Terminology for Analysing Moving Images

You need to be able to analyse any film or TV clip under the headings of:
camerawork
editing
sound
mise-en-scene.

Below are some terms and definitions that you will find useful:


Camerawork

Extreme Close up – Camera is a few inches from subject: for example, a shot of an eye
Close up - For example, a shot of a face
Mid shot (Middle long shot / Middle close shot) – Usually a shot of an individual from waist up
Long shot – For example, a whole person or group of people
Extreme long shot - A landscape shot
Establishing shot – Shot used to establish time or place. Often a landmark.
Reaction shot – A shot (often a close up of an individual or long shot of an audience) to show reaction to something said or done.
Crane shot – Camera is mounted on a crane. Often used to ‘swoop’ across an audience.
Canted angle – Frame is twisted
High angle shot – Shooting from above the subject
Low angle shot – Shooting from below the subject
Two-shot – Two people in the same frame
Point of view shot – As though the camera is a character’s eyes.
Shallow focus – an object at the front of the frame is in focus with the background blurry.
Deep focus – an object at the back of the frame is in focus with objects at the front blurry.
Focus pull – when an object changes the focus from shallow to deep or vice versa.

Panning – Moving from side to side
Tracking – Camera is (traditionally) mounted on a track – camera usually moves back and forward.
Tilt – Camera stays stationary, tilts up and down
Zoom – Use lens to increase magnification on subject without moving camera.
Handheld camera – Creates a jerky effect as though someone is running with the camera.

Editing

Cut – The term used to move from one frame/scene to another.
Shot reverse shot – The camera moves from person to person when having a conversation.
Special effects – slow motion, CGI – computer generated images.
Fast / slow cutting – Speed (the rhythm or ‘beat’) of the editing
Continuity editing – Smooth editing that is unnoticeable and makes time appear linear within a scene.
Fade – End of clip disappears into a black or white scene.
Dissolve – One clip disappears and a new clip emerges through it.
Wipe – A scene is ‘pushed’ off screen by the next one.
Montage – A series of clips which give an ‘impression’ of something happening.
Cutaway – Edit away from one subject to another.
Jump cut – A scene has obvious steps cut out eg a person is walking down the road then appears in the middle, then suddenly at the end. Not to be confused with a cut.
Match on action – A person’s movements are edited to seem continuous, eg we see a person walk to a door and open it from behind, the scene then cuts to the person stepping through the door from the front.
Matched cut – One character’s actions are continued by another character in a different scene.
Eye-line match – The scene cuts from a character looking at something to the object they are looking at.
Cross cutting – The cutting between two scenes to give the impression that they are both taking place at the same time.
Graphics – (Usually) digital effects – lettering, scores – used to give additional information or enhance action.

Sound

Diegetic sound – The sound which characters within a scene can hear.
Non diegetic sound – Sound which characters cannot hear (most music, voice overs.)
Sound bridge – The sound of the next clip starts while the current clip is playing; bridges the two.
Ambient sound – Natural sound.
Soundtrack/score – The music within a scene.
Sound effects – The exaggerated noise from a scene.


Mise en scene – (Everything within a scene)

Props – The objects in a scene.
Costume – The clothes characters wear.
Set - The physical (or digital) environment in which the action takes place.
Low key lighting – Main (‘key’) light is below – creates shadows. Often a single light source.
High Key lighting – Main (Key) light is above – minimises shadows. Multiple light sources.
Ambient lighting – The actual, real, unedited light. ‘Natural’ light.
Prosthetics – The use of plastic and masks to create special effects on a character’s appearance.
Fourth wall effect – The camera acts as a fourth wall to the scene. This is broken if a character talks directly to camera.
Rule of thirds – Mise en scene is arranged according to a tripartite structure
Fill the frame – No clear space left at edge of frame.