EXTERIOR

The designation of a scenic location as being out of doors. This does

not mean, however, that the scene must be shot either on an actual
location or even outside. Though the practice has faded somewhat,
perfectly credible exteriors can be constructed inside a sound stage.

FADE
A transitional device in which an image more or less slowly disappears
from the screen (Fade Out) to be replaced by a screen of any color; or,
conversely when, (Fade In) starting from a blank screen of any color,
an image emerges and occupies the frame

CAMERA LENSES
Camera lenses are the optical devices which "capture" light and focus
it upon the desired area of film.

FILM
A strip of flexible plastic material coated with a layer of photo-sensitive
material known as the emulsion, as well as protective and other
overlays; may be of different widths or gauges.

FLASHBACK
The narrative device which enables the temporal order of a narrative to
be non-linear; the moving backwards in narrative time; much
overused.

PRODUCER
The person in charge of all the financial and administrative aspects of a
film production.

SCENE
A self-contained, continuous series of shots which define a specific
dramatic and/or narrative moment. In some instances an entire scene
may be contained within a single shot if it is an appropriately long take.

Scenic Elements
All the pieces of the physical set, including props and lighting that
create the scene.

SCREENPLAY
A document text in a specific format which contains the dramatic
elements of the film, as well as indications of other elements such as
setting, light values, action, and, in general, everything which it is
essential to see on the screen from the point of view of the whole
narrative.

SCREENWRITER
The screenwriter remains the much-maligned individual who is
responsible for the creation of the screenplay, whether as an original
work or as an adaptation of some other text.

SEQUENCE
A self-contained group of sequential scenes. The grouping should
coalesce around a specific set of dramatic and narrative imperatives.

SET
Though the word is commonly used to indicate a fabricated setting, in
fact the set is anywhere a shot is being filmed, whether real or

constructed; the site or location where a film is being shot. See also,
"Interior" & "Exterior".

SETTING
The locale of narrative action.

LOW CAMERA ANGLE

The camera is placed below the plane of action being filmed and points
upwards.

HIGH CAMERA ANGLE

The camera is placed above the plane of action being filmed and points
downward.

FIELD OF VISION
In common with still photography and, to some degree, painting,
cinematography renders three-dimensional reality in two dimensions.
The width of the frame establishes the field of vision.

FISH-EYE LENS
An extreme type of super wide-angle lens with very short focal point
that exaggerates and distorts the linear dimensions of the image,
giving it a sense of curvature.

WIDE ANGLE LENS

Lenses having a focal length of 14-20mm. As the name implies, these
lenses provide a wide field of vision. Short lenses create a distortion of
perspective, making the field appear to be deeper than it actually is,
though by several degrees "flatter" than fish-eye lenses.

NORMAL LENS
The lenses most commonly used, they render perspective and relative
dimensions more "realistically" (i.e., with less distortion--closer to the
way in which the human eye interprets perspective) than their cousins
at either extremity of focal length. In contemporary practice, lenses
with focal lengths of 20-35mm are referred to as "normal".

LONG LENS
Lens having a focal length from 100 to 150mm are generally
considered long. They not only amplify the subject considerably even
when compared to tight lenses, but they also create a marked
distortion in perspective which in which succeeding planes of action in
the frame appear to get squashed together.

TELEPHOTO LENS
As their name implies, these lens are the "longest" of all. The same
distortion of perspective which begins to be noticeable in the long
lenses is much more evident in the telephoto lens, which have focal
lengths of 200-1200mm. With telephoto lens, succeeding planes of the
visual field will appear much closer to one another than they actually
are, and perspective will appear as if crushed or compressed.

ZOOM LENS (VARIABLE FOCUS)

First coming into general use in the early 1950's, variable focus lens
have the ability to shorten or lengthen a visual field, from wide to long
or vice-versa, without the need to change lenses or change the
location of the camera.

CRANE SHOT
a camera shot taken from a large camera dolly or electronic device (an

apparatus, such as a crane), resembling a extendable mechanical arm

(or boom), that can raise the camera up in the air above the ground 20
feet or more; the crane allows the camera to fluidly move in virtually
any direction.

SWISH PAN
In a swish pan the camera is purposely panned in either direction, right
or left, at a very fast pace, creating the impression of a fast-moving
horizontal blurring of images across the screen.

TRACKING SHOT (DOLLY SHOT)

A shot wherein the entire camera is moved either forward (track or
dolly "in") or backward (track or dolly "out"), or laterally, or in a circular
or irregular pattern. The camera mechanism is placed on a movable
device (the dolly) which moves either along pre-laid tracks or freely
along a level surface.

CAMERA MOVEMENTS--COMPOUND
A movement executed by the camera, either on a dolly, crane, or
hand-held, which combines any two or more simple movements. Thus
a camera may be tracking back while panning right, or craning up
while tilting down.