1. INSIDE THE MIND OF A DIRECTOR

2. Used at the beginning of a screenplay - signifies start of film.
FADE IN
Used at the beginning of a screenplay - signifies start of film.

3. A single, uninterrupted piece of film. Can vary in length.
THE SHOT
A single, uninterrupted piece of film. Can vary in length.
- Gravity
- Inception

4. Full-body shot - often used to establish size and/or distance.
THE LONG SHOT
Full-body shot - often used to establish size and/or distance.

5. THE CLOSE-UP OR CLOSE SHOT
Typically face only - used to emphasize emotion or direct audience’s attention towards specific object.

6. BEST EXAMPLE OF CLOSE UP - TOBEYFACE

7. MEDIUM SHOT
The most common shot in film, and, as title suggest, neither long nor close. Often mixed in with long/close shots for variety.

8. SOFT FOCUS
When an image is ever-so-slightly out of focus - often times used to suggest uncertainty

9. RACK FOCUS
When director forces viewers to direct their attention to where he/she wants them to look (ex: man in background and phone rings then shot focuses on phone).

10. DEEP FOCUS
Allows for objects in both foreground and background to remain in focus.

11. LOW ANGLE
A shot taken from an extremely low angle - often used to depict power / control

12. HIGH ANGLE
A shot taken from an extremely high angle - often used to express weakness in whatever shot is looking upon.

13. No immediate significance; similar to medium shot.
EYE LEVEL
No immediate significance; similar to medium shot.

14. ‘Canted’ angle - often used to depict surreal environments.
DUTCH ANGLE
‘Canted’ angle - often used to depict surreal environments.

15. When camera pivots across horizontal axis but DOES NOT actually move.
PAN
When camera pivots across horizontal axis but DOES NOT actually move.

16. TILT
Similar to pan except instead of pivoting left and right, it moves up and down. Often used for the “male gaze.”

17. When camera closes-in on something.
ZOOM
When camera closes-in on something.

18. When camera actually does move.
TRACKING OR DOLLY
When camera actually does move.

19. LOW-KEY LIGHTING
Minimal lighting.

20. HIGH-KEY LIGHTING
Mega-light. Often seen in movies with positive, ‘happy-go-lucky’ tones.

21. NEUTRAL LIGHTING
Average lighting.

22. BOTTOM / SIDE LIGHTING
Often times used to create characters that are evil, morally ambiguous, hiding something, etc.
Use scene from North by Northwest.

24. FRONT LIGHTING
This one is often times referred to as the ‘halo effect.’ Used on honest characters with nothing to hide - many female characters in film.

25. DIEGETIC SOUND
Sound in a film that a character can hear (dog barking, car horn, doorbell, etc.)

26. Sound that a character doesn’t hear (ex. film soundtrack).
NON-DIEGETIC SOUND
Sound that a character doesn’t hear (ex. film soundtrack).
- Jaws

27. If only ONE character can hear these sounds.
INTERNAL DIEGETIC
If only ONE character can hear these sounds.

28. FADE
On-screen image slowly fades away to black for a certain amount of time.

29. DISSOLVE
Image slowly begins to fade-out but instead of going to black, it is replaced by another image that fades in.

30. CROSSCUT
Swift cuts between two shots - back and forth, back and forth. Also known as an INTERCUT.

31. Jumping to the past or future in a film.
FLASHBACK / FORWARD
Jumping to the past or future in a film.

32. A ‘point-of-view’ shot.
EYE-LINE MATCH
A ‘point-of-view’ shot.