Columbia Film Language Glossery

Question 1

180-Degree Rule

Answer 1

The 180-degree rule of shooting and editing keeps the camera on one side of the action.

Question 2

3-D Film

Answer 2

3-D film has a three-dimensional, stereoscopic form, creating the illusion of depth.

Question 3

Ariel Shot

Answer 3

An aerial shot is typically made from a helicopter or created with miniatures (today, digitally), showing a location from high overhead.

Question 4

Aspect Ratio

Answer 4

Aspect ratio refers to how the image appears on the screen based on how it was shot–the ratio of width (horizontal or top) to height (vertical or side) of a film frame, image, or screen.

Question 5

Black-and-White Film

Answer 5

Black-and-white film contains an emulsion that, when processed, changes colors into various shades of gray.

Question 6

Camera Angle

Answer 6

Camera angle refers to where the camera is placed in relation to the subject of the image.

Question 7

Camera Movement

Answer 7

Camera movement refers to the actual or perceived physical movement of the camera apparatus through space.

Question 8

Canted Angle (Dutch Angle)

Answer 8

A canted angle is when the camera is tilted, usually to suggest imbalance, transition, or instability.

Question 9

Celluloid

Answer 9

Cellulose nitrate was the original transparent material used as a base for film, which was then coated with light-sensitive emulsion.

Question 10

Chiaroscuro

Answer 10

Chiaroscuro refers to strong contrasts between light and dark.

Question 11

Cinema Verité

Answer 11

Cinema verité is a French term that means “true cinema” or “cinema truth.”

Question 12

Cinematography

Answer 12

Derived from the French word cinématographe, cinematography literally means “writing in movement” and is generally understood as the art and process of capturing visual images with a camera for cinema.

Question 13

Cinerama

Answer 13

Cinerama is a process of simultaneous filming by three cameras. The cameras are pointed at different angles and are then projected by three synchronized projectors and shown on a curved screen.

Question 14

Circular Pan

Answer 14

A circular pan is a shot in which the camera rotates 360 degrees around a fixed axis.

Question 15

Clapboard (Slateboard)

Answer 15

Before each take, a clapboard appears in front of the camera, with the number of the take written on it.

Question 16

Close-Up

Answer 16

A close-up is a shot in which a person’s face fills most of the screen, although the term can also refer to any shot that appears to have been taken at close range (or through a telephoto lens), and in which an object appears relatively large and in detail.

Question 17

Colour Film

Answer 17

Color film has been a possibility since the beginning of cinema. Technical problems and economic circumstances early on meant that it was not until the 1950s that color was viable in the film industry.

Question 18

Crane Shot

Answer 18

A crane shot is achieved by a camera mounted on a platform, which is connected to a mechanical arm that can lift the platform up, bring it down, or move it laterally across space

Question 19

Day for Night

Answer 19

Day for night refers to the creation of a night effect while shooting during the day, through the manipulation of filters, underexposure, or printing.

Question 20

Deep Focus

Answer 20

Deep focus is a style or technique of cinematography and staging with great depth of field, using relatively wide-angle lenses and small lens apertures to render in sharp focus near and distant planes simultaneously.

Question 21

Depth of Field

Answer 21

Depth of field is the area, range of distance, or field (between the nearest and farthest planes) in which the elements captured in a camera image appear in sharp focus.

Question 22

Dialogue

Answer 22

Dialogue is speech delivered by or between characters.

Question 23

Diegesis

Answer 23

From the ancient Greek for “recounted story,” diegesis is a term used in film studies to refer to the story (or narrative) world of a film.

Question 24

Diegetic Sound

Answer 24

Diegetic sound is any sound that emanates from the story (or narrative) world of a film, which is referred to in film studies as diegesis.

Question 25

Dissolve

Answer 25

A dissolve is a transitional device in which one shot fades out while the next shot fades in, so it is briefly superimposed over the first and then replaces it altogether.

Question 26

Dolly Shot

Answer 26

A dolly is a mobile platform on wheels with a camera, which can be driven or pushed by a dolly pusher or dolly grip.

Question 27

Double (Multiple) Exposure

Answer 27

Double exposure is the superimposition of two images, one over the other, which results from exposing the same film twice.

Question 28

Editing

Answer 28

Editing is the process of putting a film together–the selection and arrangement of shots and scenes.

Question 29

Establishing Shot

Answer 29

An establishing shot is a long shot at the start of a scene (or sequence) that shows things from a distance.

Question 30

Exposure

Answer 30

Exposure is the act of making film available to light so that an image is formed in the emulsion.

Question 31

Eye-Line Match

Answer 31

Eye-line match is a method of continuity editing whereby a cut between two shots creates the illusion of the character (in the first shot) looking at an object (in the second shot).

Question 32

Fade

Answer 32

The fade is a means of gradually beginning or ending a scene, and is achieved in the camera by opening or closing the aperture; in an optical printer, this is achieved when the exposure light is increased or decreased.

Question 33

Fisheye Lens

Answer 33

A fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes in a nearly 180-degree field of view.

Question 34

Frames-per-Second

Answer 34

Frames-per-second is the rate at which film is exposed in a camera.

Question 35

Freeze-Frame

Answer 35

Freeze-frame is achieved when a single frame is repeatedly printed on a duplicate copy of the film.

Question 36

Handheld Shot

Answer 36

A handheld shot is one in which the cameraman or -woman holds the camera and moves through space while filming.

Question 37

High-Angle Shot

Answer 37

A high-angle shot is one in which the camera is placed above eye level, creating a frame that looks down at the subject.

Question 38

Iris Shot

Answer 38

The iris shot is a shot masked in a circular form.

Question 39

Jump Cut

Answer 39

A jump cut is an editing technique in which some frames are taken out of a sequence.

Question 40

Lighting

Answer 40

Lighting is responsible for the quality of a film’s images and often a film’s dramatic effect.

Question 41

Long Shot

Answer 41

A long shot shows characters in their entirety, as well as some of the surrounding environment.

Question 42

Long Take

Answer 42

The long take is a shot of some duration.

Question 43

Low-Angle Shot

Answer 43

A low-angle shot is achieved when the camera is placed below eye level.

Question 44

Medium Shot

Answer 44

A medium shot is one that can include several characters in a frame, usually showing a character from the waist up.

Question 45

Mise-en-Scène

Answer 45

Mise-en-scène originated in the theater and is used in film to refer to everything that goes into the composition of a shot–framing, movement of the camera and characters, lighting, set design and the visual environment, and sound.

Question 46

Montage

Answer 46

At the core of montage is the idea that a single shot has meaning only in relation to another shot.

Question 47

Non-Diegetic Sound

Answer 47

Non-diegetic sound is sound whose origin is from outside the story world.

Question 48

Pan Shot

Answer 48

A pan shot is achieved with a camera mounted on a swivel head so that the camera body can turn from a fixed position.

Question 49

Parallel Editing

Answer 49

Parallel editing is a technique whereby cutting occurs between two or more related actions occurring at the same time in two separate locations or different points in time.

Question 50

Point of View

Answer 50

With POV, the audience is, in effect, looking through the character’s eye.