Terms 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-Up  Extreme 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 Angle Eye Level Low 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  Pan  Tilt  Zoom

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.

ZoomZoom  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: Cut Cross-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 film Ex: Narration, mood music