frames per second.

Handheld - Shooting without a tripod, but with the camera held by the cameraperson.

Head Room - The space between the top of a subject’s head and the top of the frame. 

Headroom must be carefully apportioned so that there is not too much or too little, especially if shooting for transfer to video or for blowup, where the frame will be cropped in a little on the top and sides.

Master Shot - A single shot, usually a wide shot, that incorporates the whole scene from beginning to end. Typically a master shot will be filmed first, and then all the close-ups and other shots afterwards.

Outtakes - The footage from your workprint that is not used in your edited version. Very small bits, a few frames or as little as one frame, are known as Trims.

Pan - A horizontal camera move on an axis, from right to left or left to right. In a pan the camera is turning on an axis rather than across space, as in a dolly shot. Not to be confused with Tilt, technically it is not correct to say “pan up” or “pan down,” when you really mean tilt.

Parallel Editing - The technique of intercutting between two simultaneous stories or scenes.

Rack Focus - A shot where focus is changed while shooting. Unlike a Follow Focus shot, a rack focus shot is usually done not from the necessity of keeping someone in focus but to shift attention from one thing to another.

Reaction Shot - 1.: A shot of someone looking off screen. Used either to lead into a P.O.V. Shot (and let the viewer know that it is a P.O.V. shot), or to show a reaction right after a P.O.V. shot. 2.: A reaction shot can also be a shot of someone in a conversation where they are not given a line of dialogue but are just listening to the other person speak.

Reverse Shot - A shot from the other side of the previous shot (though preferably on the same side of the 180° Line), such as cutting between two characters talking, a person exiting and entering though a doorway, a reaction shot and P.O.V. shot, etc.

Rough Cut - The edited film, between the stages of being an assembly and a fine cut.

Rushes - The workprint, when it is just back from the lab, unedited, called the rushes because of the rush to see that everything came out alright. Also known as Dailies, in honor of the minority of labs that will have it later that day.

Scene - A scene is really just a single shot. But often scene is used to mean several shots, which is more to do with the word’s origin in theater. It is sometimes clearer to say “sequence” for several shots, so as not to confuse the filmic and theatrical meanings of the word.

Shot - A shot is the film exposed from the time the camera is started to the time it is stopped. Shot and Scene are interchangeable terms.

Silent Speed - 18 frames per second. A slightly archaic notion left over from the time when 16mm was used exclusively for home movies. It is not always that easy to find a projector that will project at 18 frames per second and so films shot at silent speed will often be speeded up slightly, whether the filmmaker intended this of not.

Split Screen - see Matte Shot. Typically a split screen is a matte shot divided down the center of the shot.

Superimposition - The same as Double Exposure, but often used expressly to describe a double exposure done through optical printing, as in superimposed titles, etc.

Take - Multiple versions of the same shot are called takes.

Tilt - A vertical camera move on an axis, up or down. Not to be used interchangeably with pan. It is not really correct to say “pan up” or “pan down,” when you really mean tilt.

Tracking Shot - A tracking shot is one where the camera is placed on a dolly and is moved while filmming. Also known as a dolly shot.

Wide Lens - A lens with a focal length smaller than 25mm in 16mm, or 50mm in 35mm, which, like looking into the wrong end of a pair of binoculars, provides an extended view of a large area.