Glossary of Cinematography Terms for TV Drama

Goffs Media Department

AS Media

Learning Objective: Know the technical terms for Cinematography

Glossary of CINEMATOGRAPHY terms Shot distances: the apparent distance of the camera from the subject

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Wide Shot – a shot using a wide-angle lens that distorts what we see so as to include objects from a wider area of vision than a normal shot. Extreme Long Shot (ELS) – used for landscapes or cityscapes; the human form is barely significant. Long Shot (LS) – the human form is prominent but the landscape still dominates. Providing the whole of the human body can be seen in the shot, it is a long shot. Medium Long Shot (MLS) – the human form can be seen from about the knees up Medium Shot (MS) – also known as the Mid Shot, where the human form can be seen from the waist up. Medium Close-up (MCU) – the human form can be seen from the chest up. Close-up – shows a human face or draws attention to a specific object Extreme Close-up – also known as the Big Close-up shows detail or a specific part of the human face, eg the eyes.

Shots by function or content

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Establishing Shot – this is a shot of the location where the next unit of drama takes place. It is often an exterior shot, showing the building in which the action will take place – in the 1950s, the building would typically have a sign stating what it is eg hospital or Detective Bureau. An establishing shot can also be an interior eg the balcony shot of the court room in Bleak House Master Shot – this term is specifically for a shot that shows where everyone is in a location, eg a room. Following a master shot, edits to close-ups and shot-reverse-shot sequences will not confuse us because the master shot has shown us where everyone is in relation to each other. A master shot shows the people, an establishing shot usually shows the place. Two Shot – any shot containing two people. Point of View Shot (POV) – a shot showing what a character is looking at, often following an ‘eyeline match’ edit. Sometimes a POV will use a pan or tilt to show how the character is scanning or searching for something. Over-the-shoulder Point of View Shot – a POV in which we can see part of the person whose viewpoint we are seeing – usually the shoulder and side of the head, although these features are often blurred. Aerial Shot – also known as the Bird’s Eye View shot where the camera is looking directly down from above the subject. A Bird’s Eye View can be from just above the subject but an Aerial Shot, or Helicopter Shot is usually from a great height. Worm’s Eye View Shot – looking directly UP at the subject; the opposite of a Bird’s Eye View Shot.

Camera Angle – when the camera is looking at the subject from a standard eye-level

Goffs Media Department

AS Media

Learning Objective: Know the technical terms for Cinematography • • •

High angle – the camera is higher than the subject and is looking down on him/her. This carries the connotation that the subject is lacking power or status. Low angle – the camera is placed lower than the subject and we feel as if we are looking up at him/her. This carries the connotation that the subject is powerful. Dutch angle – also known as the Dutch tilt or canted angle. The camera is tilted over, making the diegetic world appear as if it is on a slope; this is used to make the viewer feel uneasy or disorientated. It can be used as a POV shot with the connotation that the subject is drunk or intoxicated.

Camera Movement – ways in which the camera can be physically moved whilst filming

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Pan – the camera is fixed to a tripod but is rotated horizontally. Used as a POV, it gives the impression that the character is scanning across the landscape. Tilt – as with the Pan, the camera is fixed to a tripod but is rotated vertically. Tracking Shot – where the whole camera is mounted on a wheeled base so that it can follow the movement of the subject in a continuous, smooth movement. Often the camera is mounted on tracks, but could alternatively be mounted on a pick-up truck, depending on the smoothness required by the context. Dolly – the wheeled platform on which the tripod is mounted for a tracking shot Track – tracks or rails on which a dolly is mounted. Crane – also known as a boom. This allows the entire camera (and operator if the boom is large enough) to move in any direction up, down or sideways. On a Crane, the camera can also pan or tilt as it moves up, down or sideways. The largest Crane shots allow a camera to rise from floor level up over a building. Stable camera – this idea is linked to Invisible Editing as a technique to make the viewer forget they are watching an artificial world and to believe what they are seeing is reality. This is particularly so in the drama mise-en-scene of verisimilitude. Handheld – means simply that a camera is held by the operator. Inevitably, the camera shakes and pitches with the motion of the operator but this can give a sense of drama, immediacy and a feeling of involvement in the action. It can be used to mimic documentary, amateur or news styles of film-making. It reminds the viewer that we are watching film, whereas the stable camera disguises the fact we are watching an artificial world. Steadicam – invented in 1976 by Garrett Brown, this is a system of harness and counterbalance weights that allow a camera to be held by the operator (giving great freedom of movement) but not shaking like a handheld camera would do. The weights and balances mean that small vibrations and movements by the operator are not transferred to the camera itself. Zoom – is not really a camera movement at all, it is a change of the lens that makes it appear to the viewer that we are moving closer to the subject. In fact the subject is being steadily magnified. A Reverse Zoom is where the camera zooms out –ie the subject appears gradually smaller.

Goffs Media Department

AS Media

Learning Objective: Know the technical terms for Cinematography •

Crash zoom – is a technique of digital editing to speed up a so that it is extremely fast and we feel like we are whizzing towards the subject. We usually stop very suddenly when the director feels we are close enough.

Goffs Media Department

AS Media

Learning Objective: Know the technical terms for Cinematography Composition – how the subject(s) are arranged within the field of vision

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Field of vision – what we can see within the four walls (top, bottom, left side, right side) of the camera or film/TV screen. Framing – the placing of everything within the frame – and the decision of exactly what gets cut out by the field of vision. Rule of Thirds – the theory, taken from photography that it is aesthetically better to place the most important subject of a shot on one of four intersection points that occur when the screen is divided into a grid of nine squares. Also the theory that vertical objects should align to one of the verticals of the grid and horizontals should align to the horizontal thirds of the screen Depth of Field – refers to how far away from the camera objects remain in focus. Deep focus – is where objects are in focus whether they are near the camera or far away. In deep focus, the depth of field is large. Shallow focus – only certain objects are in focus. They may be near the camera, in the middle distance or far away, but not everything the camera sees is in focus. Shallow focus has a small depth of field and is used to draw the viewers attention away from the unfocussed subject on to that which is in clear focus. Pulling focus is the term used for changing the focus of the camera. In a focus pull, an object near the camera might be seen to blur whilst something that was blurred and far away comes into focus. This technique usually has some dramatic meaning as our attention is drawn to the object that comes into focus – perhaps a predator, or someone who shouldn’t be seeing what is happening in the foreground.