Cinematic Techniques & Sound Terms (Performing Arts)
In this chapter some aspects of film production are discussed including cinematic techniques and sound terms.
Pan
horizontal camera movement; commonly used o look across a very panorama that doesn’t fit within the camera frame or to see what a character is looking at
Tilt
vertical camera movement; use to look at tall objects/people
Dolly
camera moves through space and watches the world go by; a natural camera movement as we can also do this. generally uses some kind of platform with wheels and tracks if available. also, steadicam and/or nice, steady, handheld grip
Zoom
frame transitions form a wide shot to a close up (or vice versa) without moving the camera; an unnatural camera movement because our eyes cannot do this. varying the speeds of zooms can be used to draw attention to objects and add dramatic effect
Pull Focus
focus on something close or far away while maintaining other subject out of focus then adjust the focus to switch between subjects
Transition
any method for switching from one image to another
cut
simplest transition; maybe subtle or harsh
dissolve
gradually layers a new image over the old one
fade
slowly change from an image to color (or vice versa); black: most common, other colors used for symbolism/imagery i.e. white: ascending to heaven or explosion, blue: ocean, red: blood or love
Montage Sequence
specific sequence of images in a film usually without dialogue and set to music; used to express the passage of time or a sequence of events with little or no dialogue
Framing Terms
subjects can be actors and inanimate objects; directors capture a collection of master shots, medium shots, and close-up to provide a variety of footage during editing. Use the rule of thirds and provide breathing room in close-ups unless you are creating a sense of claustrophobia
master/establishing shot
reveals where the scene is taking place and helps orient the audience; usually a wide shot
full shot
shows the full subject in relation to its surroundings; usually head to toe
medium shot
usually shows a character from belly button to slightly above the actor’s head; more intimate than a full shot but provides more breathing space than a close up
medium close up
shows a subjects head and shoulders without getting uncomfortably close
close up
shows a subjects neck to just slightly above the top of his head; creates a sense of intimacy and reveals intense emotions
extreme close up
camera goes in tighter than a close up-i.e. subjects eyes, spoon cutting through a delectable dessert
dramatic angle
high angle; characters feel diminished; low angle; characters feel tall & powerful
tilted horizon
tipping the camera slightly to the side in order to create tension/imbalance in a scene; more effective when there are strong horizontal and vertical lines present in the shot
Cinematic Techniques & Sound terms
point of view
the audience sees exactly what the character sees; used to increase the audiences emotional attachment to the character
cross cut
cut backs and forth between separate scenes that are occurring in different places usually at the same time; shows the relationship between the scenes
cutaway
a cut away from the main action in a scene to something of importance in the scene (i.e. an object); often used to hide mistakes
Frame
single still image (letter)
Shot
single continuous recording made by a camera (word)
Scene
a series of related shots (sentence)
Sequence
a series of scenes which together tell a major part of the story (paragraph)
dubbing
adding dialogue and sound effects after filming is completed, in post production
synchronization
correctly aligning the visual and audio portions of a film so that the omage and sound are heard and seen simultaneously
talkies
the nickname given to the earliest sound films because the actors spoke out loud rather than acting without sound as they had done in the movies of the “silent” era
dialogue
all the words spoken in a film, offscreen and onscreen, whether by the characters or by a narrator
narration
a technique for conveying story information that is not part of the dialogue
post-production
any part of the filmmaking process that occurs after filming has been completed
soundstage
a large, soundproofed room in which a film set is built
wildsound
sound recorded on the set but not in synchronization with the camera
offscreen
anything that takes place where the audience cannot see it
melody
a linear sequence of notes that make up the most recognizable part of a piece of music
pitch
the relative highness pr lowness of a musical note
mixing
the process of setting levels of dialogue, music and sound effects and combining them into one continuous whole
rhythm
a regular, repeated pattern formed by a series of notes of differing duration and stress which gives music its character
source sound
sound that appears to come from an object onscreen, such as radio or television, animal or actors
point of audition
sound as it might be heard by a character within a film
synchronous
refers to “visible” sounds; means that the sound and image match
nonsynchronous
refers to “invisible” sound; sound is detached from its source
diegetic
sounds the characters can hear
nondiegetic
sounds the characters cannot hear, for example the musical score
foley
sounds effects technique for synchronous effects or live effects in which foley artists match live sound effects with the action of the picture