Picture | FIlm Glossary

Aspect Ratio: numbers indicating the relationship between height and width of a frame

Frame: the borders of a projected image within a single shot. Measured in terms of aspect ratio.

Head Room: area in the frame above a subject’s head. Distance will depend on the shot type, but generally avoid cutting off the top of the subject’s head or placing it in the middle of the frame.

Shot: the subject matter included in the frame. Usually determined by how much of the human subject is in view.

Leading Space: open space in the frame into which the subject will move. Based on the rule of thirds, leading space should be placed in whatever direction the subject is facing.

Mise en Scene: placing on stage, coming from theater, it refers to the arrangement of all elements within a frame, including people, objects, and space layout. Elements of mise en scene: dominant, lighting, camera proximity, angle, color value, lens, density, composition, form, framing, depth, character placement, staging positions, character proxemics.

Metteur en Scene: the way space is shared within a frame, specifically how spatial conventions can alter human relationships on-screen.

Tightly/Loosely Framed Shot: closeness to subject in shot, used to demonstrate confinement or freedom

6 TYPES OF SHOTS

Extreme long/Establishing Shot: shows the setting/scenery. Used often when nature is a character: westerns, epics, historical films
Long Shot: corresponds roughly to the distance between stage and audience in a theater.
Full Shot: includes the full human body (head-to-toe)
Medium Shot: contains the figure from the waist up
Close-up: focuses on a small object, giving the subject symbolic importance
Extreme Close-up: containsonly part of the head (just eyes or mouth), uncomfortably close, builds tension

5 BASIC CAMERA ANGLES

Bird’s Eye View: directly overhead, typically the most disorienting because it’s unfamiliar
High Angle: shot from a crane or high platform, gives a sense of spectator omnipotence/overview of scene. Movement slows, individual subjects are less important.
Eye-Level: mimics how a person would view the scene, some filmmakers prefer only eye-level as they don’t comment on the subjects
Low Angle: heighten the importance/power of a subject. Movement quickens.
Oblique Angle: POV or tilted camera, suggests tension or impending movement

5 BASIC ACTOR POSITIONS

Full front: facing directly toward the camera, most intimate/intense as the actor makes eye contact with us.
Quarter turn: most common position, actor looking slightly left or right. Gives audience intimacy with the actor without directly staring at them.
Profile: looking off frame left or right, more remote, as if character is in their own thoughts or world.
Three-quarter turn: more anonymous, useful for conveying antisocial/unfriendly feeling
Back to camera: alienates the character from the audience, conveying a sense of concealment, mystery. We want to see more.

PERSPECTIVE

Tonal Separation: the influence of object brightness on depth perception. Brighter objects tend to appear closer than darker objects.

Color Separation: influence of of color warmth on depth perception. Warmer (red, orange, yellow) colors appear closer than cooler colors (blue, green, purple).

Up/Down Position: influence of vertical location on depth perception. Objects higher in the frame seem further away than lower objects.

Perspective: set in one, two, or three point perspective. Lines in the plane point the viewer’s perspective in certain directions (train tracks [1], buildings [2]). Moving the camera perspective from above to below a subject changes the subject’s shape, altering the vanishing point (where our eye goes)

Vanishing point: point on screen that draws the viewer’s eye. It’s good to position your subject on a vanishing point.

Dominant Contrast: area of an image that most captures our attention due to a compelling contrast
Subsidiary Contrast: after the dominant, areas of the image that drawn next attention.

Open Space: use of elements in a shot to create the impression that objects extend beyond the closed frame lines. Multi Directional lines/movement, movement in/out of a frame, camera movement, elimination of stationary lines all create open space.

Closed Space: use of elements in a shot (usually vertical and horizontal lines) that create the impression of a fixed frame.

Vanishing point: point on screen that draws the viewer’s eye. It’s good to position your subject on a vanishing point.