Film Terms

By definition photography is using light to make an image. The way light is used can make objects, people and environments look beautiful, soft or harsh, artificial or real. When you manipulate light in film you manipulate a viewer's attitude toward a character.

Steady cams have stabilizing mechanisms and unsteady cams do not, so they wobble.

The image that is captured from when a camera is started until it is stopped.

Framing denotes what is included or excluded in an individual shot.

This is a shot with two characters that’s usually framed medium. It is often used to establish physical relationship or communication (or lack of it) between characters.

Shot from the waist or chest up, an OS includes the shoulder of one character while focusing on the other character. “Overs” are shot in pairs so they can be edited (cut) together.

It’s a shot of some small but significant detail in a scene that is inserted in the sequence for clarity. It is described by how it is framed, usually as a CU.

The camera points upward or downward on a subject for a particular effect.

A dolly shot is a segment in which the camera is mounted on a wheeled platform that is moved while the picture is being taken. The camera can “dolly in” on a subject for emphasis, or “dolly out,” or “dolly with” a moving subject.

This is a dolly shot that moves in an arc around the subject.

Unlike the dolly shot, a pan is when the camera pivots horizontally from one side to another to scan a scene or to follow a moving object. The whole camera is not moving with the action like in a dolly shot.

The camera stays put, but it pivots vertically from bottom up or from top to bottom.

This is a shot where the camera itself moves up or down. It is accomplished by placing the camera on a crane or similar device. Crane shots are often long or extreme long shots. They often give the viewer a feeling of omniscience over the characters.

A Dutch tilt is a camera shot in which the camera angle is deliberately slanted to one side. This can be used for dramatic effect and helps portray unease, disorientation, frantic or desperate action, intoxication, madness, etc.

Zooming means altering the focal length of the lens to give the illusion of moving closer to or further away from the action. It is arguably the most misused of all camera functions. Basically, don’t play the trombone when zooming.