A Film Watcher’s Vocabulary Shot—“Everything that happens between two edits--in other words, one single uninterrupted strip of film.” (Ryan Jerving, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) Shots are comprised of frames, the smallest unit of film, which is a single still image within a strip of film.

Mise-en-scène – “This term refers to the way a shot is visually staged for the camera. It literally translates as "what's put into the scene," and to describe a shot or a scene's mise-en- scène is to describe all the elements that go into composing its "look" (those things for which the production designer is responsible, but also the director and even the director of photography).” (Jerving) We might think of it as all those elements of a scene that a film would share with a stage version of the same thing, or all those elements of a shot that a film would share with a painting of the same thing. Often, a mise-en-scène approach to

filmmaking is contrasted with a montage approach: that is, some filmmakers favor creating meaning through building it up over the course of an unbroken shot, while some filmmakers favor creating meaning through the juxtaposition or cutting together of shots. Of course, all films can't help but do both.”

Categories of mise-en-scène --The setting is the environment in which the characters live and breathe: it may suit them, or may provide contrast. Strictly speaking, a prop is anything an actor touches; more broadly, it refers to all those "things" that we're supposed to notice in a shot. Where the figures (people, animals, etc.) are placed within the shot and how they move can also create meaning: in theater, this is referred to as "blocking." Costume details are often important in revealing information about the characters: details of class or occupation, significant character traits, etc. Both the choice of whether to use color or not and the choices of particular colors can do a lot to draw our attention to particular parts of the frame, to set moods, encourage judgments, or build motifs across the film.” (Jerving)

Also check out what Wikipedia has to say about the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_scene

Blocking—One of the factors that impacts mise-en-scene. It refers to how people and objects are positioned, in relation to each other, within a shot, and how their positions change as a scene evolves to create drama, tension, humor, etc., and evoke a specific audience reaction or meaning. (It is a common term used in theatre as well.) Framing—“How a film manipulates what's in the shot, how close it is to the camera, what angle the camera shoots from, etc.” (Jerving) It is,

in essence, the perspective from which a scene is viewed, and is one of the key decisions a director must make with each and every scene. Framing is a highly selective process which requires the director to make key artistic decisions that impact the viewer’s interpretation of a cinematic moment. The director essentially forces us to view characters and settings through a picture frame, from a distance and angle of his or her choosing.

Reframing—“This refers to all those little, almost imperceptible (and purposely so) camera movements by which a key object or character is kept in the frame (often centered). For

example, a camera may tilt up to follow a character as she stands, then pan left as she backs away from the desk to the right, then dolly out while tracking right as she moves around the desk to throttle the guy behind it.” (Jerving)

Camera movement—“While most camera movement is motivated simply by the need to keep key characters or props in the frame, other effects are possible. Some filmmakers favor camera movement over editing as a way of breaking down a scene, a choice that can emphasize the mise-en-scene and suggest the completeness of a setting. The "observational" camera moves through the setting almost like we might rather than breaking it down "analytically." In a pan shot, the camera stays put but rotates around its vertical axis (it appears to move left or right). The camera also stays put for tilt shots, though here the camera rotates around its horizontal axis (it appears to move up or down). The camera literally moves left or right, or back and forth, or any direction along the ground in a tracking or dolly shot ("dolly" refers to the thing with wheels upon which the camera is mounted--low budget filmmakers can use wheelchairs or other improvised dollies). The camera can move through the air if it's mounted on a crane. In a zoom shot, the camera neither moves nor rotates. In fact, strictly speaking, a zoom is not a camera movement, but has to do with the way the lens is manipulated. The camera appears to move back and forth, zooming in on or out from its object.” (Jerving)

Distance--The distance of a camera from its object has an effect on what we see and how we see it. A close-up allows us to see a character's facial responses to what's going on, and can encourage us to identify with that character. It also prevents us from seeing much of anything else (the setting, potential off-screen threats, etc.). A long shot (full body or more in view) will emphasize the position of the character in relation to their setting and the other characters. An American shot is a conventional Hollywood shot which frames its characters from the knees up (especially for "two-shots": shots with two characters

interacting). The American strikes a balance between our desire to see characters up close enough to register their reactions and our desire to see characters in relation to others and the setting.” Angle--This refers to the position of the camera on the vertical axis with respect to the object of the shot. While "invisible" camerawork favors shooting its objects straight-on, filmmakers do have other choices. A high-angle shot (the camera positioned above the object) can emphasize a character's insignificance or their lack of power over the situation in which they find themselves. The converse is true for a low-angle shot. (A bird’s-eye-view shot is one from directly above, a worm’s-eye-view from directly below.)”

Depth of focus—Depth of focus simply refers to the distance in front or behind a person or object that appears to be in sharp focus. A short depth of focus means that objects in the foreground or background will appear blurred, or out of focus, while a long or deep depth of focus means that objects in the foreground and background are equally sharp. Directors will use a short depth of focus to force the viewer to concentrate on the focused object. Proponents of cinematic realism, such as Bazin, favor longer depths of focus, since the technique allows the viewers to “wander around” the scene, and discover

important details on their own.

Shot Reverse Shot— Shot reverse shot is a film technique that consists of a sequence of three shots. The first shot is a person's face. The second shot is what that person is looking at (whether it be another person or an object). And the final shot is the person again where we process how that person feels about what he or she is looking at. This sequence is meant to help the audience build identification with the character, as well as emphasize object location in the scene. (www.wikepedia.com). The most common use of the SRS editing technique is in dialogue scenes, where we see one character talking, then another. Many directors, especially proponents of cinematic realism, abhor this technique, since it is “unnatural.” An SRS shot sequence is actually composed of shots taken from two different camera angles. Often, the shots of the individual characters require different set-ups and lighting. In many cases, while it may appear, after the final edit, that the characters are speaking to each other, in reality, the actors may be shot individually, and may be speaking their lines into empty space. French New Wave and other cinematic schools

make minimal use of this technique. SRS breaks up the camera’s point-of-view. Certain proponents of cinematic realism believe the camera should be an indifferent observer, and attempt to capture reality, and the actors moving through it, from an indifferent perspective, as if a passer-by was observing the scene. SRS controls the audience’s point of view, and breaks the plane of indifference, by forcing the audience to view the object or other person through the eyes of an individual character. Note the number of camera set-ups and angles required to film a relatively simple scene using the SRS technique.

Lighting –“Contrary to what often seems to be the case, most films do not depend on natural (sun) lighting, or the light provided by what, on-screen, appears to be the source of light (lamps, candles, etc.). Instead, filmmakers most often use a cumbersome and carefully planned set of high-powered

lamps to create the effect of reality, draw attention to certain parts of the frame, or set expressive moods for a scene. Much of the time spent in production is spent setting up the lights for individual shots. Lighting quality -Classical Hollywood lighting tends to aim for realism. "Realistic" lighting is notable for its quality of unnotability: like continuity editing, it attempts to draw attention away from itself and seem natural, and generally any lighting in the shot will be "motivated" by an apparent on-screen source as part of the setting. "Expressionist" lighting, like that seen in horror films or film noir, is less concerned with realistic motivation

than with creating moods (generally dark or "low-key") and sculpting the objects within the frame. Three-point lighting (key / fill / back) -The standard, naturalistic or "realistic" way of lighting characters, in both Hollywood and other kinds of films, is the three-point system. This consists of the main, or "key" light, generally set in front of the character (the side at which the camera points) and set off 45-degrees from the line between the character and the camera. The "fill" light is set to the side of the character (on the other side of the camera from the key light) and its purpose is to fill in or eliminate some of the harsh shadows cast by the key light. A light set in back of the character (on the opposite side of the character from the camera) works to fill in other shadows, but more importantly to set off the character from their surroundings by creating an outline of light around them (if the backlight alone is present, the character will appear as a silhouette surrounded by a halo.”

Dissolve | fade | wipe –“All three of these techniques generally suggest that more time has passed than we would assume from a simple cut, taking us to a different scene. In a dissolve, one scene fades out while another fades in. In a fade, the screen goes black between scenes. And in a wipe, the screen is displaced by another scene: most often from left to right, but possibly from top to bottom, or with an iris that contracts in or dilates out, or any number of other ways.” (Jerving) Editing -- Editing is the process by which film is cut into discrete shots and then joined with other shots. Editing can be used to break down a scene, analytically, into smaller parts (to give us close-ups on characters, etc.) while still maintaining continuity according to conventions that have been established by narrative films. However, editing can also be used to create jarring, thought-provoking juxtapositions of shots. As an approach (mostly closely identified with Sergie Eisenstein and his cinematic descendants) the analytical effects of editing are often contrasted to the observational, building-up of meaning that can be achieved through a mise-en-scene approach.

Kuleshov effect –“All editing effects depend on what's been called the Kuleshov effect: the idea being that viewers will work mentally to figure out a relationship between adjoining shots. Continuity editing depends on this when it puts together shots that were filmed hours or days apart in such a way that a viewer will perceive what they see as a continuous conversation between characters they assume to be in the same place at the same time. Montage editing depends on this when it puts together unlike shots and asks the viewer to figure out how they fit together: a shot of rich folks talking about how good times are followed by a shot of abject poverty asks viewers to take an ironic stance toward what the rich folks say and possibly even to discover a cause-and-

effect relationship between one group's wealth and another group's.” (Jerving) Montage | dialectical juxtaposition—‘While montage literally means simply editing in general, we've come to think of a montage style as one which emphasizes discontinuities and contrasts between shots. Shots are juxtaposed in such a way that audiences are expected to figure out, dialectically (that is, by moving back and forth), what the relationship between the two shots is. (See the description of the Kuleshov effect above). This is standard operating procedure for documentaries.

Motif–“Any repeated element in a film, but usually taken to mean some element that takes on special meaning through its repetition. Good examples are musical "themes" that are associated with certain characters or certain moods and which pop up whenever that character appears or that mood is supposed to be invoked.” (Jerving)

Diegesis | Diegetic | Non-diegetic –“The diegesis is the story-world. Therefore, something is diegetic to the film if it's something that the characters do, see, hear, or can reasonably be expected to know about. This is true of events that may have happened before we actually see the plot begin (this is often referred to as "back-story"). Something is non-diegetic if it's there for us but not the characters: most commonly music and titles (such as credits).” (Jerving)

Cinema verite—A school of filmmaking that attempts to depict reality directly through “objective” observational techniques. (Keep in mind that, as in all art, this is an impossibility, since the very act of filmmaking requires selection and interpretation on the part of the director.) “Techniques include long takes (thus, less editing), hand-held camera / zooms / jerky (reactive) movement to imply that the camera operator is reacting to and following the action rather than staging it (lots of fictional work--cop shows, ads, Woody Allen movies--have taken this kind of reactive camera movement up to cash in on a hip, documentary look), the use of strictly diegetic sound caught on location. They tend to be organized chronologically, beginning to end, rather than thematically, and the story they tell is simply one of events unfolding. The sum of this unmediated presentation is presented as evidence for the film’s "truth." (Jerving) Film Noir—“Literally 'black film,' from French film critics who noticed the trend of how dark and black the looks and themes were of many American crime and detective films released in France following the war) is a style of American films that evolved in the 1940s, and lasted in a classic period until about 1960. The criminal, violence or greed elements in film noir are a metaphoric

symptom of society's evils, with a strong undercurrent of moral conflict. Strictly speaking, however, film noir is not a genre, but rather the mood, style or tone of a film. Classic film noir developed during and after World War II, taking advantage of the post-war ambience of anxiety, pessimism, and suspicion. So-called post-noirs (modern, tech-noirs or neo-noirs) appeared after the classic period with a revival of the themes of classic noir. The primary moods of classic film noir are melancholy, alienation, bleakness, disillusionment, disenchantment, pessimism, ambiguity, moral corruption, evil, guilt and paranoia. Heroes (or anti-heroes), corrupt characters and villains include down-and-out, hard-boiled detectives or private eyes, cops, gangsters, government agents, crooks, war veterans, petty criminals, and murderers. These protagonists are often morally-ambiguous low lifes from the dark and gloomy

underworld of violent crime and corruption. Distinctively, they are cynical, tarnished, obsessive (sexual or otherwise), brooding, menacing, sinister, sardonic, disillusioned, frightened and insecure loners (usually men), struggling to survive and ultimately losing. Film noir films (mostly shot in grays, blacks and whites) show the dark and inhumane side of human nature with cynicism and doomed love, and they emphasize the brutal, unhealthy, seamy, shadowy, dark and sadistic sides of the human experience. An oppressive atmosphere of menace, pessimism, anxiety, suspicion that anything can go wrong, dingy realism, futility, fatalism, defeat and entrapment are stylized characteristics of film noir. The protagonists in film noir are normally driven by their past or by human weakness to repeat former mistakes.