B0041VYHGW EBOK (199 page)

depth of field
The measurements of the closest and farthest planes in front of the camera lens between which everything will be in sharp focus. A depth of field from 5 to 16 feet, for example, would mean everything closer than 5 feet and farther than 16 feet would be out of focus.

dialogue overlap
In editing a scene, arranging the cut so that a bit of dialogue coming from shot A is heard under a shot that shows another character or another element in the scene.

diegesis
In a narrative film, the world of the film’s story. The diegesis includes events that are presumed to have occurred and actions and spaces not shown onscreen.
diegetic sound
,
nondiegetic insert
,
nondiegetic sound
.

diegetic sound
Any voice, musical passage, or sound effect presented as originating from a source within the film’s world.
nondiegetic sound
.

digital intermediate
A strip of film is developed and scanned, frame by frame, to create a digital copy of sequence or a whole movie. The digital copy is manipulated with computers. When finished, it is scanned frame by frame onto a strip of negative film, which will be used to make prints to send to theaters.

direct sound
Music, noise, and speech recorded from the event at the moment of filming; opposite of
postsynchronization.

discontinuity editing
Any alternative system of joining shots together using techniques unacceptable within
continuity editing
principles. Possibilities include mismatching of temporal and spatial relations, violations of the
axis of action,
and concentration on graphic relationships.
elliptical editing
,
graphic match
,
intellectual montage
,
jump cut
,
nondiegetic insert
,
overlapping editing
.

dissolve
A transition between two shots during which the first image gradually disappears while the second image gradually appears; for a moment the two images blend in
superimposition.

distance of framing
The apparent distance of the frame from the mise-en-scene elements. Also called camera distance and shot scale.
close-up
,
extreme close-up
,
extreme long shot
,
medium close-up
,
medium shot
,
plan américain
.

distribution
One of the three branches of the film industry; the process of marketing the film and supplying copies to exhibition venues.
exhibition
,
production
.

dolly
A camera support with wheels, used in making
tracking shots.

dubbing
The process of replacing part or all of the voices on the sound track in order to correct mistakes or rerecord dialogue.
postsynchronization
.

duration
In a narrative film, the aspect of temporal manipulation that involves the time span presented in the
plot
and assumed to operate in the
story.
frequency
,
order
.

editing
(1) In filmmaking, the task of selecting and joining camera takes. (2) In the finished film, the set of techniques that governs the relations among shots.

ellipsis
In a narrative film, the shortening of
plot
duration achieved by omitting some
story
duration.
elliptical editing
,
viewing time
.

elliptical editing
Shot transitions that omit parts of an event, causing an
ellipsis
in plot duration.

establishing shot
A shot, usually involving a distant framing, that shows the spatial relations among the important figures, objects, and setting in a scene.

exhibition
One of the three branches of the film industry; the process of showing the finished film to audiences.
distribution
,
production
.

exposure
The adjustment of the camera mechanism in order to control how much light strikes each frame of film passing through the aperture.

external diegetic sound
Sound represented as coming from a physical source within the story space that we assume characters in the scene also hear.
internal diegetic sound
.

extreme close-up
A framing in which the scale of the object shown is very large; most commonly, a small object or a part of the body.

extreme long shot
A framing in which the scale of the object shown is very small; a building, landscape, or crowd of people will fill the screen.

eyeline match
A cut obeying the
axis of action
principle, in which the first shot shows a person looking off in one direction and the second shows a nearby space containing what he or she sees. If the person looks left, the following shot should imply that the looker is offscreen right.

fade
(1)
Fade-in:
a dark screen that gradually brightens as a shot appears. (2)
Fade-out:
a shot that gradually disappears as the screen darkens. Occasionally, fade-outs brighten to pure white or to a color.

fill light
Illumination from a source less bright than the
key light,
used to soften deep shadows in a scene.
three-point lighting
.

film noir
“Dark film,” a term applied by French critics to a type of American film, usually in the detective or thriller genres, with lowkey lighting and a somber mood.

film stock
The strip of material upon which a series of still photographs is registered; it consists of a clear base coated on one side with a light-sensitive emulsion.

filter
A piece of glass or gelatin placed in front of the camera or printer lens to alter the quality or quantity of light striking the film in the aperture.

flashback
An alteration of story order in which the plot moves back to show events that have taken place earlier than ones already shown.

flash-forward
An alteration of story order in which the plot presentation moves forward to future events and then returns to the present.

focal length
The distance from the center of the lens to the point at which the light rays meet in sharp focus. The focal length determines the perspective relations of the space represented on the flat screen.
normal lens
,
telephoto lens
,
wide-angle lens
.

focus
The degree to which light rays coming from the same part of an object through different parts of the lens reconverge at the same point on the film frame, creating sharp outlines and distinct textures.

following shot
A shot with framing that shifts to keep a moving figure onscreen.

form
The overall system of relationships among the parts of a film.

frame
A single image on the strip of film. When a series of frames is projected onto a screen in quick succession, an illusion of movement is created.

framing
The use of the edges of the film frame to select and to compose what will be visible onscreen.

frequency
In a narrative film, the aspect of temporal manipulation that involves the number of times any
story
event is shown in the
plot.
duration
,
order
.

front projection
A composite process whereby footage meant to appear as the background of a shot is projected from the front onto a screen; figures in the foreground are filmed in front of the screen as well. This is the opposite of
rear projection.

frontal lighting
Illumination directed into the scene from a position near the camera.

frontality
In staging, the positioning of figures so that they face the viewer.

function
The role or effect of any element within the film’s form.

gauge
The width of the film strip, measured in millimeters.

genres
Various types of films that audiences and filmmakers recognize by their familiar narrative conventions. Common genres are musical, gangster, and science fiction films.

graphic match
Two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements (e.g., color, shape).

handheld camera
The use of the camera operator’s body as a camera support, either holding it by hand or using a harness.

hard lighting
Illumination that creates sharp-edged shadows.

height of framing
The distance of the camera above the ground, regardless of the
angle of framing.

high-key lighting
Illumination that creates comparatively little contrast between the light and dark areas of the shot. Shadows are fairly transparent and brightened by
fill light.

ideology
A relatively coherent system of values, beliefs, or ideas shared by some social group and often taken for granted as natural or inherently true.

intellectual montage
The juxtaposition of a series of images to create an abstract idea not present in any one image.

internal diegetic sound
Sound represented as coming from the mind of a character within the story space. Although we and the character can hear it, we assume that the other characters cannot.
external diegetic sound
.

interpretation
The viewer’s activity of analyzing the implicit and symptomatic meanings suggested in a film.
meaning
.

iris
A round, moving
mask
that can close down to end a scene (irisout) or emphasize a detail, or that can open to begin a scene (iris-in) or to reveal more space around a detail.

jump cut
An elliptical cut that appears to be an interruption of a single shot. Either the figures seem to change instantly against a constant background, or the background changes instantly while the figures remain constant.
ellipsis
.

key light
In the three-point lighting system, the brightest illumination coming into the scene.
backlighting
,
fill light
,
three-point lighting
.

lens
A shaped piece of transparent material (usually glass) with either or both sides curved to gather and focus light rays. Most camera and projector lenses place a series of lenses within a metal tube to form a compound lens.

linearity
In a narrative, the clear motivation of a series of causes and effects that progress without significant digressions, delays, or irrelevant actions.

long shot
A framing in which the scale of the object shown is small; a standing human figure would appear nearly the height of the screen.

long take
A shot that continues for an unusually lengthy time before the transition to the next shot.

low-key lighting
Illumination that creates strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot, with deep shadows and little
fill light.

mask
An opaque screen placed in the camera or printer that blocks part of the frame off and changes the shape of the photographed image, leaving part of the frame a solid color. As seen on the screen, most masks are black, although they can be white or colored.

masking
In exhibition, stretches of black fabric that frame the theater scene. Masking can be adjusted according to the
aspect ratio
of the film to be projected.

match on action
A continuity cut that splices two different views of the same action together at the same moment in the movement, making it seem to continue uninterrupted.

matte shot
A type of
process shot
in which different areas of the image (usually actors and setting) are photographed separately and combined in laboratory work.