English IV: Film Studies Introduction to Film The Great Train Robbery (1903) Citizen Kane (1941)

Basic Film Terms

Frame One of the many single photographic images in a motion picture. Individually separated by frame lines. Usually, 24 frames are needed for 1 second of film.

Frame (con’t.) Dividing line between the edges of the screen image and the enclosing darkness of the theater

Types of Shots Cinematic shots are defined by the amount of subject matter within the frame. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Types of Shots (con’t) Shots can vary in duration Shots vary in time subliminal (a few frames) quick (less than a second) “average” (more than a second but less than a minute) lengthy (more than a minute)

Establishing Shot Also known as Extreme Long Shot Shot taken from a great distance Almost always an exterior shot Shows much of locale Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom (1984)

Establishing Shot (con’t) Usually the first shot of a new scene Designed to show the audience where the action is taking place. Opening scene from Psycho (1960)

Long Shot (LS) Sometimes referred to as a Full Shot or Wideshot Typically shows the entire object or human figure Bullit (1968) Wizard of Oz (1939)

Long Shot (con’t.) Usually intended to place it in some relation to its surroundings It is not as far away as an extreme long shot Approximately the distance between the front row of the audience and the stage Singin’ in the Rain (1952) Dead Poets Society (1989)

Medium Shot (MS) Conventional shot filmed from a medium distance Between a Long Shot and a Close-up Shot Difficult to precisely define A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Medium Shot (con’t.) Usually refers to a human from the waist (or knees) up Allows audience to see body language, but not as much facial expression Rocky (1976) Top Gun (1986)

Close – Up Shot (CU) Also known as a Close Shot Appears relatively large and fills the entire frame to focus attention and emphasize its importance A person's head from the shoulders or neck up is a commonly-filmed close-up

Close – Up Shot (con’t.) Pretty Woman (1990) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) The Shining (1980)

Extreme Close-Up (ECU) A shot of a small object or part of a face that fills the screen Psycho (1960) The Descent (2006)

Over the Shoulder Shot Usually contains two figures, one with his/her back to the camera, and the other facing the camera Cast Away Hollow Man

A camera angled slightly upward Types of Angles The angle is determined by where the camera is placed not the subject matter Refers to the perspective from which a camera depicts its subject

Bird’s Eye View Camera is placed directly overhead Extremely disorienting Viewer is godlike Beverly Hills Girl Scouts

Donnie Darko

High Angle (h/a) Camera looks down at what is being photographed Takes away power of subject, makes it insignificant Gives a general overview Saving Private Ryan Without Limits

Low Angle (l/a) Camera is located below subject matter Increases height and power of subject The Patriot Halloween (1978)

Oblique Angle Lateral tilt of the camera so that figures appear to be falling out of the frame Suggests tension and transition Sometimes used as the point of view of a drunk The Matrix

Point of View (POV) A shot taken from the vantage point a particular character, or what a character sees

“Eye-Level” Roughly 5 to 6 feet off the ground, the way an actual observer might view a scene Most common

Camera Movement

Pan The camera moves horizontally on a fixed base.

Tilt The camera points up or down from a fixed base

Tracking (dolly) shot The camera moves through space on a wheeled truck (or dolly), but stays in the same plane

Boom The camera moves up or down through space

Zoom Not a camera movement, but a shift in the focal length of the camera lens to give the impression that the camera is getting closer to or farther from an object

Getting from Scene to Scene

Cut Transition between scenes when one scenes ends and another one begins Most common

Dissolve A gradual transition in which the end of one scene is superimposed over the beginning of a new one.

Fade-out/Fade in A scene gradually goes dark or a new one gradually emerges from darkness

Wipe An optical effect in which one shot appears to push the preceding one from the screen.

Iris An optical effect in which one shot appears to emerge from a shape on the screen.

What This Means These are the basic elements of film that a director can use to tell his/her story. Through editing, these shots are put together to create (hopefully!) a coherent story.