ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement): When actors re-record their lines in a studio to improve the sound quality or change dialogue

Aspect Ratio: The proportional relationship between the width and height of the screen image. Common ratios include 4:3 (standard) and 16:9 (widescreen).

Backlight: A light placed behind the subject to separate them from the background and create depth or a glowing edge

Bird’s Eye View: A shot taken from directly overhead, making subjects appear small or distant

Blocking: The planned movement and positioning of actors in a scene

Call Sheet: A daily schedule distributed to cast and crew detailing the scenes to be shot, call times, and location information

Canted Angle (Dutch Angle): A tilted shot that slants the horizon line, creating a sense of imbalance or unease

Cheat Cut: An edit where continuity is preserved for the audience but camera placement or object positions may have changed slightly

Cinéma Vérité: A documentary style that captures real life with minimal interference, often using handheld cameras and available light

Cinematographer (Director of Photography): The person responsible for the visual look of a film

Close-Up: A shot that tightly frames a subject, often a face or object, to emphasize emotion or detail

Color Grading: The process of adjusting colors and tones in post-production to create a consistent or stylistic visual tone

Composition: The arrangement of visual elements within the frame, including subjects, lighting, and space, to achieve a specific effect

Continuity: Consistency of visual elements, props, and action from one shot to another so that it looks like the scene was filmed all at once, rather than as separate shots

Continuity Editing: An editing style designed to make cuts appear seamless so the viewer remains immersed in the story

Crane Shot: A shot captured by a camera on a crane, allowing sweeping movement from high to low angles or vice versa

Cross-Cutting (Parallel Editing): An editing technique that alternates between different scenes happening simultaneously in different locations

Deep Focus: A cinematographic technique where everything from the foreground to the background remains in sharp focus

Director: The creative leader of a film who guides the cast and crew to bring the story and tone to life visually and emotionally

Dissolve: A transition where one image fades out while another fades in, often signaling a change in time or place

Dolly Shot: A smooth camera movement achieved by placing the camera on a wheeled platform (dolly)

Editor: The person who selects and arranges shots to form a coherent story, pacing, and emotional rhythm

Establishing Shot: A wide shot at the beginning of a scene that shows the setting and spatial relationships

Extreme Close-Up: A highly magnified shot that shows a small detail, such as an eye or object

Extreme Long Shot: A shot taken from a great distance

Eye-Level Shot: A shot taken from the average height of a subject’s eyes, giving the audience the same point of view as the subject

Fade-In/Fade-Out: A gradual transition to or from black, as at the beginning or end of a scene

Fill Light: A secondary light used to soften or reduce shadows created by the key light

Fish-Eye Lens: An ultra-wide-angle lens that creates a distorted, rounded image for stylistic or exaggerated effect

Flashback: A scene that interrupts the present action to show events from the past

Flash-Editing (Flash-Cutting): A rapid series of very brief shots used to create urgency, intensity, or chaos

Foley: Sound effects created in a studio to match on-screen actions, such as footsteps or rustling clothing

Fourth Wall: The imaginary barrier between the characters and the audience. When a character addresses the audience directly, they “break the fourth wall.”

Frame: A single still image in a film. Standard film runs at 24 frames per second.

Full Shot: A shot that shows the subject’s entire body from head to toe

Handheld Camera: A shooting style where the camera is held by the operator rather than mounted, producing a shaky, raw look

High-Angle Shot: A shot taken from above the subject, making them appear smaller, weaker, or more vulnerable

High-Key Lighting: Bright, even lighting with minimal shadows, commonly used in comedies or upbeat scenes

In Medias Res: A narrative technique that starts the story in the middle of the action rather than at the beginning

Iris: An old-fashioned transition where a circle expands to reveal or close in on the frame, often used in silent films.

Jump Cut: An abrupt cut that disrupts the flow of time or continuity, often used for stylistic effect or to compress time

Key Light: The primary and strongest source of light in a scene

Long Shot: A shot that captures the subject from head to toe along with some of the surrounding environment.

Long Take: A single continuous shot with no cuts that lasts longer than typical shots, often used to build tension or show action in real time

Low-Angle Shot: A shot taken from below the subject’s eye level, making them appear larger, stronger, or more powerful

Low-Key Lighting: A lighting style with strong contrast and deep shadows, often used in thrillers or dramatic scenes

Master Shot: A wide shot that covers all of the action in a scene, used as a reference or fallback during editing

Match Cut: An edit that connects two visually or thematically similar shots to suggest a relationship between them

Medium Close-Up: A shot that frames the subject from the chest or shoulders up

Medium Long Shot: A shot that frames the subject from the knees up

Medium Shot: A shot that frames the subject from the waist up

Mise-en-Scène: Everything visible in the frame, including sets, lighting, costumes, props, and actor placement

Montage: A series of short shots edited together to show time passing or to compress events

Non-Diegetic Sound: Sound that the audience hears but the characters do not, such as background music or a narrator’s voice

Oblique Angle: Another term for a Dutch or canted angle, where the camera is tilted to create tension or disorientation

Over-the-Shoulder Shot: A shot taken from behind one character’s shoulder, often used in dialogue scenes to show the other character

Pan: A horizontal pivot of the camera from a fixed position, moving left or right to follow action or reveal information

Point-of-View Shot (POV): A shot from a character’s visual perspective, making the audience feel as if they are seeing what the character sees

Producer: A person who manages the business and organizational aspects of making a film, including hiring, budgets, and scheduling

Pull-Back Dolly: A camera movement where the camera physically moves backward, revealing more context or reframing the subject

Rack Focus: A shift in focus during a shot that moves attention from one subject to another

Reaction Shot: A shot showing a character’s emotional response to something off-screen or another character’s action

Reverse Angle Shot: A shot from the opposite perspective of the previous shot, usually part of a shot/reverse shot sequence

Scene: A sequence of shots that takes place in one location and continuous time

Score: The original music composed specifically to accompany a film

Screenwriter: The writer responsible for the dialogue, structure, and description in a film’s script

Script: The written text of a film, including dialogue, character actions, and scene settings

Shot: A single uninterrupted view captured by the camera, ending when the camera stops or changes perspective.

Shot List: A detailed list of every shot planned for a scene or entire film

Shot/Reverse Shot: An editing technique where one character is shown looking at another, followed by a reverse view

Slate (Clapperboard): A board marked with scene and take information, used to sync audio and video and organize footage

Soundtrack: All music used in a film, including both the original score and pre-existing songs

Storyboard: A visual plan for a film made of drawings or images that show each planned shot in sequence

Subtext: The underlying meaning or message behind the spoken dialogue or visible action

Take: One recording of a shot. Multiple takes are often done to capture the best performance.

Telephoto Lens: A lens with a long focal length that compresses depth and makes faraway subjects appear closer

Three-Shot: A shot that includes three characters in the frame

Tight Framing: A composition where the subject occupies most of the frame, creating intensity or claustrophobia

Tilt: A vertical pivot of the camera up or down from a fixed base

Tracking Shot: A shot where the camera moves along with the subject, usually on a track or stabilized rig

Two-Shot: A shot that includes two characters

Wide-Angle Lens: A lens with a short focal length that captures a broad view and can exaggerate perspective

Wide Shot (Long Shot): A shot showing the subject’s full body and much of the surroundings

Wipe: A transition effect where one shot replaces another by moving across the frame in a directional pattern

Zoom: A camera effect that changes the focal length of the lens to magnify or widen the view without moving the camera

Zoom Lens: A lens capable of shifting from wide to telephoto focal lengths, allowing zooming within a shot

Zoom Shot: A shot where the camera zooms in or out to change the framing during the take

Additional Resources

• The Filmmaking Process for Beginners
• Types of Film Shots You Must Know
• What Do Cinematographers Do?
• Loveseat Theater Seating
• 40 Essential Roles in Film Production
• What Foley Artists Do
• Home Theater Seats
• The Role of Film Editors
• Glossary of Film Terms
• Palliser Theater Chairs
• Essential Film Editing Techniques
• Common Camera Shots in Film
• Film Techniques: Lighting
• Home Theater Couches
• Film Scoring Concepts to Know
• Careers to Pursue With a Film Degree