Terminology

Terminology

Genre- classifies things into groups. It tells the potential audience what to expect and a way to judge whether it fits the genre given. Most genres can by hybrids which are a mix of two or more different genres.

Mise en scene- means ‘put in scene’. It is everything that is visible on screen.

Film Noir-

Denotation- the surface meaning, it is what it looks like.

Connotation- the cultural or underline meaning, what is symbolizes.

Iconographic References- a cultural reference that makes the object something more than it really is, for example Effile Tower we relate to France.

Hallmark- is a sign or symbol of a product. For example blood is a symbol of a horror movie and cowboy hat is a symbol of a western.

Representation- what the image shown means, how something is presented to the audience for example a prop.

Editing- improving or changing of the work that is produced, for example moving scenes around and adding in sound.

Match on Action- cutting out the bit not needed for example a hand on a door handle then cut to someone walking out the door.

Sound Terminology

Sound Bridge- music covering two different scenes or locations to connect them together; hearing people talking but not seeing them and cutting to the people talking.

Ambient sound- the background noise

Diegetic Sound- is sound whose source is visible on the screen for example voices of characters. 
Non Diegetic Sound- sound that’s coming from a source outside of the frame, for example a narrator.

Camera Terminology

Camera Angle- the direction of the camera shot, for example tilted up or down.

Camera Shots- different views of a scene or character, for example close up.

Camera Levels- the different heights of which a film is shot, for example high shot.

Camera Movement- the direction or way of which the camera travels in, for example tracking shot.

Depth of field- is where the foreground is in focus and the background is out of focus, and visa versa.

Medium Shot- is from the waist upwards, shows power or importance as the character is in the whole frame, and also shows their location.

Long Shot- where the characters body fits into the frame

Pull Focus- when what is in front of the shot is in focus and the background is out of focus and it changes.

Shot Reverse Shot- is where there is a conversation between two people and the camera switches between seeing them.

Counted Angle- is at 45 degrees, it is used to show disorientation or abnormality.

Point of View Shot- shows the view from the characters prospective.

Close up- is where a certain feature or part of the character takes up the frame, for example the head.

Over the Shoulder Shot- looking from behind the person, looking at the other character

Tracking Shot- is where the camera follows the character or object

Panning Shot- is where the camera moves in a horizontal line and rotates to give a whole view of the location