glossary

1. Editingglossary
Transitions
Fade
 transitiontoor froma blankscreen(normallyblack)
Dissolve
 slowtransitionasone image mergesintoanother
Both are usedto suggestdifferencesintime orplace.A dissolvemightalsosuggestastrong
connection betweenthe twoscenesinvolved.
Wipe
 an optical effectinwhichone shot‘wipes’anotheroff the screenfordramaticeffect
Superimposition
 twoor more imagesplaceddirectlyontopof one another
Montage
 a seriesof shotsthat are connectedtogetherto reinforce/create meaning –intensifiesand
control the emotionthroughcollection
Slowmotion
 The action literallyslowsdownwiththe text –thisconnotesseriousnessora past event.
Helpsto prolongtension,assstyle,ordramaticeffecttothe film
The long take
 Thisis a shotthat doesnot cut awaybut ‘lingers’onone piece of the action.Itisequivalent
of staring– connotesintensity
Splitscreen
 Divisionof screeninordertoshow two or more linesof actionsimultaneously –thiscan be
referred toas parallel action
Shottypes/movements
Extreme longshot/establishingshot
 Usedas a scene settingestablishingshot
 Can be takenup to ¼ of a mile away
Wide shot
 Showspart of the setto showsize/scale
Crane shot
 Highshot – useful wayto move the camera
Ariel shot/birdseye

2.  Establishsettingandplacementof characters
Close up
 Verylittle background
 Showsimportance of things
 Takesus intothe mindof the character
 Makes audience feel comfortable/uncomfortable aboutacharacter
Extreme close up
 Emotion
 Eyes
 Magnifybeyondwhatthe humanwouldnormallysee
Long shot
 Camerafar away to capture a large area
 The whole body
Mediumshot
 Half the body
 Most common
Pointof view
 See whatthe actor sees
 Forcesaudience tobecome the character
Overthe shoulder
 Putsthe audience inthe scene butasan accomplice of the action
Two shot
 Two people inthe shot
 Conversation/linkbetweencharacters –relationship
Shot/reverse shot
 One character shownlookingatanothercharacter andthenthe otherway
Angles
Highangle
 Looksdown= weak/inferiorcharacter
Low angle
 Looksup = strong/powerful character
Pans
 Movementthatscans the scene horizontally

3.  Oftenusedtofollowanobject
 Stationaryaxispoint
Tilt
 Scans vertically
Dollyshots/trackingshot
 Cameramoves – alongside the action
Handheldshots
 Jerky,raggedeffect
Zoom/reverse zoom
 Gets closerormovesawayveryquickly
 Can suggestsurveillance,voyeurism
Sound
Piano
Eerie
Horse and carriage
Intense music
Gun loadingand firing
Birdssquawk
Crashesand bangs
Chains
 Selective soundisusedto emphasize keysoundelementswithinasequence
 Ambientsound isusedto create a particularatmosphere ora sense of place
 Sound bridges– the use of soundto helptransitionsbetween sequencespassmore fluidly
 Sound effects– are there usedtocreate a sense of realismortocreate some psychological
impactor effect
 Spot sound – isolatedsoundthattheyemphasize eg.Inamassive battle scene withlotsof
noise andthe price pullsouthissword(youwouldneverhearitinreal life)
Diegeticsound– soundswhose source isvisibleonthe screenorwhose source isimpliedtobe
presentedbythe actionof the filme.g.charactersvoices,soundsof objectsandmusiccom,ingfrom
actionwithinthe storyspace.It can be seenor not seendependingonif itsinside oroutside the
frame.
Non-diegeticsound- soundswhose source isneithervisible onscreennorhasbeenimpliedtobe
presentinthe actione.g.narrators,soundeffectsthathave beenaddedfordramaticeffects,
music/soundtrack.Itisrepresentedascomingfroma source outside the storyspace.
Synchronous – thisis whena soundeffectismatchedwithanothertechnical eventoraction – this
reinforcesthe effect

4. Asynchronous– thisis whenasoundoriginatesfromoutside of the diegeticreality of the film;
musical soundtrack
Contrapuntal – noise orsoundeffectwhichdoesn’tmatchthe visuals,oftenjuxtaposedtocreate
alternative meaning
Voiceover– thisis the voice of the character. Thisvoice oftenguidesotinformsthe external
audience butcan be used to pushtheminthe wrong direction
Theme music – thissithe musicthat introduces,developsthroughoutandendsthe film.Itoften
indicatedthe personalityandmode of addressof the movie.Characterscanhave theirowntheme
music– thisisusedto indicate theirpresence oremotional journey
Musical score – usedto create atmosphere,tolinkshotsorsequences,tohelpcreate the narrative
or to offerinformationabout characters
Silence – film/TV are veryrarelycompletelysilent,butthiseffectisoccasionallyusedtoprovoke a
reactionformthe audience