15 Arts, Literature and Communication : cinéma terms
I study Cinema and want to share my passion with you. When I first started my classes, I realized that the movie industry has its own language! In cinema everything is coded: the types of plans, the camera movements, the angles, the paperwork, etc. To create a 2h movie with a team composed of hundreds of people, you need clear and specific terms for it to go smoothly.
Here are some of the many terms you need to know if you want to become a movie director. They may seem to be difficult to remember, but they're all very easy to understand one you know what it means. Hope these are clear!
Deep focus
noun.
A technique used in filmmaking to show dept in the background.
Example: The use of deep focus in certain scenes is what makes the movie stand out.
fr: Focalisation profonde.
Dialogue
noun.
What a character says.
Example: The scene starts with a dialogue between Amanda and her mother.
fr: Dialogue
Establishing shot
noun.
A shot taken from a distance that indicates to the spectator where the action takes place.
Example: The movie started with this amazing establishing shot of New York.
fr: Plan de grand ensemble.
Insert
noun.
An insert is a shot very close to an object. It is usually used to draw attention to a particular detail.
Example: The insert on the ring helped spectators understand who was the killer.
fr: Plan insert
Jump cut
noun.
A jump cut is the result of placing two shots back-to-back who are practically identical in terms of framing with or without the same subject in which will lead to a sensation of jumping few seconds in time.
Example: The director said, "let's take a shot of her walking down the road and let's add a jump cut to her being all the way down the road."
fr: Plan sur plan.
Long shot or wide shot
noun.
A long shot is a camera view that was taken from a certain distance from the characters or objects. The subjects filmed therefore look small.
fr: Plan d'ensemble.
Master shot
noun.
A master shot is the main shot of a scene. It shows the main action or the setting and is usually a longer take.
Example: The master shot of this scene will be a medium shot of Peter yelling in the mirror.
fr: Master shot. (same term in french).
Medium shot
noun.
A medium shot is a pretty conventional group of shots that captures an actor from the waist up. It has different "levels" such as from the knees up, from the waist up, from the chest up.
Example: In this medium shot, we can see the two actors walking with guns attached to their belts.
fr: Plan moyen.
Oblique angle
noun.
This type of angle is used to demonstrate a state of destabilization, of craziness or if a character is impaired. It is created by leaning the camera on the side.
Example: The director inserted an oblique angle to show us the character was drunk and had difficulty seeing straight.
fr: Angle oblique.
Off screen
noun.
When an actor, an action or a sound is not visible on screen, but you know it is happening.
Example: The director says to his actor: "can you please throw this object to him. Make sure we don't see your arm; you're off screen".
fr: Hors champ
Point-of-view shot
noun.
A point of view shot (P.O.V. shot) is taken from the perspective of an object or character. Not only does it give the impression of being in the movie but it also shows us what the character sees.
Example: With this point-of-view shot, we could see what Rachel was looking at.
fr: Perspective du plan.
Reverse angle shots
noun.
The reverse angles shots are often used in scenes with two (or more) characters are having a conversation. It is a shot showing the reverse side of the subject.
Example: The director shows the two characters one at a time during this dialogue scene.
fr: Champ/ contre-champ.
Tight Shot
noun.
A tight shot is an extreme close-up or a tight framing of the subject.
Example: In this picture, we can see a tight shot on the deer's face.
fr: Plan rapproché.
Transition
noun.
A film transition is created in editing. It can be the simple action of putting two shots are put back-to-back in which the separation is just a normal cut. They're used to creating a tone, to create a time lap, to separate scenes, etc. Some transitions have more stylistic effects such as fades, dissolves, wipe, etc.
Example: In one of the Star Wars movie, they added a wipe transition in between two scenes that suggest that some time has passed.
fr: Transitions.
Voice Over
noun.
Voice over is added dialogue or sounds that aren't visible in the frame. It is often used to let us hear a character's thoughts.
Example: We could hear the many voices in the characters head with the help of voice over.
