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Cinematic Terms
A Film-Making Glossary |
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Cinematic Terms
A Film-Making Glossary |
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In order to be knowledgeable about film-making, the vocabulary of film studies and the techniques of cinema, some of the most basic and common terms must be defined. Illustrations are provided with many of the terms, to help describe them more fully.
Index to Glossary (alphabetical) A1 A2-B1 B2 B3-C1 C2 C3 C4-D1 D2-E1 F1 F2-I1 I2-L1 L2-M1 M2-O1 O2-P1 P2-S1 S2 S3 S4 S5-T1 T2-Z
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a transitional device consisting of a gradual change in the intensity of an image or sound, such as from a normally-lit scene to darkness (fade out, fade-to-black) or vice versa, from complete black to full exposure (fade in), or from silence to sound or vice versa; a 'fade in' is often at the beginning of a sequence, and a 'fade out' at the end of a sequence. |
Examples: Face-outs usually occur at the end of a sequence, and fade-ins at the beginning of a sequence
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refers to a light-hearted, gleeful, often fast-paced, crudely humorous, contrived and 'over-the-top' comedy that broadly satirizes, pokes fun, exaggerates, or gleefully presents an unlikely or improbable stock situation (e.g., a tale of mistaken identity, cross-dressing, etc.) often characterized by slapstick, pratfalls, and other physical antics; types of farces include screwball comedy, bedroom/sex farce/comedy; contrast to parody and satire. |
 Examples:
Duck Soup (1933), To Be or Not to Be
(1942), Victor/Victoria (1982) (shown here) |
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(or accelerated motion) |
a camera device or effect to compress reality and highlight a scene or cause a dramatic effect, created by filming a scene with the film running at a rate less than the normal 24 frames per second and then projecting it back at standard speed, thereby creating the effect of moving faster than normal; generally used for comic effect; contrast to slow-motion or time-compression. | |
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a "full-length" motion picture, one greater than 60 minutes in length - but usually about 90-120 minutes on one particular topic; also known as a theatrical; contrast to shorts. | |
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a term often used before the 1970s to refer to a 20 to 45 minute film (longer than a short subject but shorter than a feature film), usually a "making of" or "behind the scenes" mini-documentary, or an extended trailer, which was usually displayed by theater owners to "sell" a film for exhibition in their movie house -- nowadays, featurettes are commonly run on premium cable stations, or offered as a 'bonus feature' as part of a DVD's extras; see also "Making of..." | Examples: One of the most notorious featurettes was Alfred Hitchcock's extended trailer for Psycho (1960), in which the director explored the set of the Bates Motel, and coyly described the film's murders |
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usually a light-hearted, upbeat comedy or romance that ends with an audience-pleasing conclusion; sometimes used derogatively; compare to tearjerker |  Examples:
Singin' in the Rain (1952), Rocky
(1976), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Field
of Dreams (1989), When Harry Met Sally...
(1989), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Amelie (2001) |
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an event at which films can often be premiered, exhibited, awarded, and engaged in distribution deals, such as Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, etc.; also known as fest |  Example:
the Cannes Film Festival (France) is the best known of various film festivals,
with its Palm D'Or grand award |
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a cliched term popularized by pop artist/painter Andy Warhol in the late 60s, who predicted that everyone could be famous for 15 minutes and experience a moment of 'crowning glory'; aka one-hit wonders; due to today's increasing demands for pseudo-celebrities or 'personalities', headline-grabbers, and the widespread dissemination of information by cable TV, talk radio, and the WWW, it may be possible for everyone to 'bask in the limelight' for a fleeting moment (a flash in the pan). |  Examples:
Tiny Tim, Dr. Laura, Amy Fisher, Tonya Harding, Kato, Rodney King, Tammy
Faye Bakker, Jessica Lynch, Pee Wee Herman, Mr. T., Reality TV show contestants
(i.e., Omarosa), Ken Jennings (on Jeopardy), etc. |
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(1) as a verb, to record a scene or make (or lense) a motion picture; (2) as a noun, refers to a motion picture, or (3) the thin strip of material on the film negative (with a base and light-sensitive coating of emulsion) that is used to create images - through light exposure. |
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the examination or study of film as an art form | |
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unwanted film damage that could be a defect or error - dust, hair, specks, emulsion scratches, splices, reel-change marks, a hiss, crackle or pop on the soundtrack, mottling of the image, scratches on the negative being printed positive, etc.; film preservation, restoration, and archival efforts help to keep older, decomposing, and endangered films from deteriorating and acquiring artifacts, through painstaking processes (often digital restoration) |  Example:
heavy damage and scratches in a still from Judex (1916), a silent
serial in twelve episodes made by French director Louis Feuillade |
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a short section of film removed from a movie and often exhibited; a part of a film, and sometimes a complete scene or sequence, taken from a film; similar to an excerpt. | |
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an early movement in French cinema to film more respectable stage productions | |
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refers to the measurement of a width of a film strip (in millimeters) used in a camera; see 35mm, film stock, Cinerama, Cinemascope, etc.; see also digital video |
 Example:
from The Maltese Falcon (1941), the most
common film gauge - used for most films until 1953, 35mm film with
four perforations on each side for each frame, and running at 24 fps;
the frame area was 1" wide and 3/4" high, producing an
aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (called the Academy ratio) |
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the amount of light-sensitive material in the film's coating or emulsion; results can either be fine-grained (or sharp) - that requires more light for filming, or excessively grainy (or coarse) - best for low-light situations. | |
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a collective term used to refer to a person(s) who have a significant degree of control over the creation of a film: directors, producers, screenwriters, and editors. | See section of site on "Greatest Directors" |
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a French phrase literally meaning "black film" that developed in the early 40s; refers to a genre of mostly black/white films that blossomed in the post-war era in American cinema, with bleak subject matter and a somber, downbeat tone; the plot (often a quest), low-key lighting (harsh shadows and chiaroscuro) often in night scenes, camera angles (often canted or high angle shots), the setting (the gloomy underworld of crime and corruption), iconography (guns, urban settings), characters (disillusioned, jaded), and other elements (voice-overs and flashbacks) combined to present a dark atmosphere of pessimism, tension, cynicism, or oppression. Film noirs, often crime films, were usually set in grim and seedy cities, with characters including criminals, anti-heroes, private detectives, and duplicitous femme fatales; see also tech-noir |  Examples:
American films of the 1940s and early 1950s, including The
Maltese Falcon (1941), Double Indemnity (1944),
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), and Sunset Boulevard
(1950). Also present day noirs, such as Body
Heat (1981) and The Man Who Wasn't There (2001); Carl Reiner's
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) was a parody of film noir (and contained
excerpted footage from classic film noir films) |
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a comprehensive (often chronological by year) listing of films featuring the work of an actor/actress, director, or other crew member; may also be a list of films for a specific genre or topic; a filmographer is another term for a film-maker or a person who studies film | See filmographies of many prominent actors and actresses, or director-filmographies. |
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an evaluative oral or written judgment about the quality of a movie, based upon various assumptions, facts, biases, etc; professional film reviewers are known as critics; a film review usually includes a brief synopsis (avoiding spoilers, usually), a balanced notation of both the film's plusses and minuses, quotable wording, and some judgments; more extensive, in-depth film evaluations are called analytical essays. |
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critics-reviewers Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert in the mid-80s presenting
a critique on their TV show about Blue Velvet (1986) |
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refers to film size or gauge (8mm, 16mm, 35mm, 70mm, 105mm, for example), and film speed, among other things; also refers to raw unused, unexposed film; various kinds of film stock include tungsten (for use with artificial light, usually indoors) and daylight film stock (for use with natural light, usually outdoors) | |
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a particular story-telling approach, literally, to have one film within another; in some cases, the characters are aware of the 'film-within-a-film,' and break the fourth wall and enter into or interact with it; aka subset film or picture within a picture |  Examples:
the opening of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
(1969) with silent film footage of the historical Butch Cassidy's
'Hole in the Wall' Gang; also found in Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr.
(1924); the "News on the March" segment in Citizen
Kane (1941), Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), The Player (1992), Last Action Hero (1993), and Steven Soderbergh's
Full Frontal (2002) |
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glass, plastic, or gelatinous substance placed before or behind a camera lens to change the effect and character of the lighting within the film's frame | |
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the last edited version of a film as it will be released; see also rough cut | |
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(lens) |
an extreme type of super wide-angle lens with a very short focal point (and nearly infinite depth-of-field), that exaggerates and distorts the linear dimensions of the image, giving it a sense of curvature |  Example: the image of Ruth Gordon (as nosey neighbor Minnie Castevet) in a ludicrously distorted fish-eye view seen through neighbor Rosemary's (Mia Farrow) security door peephole in Rosemary's Baby (1968)); also common in dream sequences |
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a film (usually humorous) in which the main character(s) faces 'culture shock' by being placed in unfamiliar or new surroundings or situations | Examples: any version of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942), Trading Places (1983), 'Crocodile' Dundee (1986), Babe: Pig in the City (1998) |
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a filmic technique that alters the natural order of the narrative; a flashback may often be the entire film; it takes the story order back chronologically in time to a previous or past event, scene, or sequence that took place prior to the present time frame of the film; the flashbacked story that provides background on action and events is often called the backstory; contrast to flash-forward |
 Examples:
Citizen Kane (1941) is composed mostly
of flashbacks and flash-forwards - i.e., Joseph Cotten in a rest home
remembering the past, in a flashback; also many film noirs begin with a flashback, such as Mildred Pierce (1945) and Out of the Past (1947) |
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(or flash-ahead) |
simply put, the opposite of flashback; a filmic technique that depicts a scene, event or shot taking place (or imagined) or expected that is projected into a future time beyond the present time of the film, or it can be a flashforward from the past to the present | Example: very common in futuristic science-fiction films (e.g., 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), or Jacob's Ladder (1990)), or in reflecting a character's hopes/dreams |
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(or shot) |
a single clear frame that is inserted between two shots that can barely be perceived, giving the appearance of a flash of white when viewed, and for the intention of producing a shock or sudden dramatic effect | Example:
in Hitchcock's black and white Spellbound (1945), two frames are
hand-tinted red (Hitchcock's first use of color) in a gigantic closeup of
a gun that rotates slowly and fires directly at the camera  |
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transitory, impermanent success or recognition; derived from panning for gold experience; see fifteen minutes of fame | |
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a section of a studio's set, consisting of a constructed wooden frame covered with materials (such as plywood that is treated or covered with fabric, metal, paint, wallpaper, etc.) | |
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the flickering image in early films gave rise to the generic term flicks when referring to the movies; often used in a condescending way, such as stating that a film is a 'horror flick' or 'chick-flick' | |
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refers to the unsteady, stroboscopic, fluctuating effect perceived by the viewer, often produced by an improperly-photographed or projected film; similar to the old-time movie effect | |
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a lamp that provides general diffuse lighting on a studio set | |
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a film that is a failure at the box-office; also known as floppola, bomb, turkey | Examples: Heaven's Gate (1980) and Ishtar (1987) are two notorious examples of major flops |
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refers to the degree of sharpness or distinctness of an image (or an element of an image such as a person, object, etc.); as a verb, it refers to the manipulation or adjustment of the lens to create a sharper image; terms related are deep focus, shallow focus (very common in close-ups), soft focus, and rack focusing |
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an acting role that is used for personality comparison or contrast, usually with the protagonist or main character, as a means to show and highlight a character trait | |
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in the post-production and editing stage of a film's production, the foley artist (named after pioneer Jack Foley) creates or adds sound effects/noises (e.g., footsteps, gunshots, kisses, punches, storm noises, slamming doors, explosions, etc.) to the film as it is projected, often with props that mimick the action |
