What is the difference between a “pan”

and a “tilt?”

What intuitive association have we

developed with handheld cameras?

What does “rack focus” enable one to do?

What is the lens? What is it responsible for

and what are its basic properties?

Why is the implied proximity of the camera

to the subjects being shot relevant to the

viewer?

What is the basic building block of editing?

What is the most fundamental tool of editing?

What does the term “ellipsis” mean in filmmaking? How does it serve a practical function?

Why do the 180 degree rule and axis of action matter to continuity editing/shooting?

How does Master Scene Technique help the editor? What does it enable her/him to do?

Key Light-the major source of

illumination, typically the main source of

illumination within the world of the shot

(a lamp, the sun, etc.).

Fill Light-generally lies opposite the

camera from the Key Light; it works

to fill in the harshness of the Key

Light and diminish shadows. Often

it is the intensity of the Fill Light in

relation to the Key Light that

determines the quality of shadows

in the shot.

Backlight-generally located above and behind the subject; the Backlight

often gives the subject added dimensionality and separates them from the

background. It is sometimes called a “hair light” for the way in which it

directs light onto the hair, giving the hair added definition.

What is “high key” lighting? In what genres of film/tv might we find it?

What is “low key” lighting? In what genres of film/tv might we find it?

FOCUS is often used to direct viewer attention to a specific object or plane (e.g.

foreground, middle ground, background). A subject or object that is sharply rendered

through the camera is considered to be in focus. The distance between the lens and

the in focus subject/object is the focal distance.

FOCAL LENGTH describes the distance between the camera lens and the medium

upon which the image is recorded (film or electronic sensor).

DEPTH OF FIELD describes the zone of sharp focus in front of and behind your primary

target. The closer you are to an object, the smaller a depth of field you have. The

further you are from an object, the larger a depth of field you have.

Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)

Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)

“Continuity” – general set of rules and practicesthat allow for relatively seamless transitionbetween shots. Designed to create sense ofverisimilitude, sense that things unfold in realtime, that time and space are linear andcoherent.

Unlike “disjunctive” editing, “continuity” editingaims to make the cuts between shots invisibleto the viewer. “Disjuntive” editing seeks tomake the cuts, and thus the juxtaposition ofshots, readily apparent to the viewer.

Some filmmakers may intentionally violate therules of continuity to create particular effects.

The 180-DEGREE RULE states that

interactions between characters exist onan axis and that the characters shouldmaintain the same spatial relationship toone another.

If person 1 is established as being to theright of person 2 two during a scene,they should stay there until the scene (orthe axis) changes.

The axis of action is the imaginary lineconnecting the characters in the shot.Remaining on the same side of the axisensures consistent screen direction. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)

THE 30 DEGREE RULE: this rule states that the camera shouldmove at least 30 degrees between contiguous shots of the samesubject.

Its basic logic is that you should avoid moving from one cut to thenext in a straight line toward the same subject. Such cuts arejarring and look like jump cuts.

It is often easier to mask these differences (character has shiftedslightly, arms are in different positions, etc.) with a more dramaticshift in angle.

MASTER SCENE TECHNIQUE-technique for shooting and editingfilms that aims to maintain continuity. An establishing shot (often aLS) covers all of the relevant aspects (landscape, subjects, objects,etc) of the ensuing scene. The establishing shot is the master shotfor this very reason. After this shot, additional shots are taken atshorter distances, capturing more intimate moments betweensubjects/objects. At some point, to reestablish a sense of whereeveryone/everything is, we return to the LS again, this time calledthe re-establishing shot.

MASTER SCENE TECHNIQUE dictates the way in which a scene isput together in preproduction (where it is storyboarded), production(where it is shot), and postproduction (where it is edited).

ESTABLISHING SHOT: this shot (often a LS, sometimes an ELS orMLS) establishes the scene and generally includes most, if not all, ofthe action that will subsequently unfold (often in SHOT/REVERSESHOTS and/or POV/REACTION SHOTS).

ESTABLISHING SHOT

Breaking Bad (Vince Gilligan, 2008-)

SHOT/REVERSE SHOT: shot of one character on one end of the

180 degree axis followed by shot from the other character at theother end of the axis. Often used during a conversation.

REVERSE SHOT

REVERSE SHOTSHOT

SHOT

Breaking Bad (Vince Gilligan, 2008-)

POV/REACTION SHOT: shot mimics the point-of-view of asubject and is followed by a shot (often a close-up) of the subject’sreaction to what they (and the camera) have just seen.

RE-ESTABLISHING SHOT

RE-ESTABLISHING SHOT: re-establishes the larger setting for theaction that precedes it.

Breaking Bad (Vince Gilligan, 2008-)

EYE-LINE MATCH: the shot of a character looking off screen isfollowed by shot of subject/object the character is supposed to belooking at. The cut that connects these two shots is called an eye-line match cut.

The Empire Strikes Back(Irvin Kershner, 1980)

MOVEMENT EDITING-contiguous shots are joined throughmovement (direction and/or pace) that either corresponds orcontrasts from one shot to the next.

“MATCH-ON-ACTION” CUT (sometimes referred to as “CUTTING ONACTION”): continuity technique wherein movement in one shot cuts tocontinuation of that movement in the next shot.

GRAPHIC EDITING

“GRAPHIC MATCH” CUT bridges two contiguous shots throughcompositional similarities (shape, color, movement), creating a sense ofseamless transition even between two otherwise different contexts orsubjects/objects.

Breaking Bad

(Vince Gilligan, 2008-)

POINT-OF-VIEW EDITING-editing different shots together in a way that

makes the viewer aware of the point-of-view of a subject.

The shots reflecting the point-of-view of a subject are often called POVshots. They may be followed by a shot of the subject’s reaction to whatthey’ve just seen. These shots are often called reaction shots.

OVERLAPPING EDITING-creates the repetition of an action over severalcuts

PARALLEL EDITING (sometimes called “CROSS CUTTING”): the editing ofevents occurring simultaneously at different locations.

INTERCUTTING the editing of two or more actions that take place atdifferent locations/times but give the impression of one scene.

RHYTHMIC EDITING-organization of cuts according to desired tempo. Inthese cases, rhythm may guide the editing more than narrative. Morecommon in styles of disjunctive editing than continuity editing.

MONTAGE-uses the cut to create contrasts. Hollywood filmmakers may usemontage to condense time/space as a transition (Butch Cassidy and theSundance Kid). Others, like the early Soviet silent filmmakers, use montageto call attention to the shots themselves to both startle the viewer and tomake political points about filmmaking and the larger world.

DISJUNCTIVE EDITING-calls attention to the cuts, can disorientviewers and confuse them as the temporal and spatial dynamics ofthe diegetic world. Soviet Montage is a great example ofdisjunctive editing.

“JUMP” CUT: a cut between shots that creates an abrupt and jarring jumpin time and/or space. This is disjunctive because it works against theseamless flow between shots and undermines the coherent sense of time,space, and action.

Disjunctive editing may also employ overlapping editing, where an actionis repeated from either the same of different perspectives.

Breathless (Jean Luc Godard, 1960)

How can sound impact a film?

How does it help the filmmaker?

How does sound correspond to audience expectations?

What role does sound play in a film like The Conversation? Examples?