Film Techniques Vocabulary and Descriptions

Quinton Roberts

Instructions:
1. Research to find the various techniques used in film making.
2. You should NOT copy/paste, but include information in your own words to show comprehension.
3. Visit several websites and documents to collect comprehensive information.

Category

Sound

Focus

Technique and Description

1.

Diegetic sounds sound that would be heard by characters in the film

Feel more involved with the film

2.

Non-Diegetic sounds sound only heard by the audience

Create a mood

3.

Voice Over Off-camera narration by either a character or a commentator

4.

Internal Diegetic Only one character can hear / internal monologue

1.
2.

Soft Focus soft, blurred/ diffused

Rack Focus Brings background or foreground into sudden focus

3.

Deep Focus All objects remain in focus

1.

Offers viewers a sense of time and place; also offers the

viewer a choice of where to focus.

6.

Long-Shot The object seems small or is seen from a distance. If a person is in the
shot, it is the entire body and a great deal of background visible.
Extreme long shot a shot in which the camera is so far away that the result is a
broad panoramic view
Medium Shot A shot from the waist up or knees up most common and natural
shot
Close-up A shot close to the subject; takes up approximately 80% of the screen;
can include a head and shoulders shot
Extreme Close-up A shot that focuses on a single body part or object a
monogram
Two- shot/three-shot A shot with two or three characters

1.

High-Angle Camera is above or at an angle above the subject

2.

Low Angle - camera is below the subject

3.
4.

Eye- Level A shot from the characters eye level

Dutch Angle Camera is slightly tilted

Makes the object look weak or more vulnerable

Makes subject look strong, powerful or threatening or
superior
Most common and natural angle
Indicates tension, uncertainty or danger

1.

Side Lighting lighting from the side that leaves the subject half in light and half
in the shadows.

It can indicate a split personality or a secret/something

hidden by a character.

2.
Framing
(Shots)

3.
4.
5.

Camera
Angles

Lighting

What is the purpose of the technique? Why is it useful?

How does it enhance the viewers perception of a scene
or character?

Audience can truly understand a characters thinking

process
Creates a lighter mood or uncertainty
Forces the view to pay attention to one thing only
Viewers freedom to choose on what they would like to
center attention

Most natural view that brings the audience closer to the

action
Used to show reaction or to focus on an object
Used to draw attention to that object
Used to show equality or equal interaction

3.
4.
5.

High-Key Lighting Lighting that produces uniform brightness; scene is flooded

with light
Low-Key Lighting Lighting that produces dark shadows
Bottom lighting Lighting from below; half in light, half in shadows
Front Lighting Lighting from the front

6.

Back Lighting Lighting from the back

1.

Pan Camera is stationary but the camera head moves side to side

2.

Tilt Camera is stationary but camera rotates up and down

3.
4.

Zoom The camera is stationary but lens moves to or farther away from subject
Mobile Camera General term for the camera in a moving stable e.g. Dolly
mounted on a dolly, Tracking Moves on tracks
Crane/Boom Camera is mounted on a crane enabling the camera to take
overhead shots

2.

Camera
Movement
and
Transitions

5.

Create a bright and natural looking scene

Creates suspense, mystery, danger or suspicion
Makes character seem threatening or sinister
Can create a something effect or an ageless look
Can create a sense of depth, produce a halo-like aura, or
distort the identity of the subject if the light is strong
Used to show action or whole setting
Used to simulate a point of view or to reveal a person or
subject
To focus attention on object or a person
To follow a subject

6.
7.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Editing
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Fade a scene fades to black (or any other color) for a very short time as is slowly
replaced with another image; may start the next scene or change subjects
Point of View (POV) A shot from the characters point of view what the
character sees
Cut A joining of two separate shots so that the first is instantaneously replaced by
the second; two pieces of the film are spliced together
Dissolve Transition A transition technique where one image is gradually replaced
by another
Wipe Transition A new image wipes off the previous image
Flashback/ Flash forward A segment of a film that dramatizes what has happened
in the past or what will take place at some point in the film
Shot-Reverse Shot Switching back and forth between two characters
Crosscut ( Parallel Editing) Switching back and forth between two actions taking
place at the same time, but not necessarily in the same place
Eye-Line Match Cut from a person to an object and back to the person

It indicates a passage of time or the end of a segment.

Makes the audience feel a part of the scene

Show a connection of ideas

Move vertically horizontally or diagonally
To give additional information or background information
of the character or the story itself
Often used to show reaction in a conversation

To focus on what the character is looking at