This document provides definitions and descriptions of various technical filmmaking terms related to camera work, editing, sound, and mise-en-scene. It defines common shot types like establishing shots, close-ups, and two-shots. It also outlines editing techniques such as continuity editing and parallel editing. Additionally, it covers sound elements including voiceovers, diegetic and non-diegetic sound, and sound effects. Finally, it discusses aspects of mise-en-scene like production design, location, set design, lighting, and color design.

1. Technical areas
Emily Kennedy

2. Camera Work
SHOTS
1. Establishing shot - often
the first shot of a new scene,
use to show the audience where
the action is taking place
2. Master shot - captures all
of the action/dialogue in a
scene, keeping all the actors in
view
3. Close-up shot - a certain
feature or part of the subject
takes up the frame, this allows
for focus on detail, or is used for
a cut in
4. Mid-shot - a shot taken from
medium distance, showing part
of the subject in more detail
5. Long shot - a shot from
considerable distance so that
features are indistinguishable
6. Wide shot - a shot where the
whole subject takes up the full
f r a m e w i t h s o m e o f t h e
surroundings in view
7. Two-shot - shows the view of
two characters (the subjects)
most often with the two next to
each other but some shots have
one in the foreground and one in
the background
8. Aerial shot - A shot from
above, usually by a helicopter, or
person on a building (bird’s eye
view)
9. Point of view shot - shows
what a character is looking at,
from the character’s perspective
10. Over the shoulder shot -
shot of the subject from the
perspective of someone behind
the shoulder of another character.

3. Camera Work
ANGLE
1. High angle - shot taken
from a high angel (above eye level)
usually in order to make the subject
seem weak and vulnerable
2. Low angle - shot taken
from a low angle (below eye level) to
ensure the character looks strong and
powerful
3. Canted angle - also
known as the Dutch tilt, is a shot where
the camera is set at an angle so the
horizon line is not parallel with the
bottom of the camera frame. Often used
in Horror to show unease, disorientation
or madness

4. Camera Work
MOVEMENT
1. Pan - moving the
camera from one side to
another; left to right
2. Tilt - moving the camera
lens up or down whilst keeping
the horizontal axis constant.
Like nodding up and down in a
straight line
3. Track - the camera is
mounted on a cart on tracks so
it can follow parallel to the
action
4. Dolly - a specialised
piece of equipment that the
camera is attached to, creating
smooth movements
5. Crane - a shot where
the camera is attached to a
crane so the characters can be
viewed from above
6. Steadicam - a type
of stabilising shot, making a
handheld camera’s motion smooth
7. Hand-held - used
when action moves too quickly/
unpredictably. Often the camera is
held by the operator
8. Zoom - changing the
focal length of the lens, so that the
subject appears closer or further
away
9. Reverse Zoom -
also known as the Hitchcock zoom,
where the camera moves toward or
away from the subject (on a dolly)
whilst simultaneously addicting the
zoom to keep the subject the same
size whilst the background size
changes

5. Camera Work
COMPOSITION
1. Framing - this is the presentation of visual
elementals within a frame, especially the placement of the
subject in relation to the other objects
2. Rule of thirds - a shot can be divided into
nine equal parts, by two equally spaced horizontal lines
and two equally spaced reticule lines. Points of interests
should then be places at the intersections on these lines
3. Depth of field - the focus range, it’s the
distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a
scene that are considered sharp
4. Deep focus - using a large depth of field,
where the foreground mid doe ground and background are
all in focus
5. Shallow focus - using a small depth of
field, one plane of the shot is in focus while the rest is out of
focus. This draws attention to specific objects in the shot
6. Focus pull - a shot where the focus is
changed whilst filming, often adjusting it from one subject
to another

6. Editing
GENERAL TERMS
1. Continuity editing - a style of editing that tries to recreate reality
within the film
2. Montage editing - a style of editing where shots are juxtaposed in a
fast paced fashion to compress time and give the audience a lot of information in a short
period
3. Long take - an uninterrupted shot, usually lasting several minutes. A
stabiliser or Dolly are usually used for this.
4. Short take - scenes that are no more than five seconds long
5. Slow motion - where the action in a scene is slowed down, appearing
slower than they would in real life. Achieved by running film through the camera faster
than the standard 24 frames per second.
6. Ellipsis - is the omission of a section of the narrative that is deemed to obvious
or concealed for purpose such as suspense or mystery, this is achieved through different
transitions
7. Expansion of time - making the duration of the film longer than real
time
8. Post-production Visual Effects - imagery created,
altered or enhanced for situations that may be difficult to film

7. Editing
CUTTING
1. Shot reverse shot - where one
character (A) is shown to be looking
at another character (B) and then B
is shown to be looking back at A
2. Eyeline match - associated with
continuity editing style, it’s based on
the fact that the audience will want
to see what the character on screen
is seeing
3. Graphic match - relating two
disconnected scenes by matching
two objects/elements (colour, shape,
size) so that the transition flows
smoothly between the scenes
4. Action match - where the editor
cuts from one shot to the other
which has the same action as the
first shot
5. Jump cut - when a shot is cut so
that a subject seems to jump in an
abrupt way (forward in time)
6.C r o s s c u t t i n g -
alternating two (or more)
s c e n e s t h a t h a p p e n
simultaneously but in
different locations
7. Parallel editing -
alternating two (or more)
s c e n e s t h a t h a p p e n
simultaneously but in
different locations, often
culminating in a single
place where the parties
meet
8. C u t a w a y - t h e
interruption of a continuous
s h o t w i t h a v i e w o f
something else
9. Insert (cut in) - a close-
up of something within a
scene from a different
p e r s p e c t i v e ( o b j e c t /
subject/action etc)

8. Editing
TRANSITIONS
1. Cut - a visual break, it’s a simplest type of film transition cutting
from one shot to another
2. Cross-dissolve - this is a gradual transition from one
image to another
3. Fade in - when the picture gradually turns to a single colour, or
when a picture gradually appears on screen. Fade ins often occur at the
beginning of a film or act
4. Fade out - when the picture gradually turns to a single colour,
or when a picture gradually appears on screen. Fade outs are typically
found at the end of the film or act
5. Wipe - a type pf transition where one shot replaces the other by
travelling from one side of the frame to another in a certain shape
6. Superimposition - the placement of an image or video
on top of a pre-existing image or video

9. Sound
10. Voiceover - narration/dialogue by an unseen
narrator/ character usually portraying thoughts
11. Mode of address/direct address -
the manner in which the narrative is portrayed (e.g dialect/
accents)/ when the character speaks directly to the audience
12. Sound perspective - a sound’s position in
space as heard by the audience given by volume, timbre and
pitch
13. Soundtrack: score - original music written
specifically to accompany a film
14. Incidental music - music in media that is not
primarily musical
15. Themes and stings - music that always
accompanies a certain film/programme/ short bursts of music
to link sections of a show
16. Ambient sound - can be recorded on location
or added to the soundtrack
1. Diegetic - sound from a source which is
visible on screen e.g dialogue
2. Non-diegetic - sound whose source is not
visible on screen, such as narrator’s commentary
3. Sound mixing - where a multitude of
recorded sounds are combined into one or more
channels
4. Synchronous sound - sounds which
are synchronised with what is viewed, e.g hearing
sirens whilst watching a police chase
5. Asynchronous sound - sounds
which aren’t matched with a visible source of sound on
screen
6. Sound effects - artificially created or
enhanced sounds
7. Sound motif - a sound effect or
combination of sound effects that are associated with a
particular character, location or idea throughout the film
8. Sound Bridge - associated with
continuity editing, where the music is still the same
between the transition from one scene to another
9.Dialogue - conversation between characters
used to portray feelings or narrative

10. Mise-en-scene
1.Production design - the overall style of the production, shown
through use of lighting, set, filter, costume etc. Say the show was historical, a dark
filter is often used to show this
2.Location - Where it has been filmed, e.g for Lord of The Rings being
filmed in New Zealand where it’s a beautiful and vast country. This portrays the
fantasy world Tolkien would've wanted
3.Studio - where the production has been filmed within a studio (often made
to look like a location)
4.Set design - this shows the audience a lot about the genre of the
production
5.Costume and make-up - this again shows a lot about the
genre, with certain styles of make-up/costume representing eras in time. As well as
this lack of costume/make-up may be used to show reality in a production
6.Properties - items within the frame that add to the overall style/genre of
the production
7.Lighting - different types of lighting; high key, low key, naturalistic and
chiaroscuro portray different moods within the production
8.Colour design - different coloured filters give different impressions of
scenes. E.g the dusty orange/yellow filter in Dune, representing the sand and heat
of the planet Dune