LEARNING THE LANGUAGETerms and phrases you’ll need to analyze film!

Overview

Camera shots Camera angles Camera movement/Tracking Editing Sound

Camera Shots

Long Shot Medium Shot Close-UpExtreme Close-up

Long Shot

A long shot is a shot taken from a distance to show a landscape, scenery, or a crowd.

Medium Shot A medium shot is a shot between a

close-up and a long shot. Usually shows a character ‘s whole body or from the waist up. Used frequently in television sitcoms.

Close-Up

A shot of an object or person that fills the entire screen.

Extreme Close-Up Even closer than a close-up. Focusing

in on one specific object or part of a person that fills up the entire screen.

Camera Angles

Used to show images from different perspectives.

Three distinct types of angles:

High AngleEye LevelLow Angle

High Angle

When the camera is looking down at whatever is being filmed.

Used to show weakness; being looked down upon.

Eye Level

A shot that shows the view from a human’s point of view. Camera and object are parallel to the ground.

Commonly used in all types of film.

Low Angle When the camera is looking up at

whatever is being filmed. Sometimes used to show power.

Camera Movement

PanTiltZoom

Pan (not used for cooking!)

When the camera “pans,” it is moving horizontally from one object to another without a break.

Tilt

Similarly to “panning,” a tilt is when the camera moves up and down, vertically, instead of horizontally.

Zoom Gives the impression that the

camera is either moving closer to whatever is being filmed, or farther away. The camera can zoom in or out.

Editing

In film and television, the most popular types of editing are:

CutCross-Cut

Cut!

The most common type of transition.

One scene ends and one scene begins.

Goes virtually unnoticed by audience!

Cross-Cut

Camera focuses from one object to another, and back to the first object using cuts.

Used to create suspense, show characters reacting to situations or other characters.

Sound

Sound can be used in many ways to add effect to a piece of film.

Music, narration, voice-overs, and sound effects are common in movies and television.

Types of Sound

Diegetic sound: noise that is heard by the characters in the film. Ex: Character’s voices, music from the scene, noises heard by characters such as car horns or wind.

Non-diegetic sound: Noise that isn’t heard by characters in the filmEx: Narration, mood music