Glossary

GENERAL
Auteur: French for author. Used by critics to indicate the figure usually director who stamped the film wit their own personality 

Diegesis: Objects, events, spaces and the characters that inhabit them. It also includes actions and attitudes that are not explicitly presented in the film but inferred by the audience 

Editing: The joining together of clips into a single filmstrip. In the analytical tradition, editing serves to establish and lead the viewer to the most salient (most noticeable or important) aspects of a scene. 

Flashback & Forward: A Jump back or forward in diegetic Time.  With the use of this the order of the events in the plot no longer match the order of events in the story 

Focus: Refers to the degree of which light rays coming from any particular part of an object pass through the lens and reconverge at the same point on a frame of a film negative. Making the shot have sharp outlines and distinct textures. 

MISE-EN-SCENE

Mise-en-Scene: All the that are in a scene: the setting, the costumes, the lighting etc. The representation of space affects how you view a film. Depth, proximity, size and proportions of the places and objects in a film can be manipulated through camera placement. 

Decor: Objects in and the setting of the scene. Decor can be used to amplify character emotion or the mood of the film. 

Rear Projection: Used to combine foreground action, often actors in conversation, with a background often shot earlier, on location. It allows for films to be set in expensive, exotic locations without having to transport expensive stars. 

Three point lighting: The standard lighting scheme for classical narrative cinema. It allows for an actors face (or another object) to be modelled with a sense of depth. Light from 3 directions are used. A backlight picking out the subject from the background. A bright key light highlights the object and a full from the opposite side. Ensuring the key light casts only faint shadows. 

High Key Lighting: The full light is raised to almost the same level as the key light. This produces images that are very bright and feature few shadows. 

Low Key Lighting: A lighting scheme that employs very little full light, creating string contrasts between the brightest and darkest parts of an image. This type of lighting is associated with 'hard boiled' or suspense genres. 

Deep space: Significant elements of an image are positioned both near to and distant from the camera. Deep space objects don't have to be in focus. 

Frontality: staging of elements, often human figures, so that they face the camera square on. By having a character look square into a camera it is if they're aware of the viewers presence. 

Direct Address: When characters speak directly to the camera. 

Matte Shot: A process shot in which two photographic images (usually background and foreground) are combined into a single image using an optical printer. Can be used on a realistic scene or a fantasy scene. It is used to save money. It is cheaper to use a picture of the Eiffel Tower than to travel there and film it. 

Offscreen Space: Space that exists in the diegesis but is not visible in the frame. Offscreen spec is commonly used to create suspense in horror and thriller films. 

Shallow Space: The opposite of Deep Space. In shallow space the images have very little depth. The figures in the image are closer together, This can produce striking graphic patterns, but results in loosing realistic appeal.

Costume: Simply the clothes being worn by the characters. Makes distinctions between characters.

Typage: Selection of actors on the basis that their facial or bodily features readily convey the truth of the character the actor plays. 

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Contrast: The ratio of dark to light in an image. If there is a large difference between light and dark, it is considered 'high contrast'. Whereas if the difference between light and dark is small, it is said to be 'low contrast'.

Deep Focus: 

SOUND

Ambient: The background/atmosphere noise that you can hear within a scene

Foley: Artificial sounds that are added in to a scene post production.

Natural Sound: Sound that has been captured in the sound. Everything that you hear is real.

Diegetic: Any dialogue, music, sound effects that originate from the scene itself.

Non-Diegetic: Any ^ that are added in after the scene has been shot.

Parallel: Sound that fits in alongside the scene itself. The sound matches the mood/action.

Contrapuntal: The sound contrasts the scene. Doesn't fit in.

Voice Over: A voice is heard - often a character from the film - whilst seeing an image of a time where the character is not actually speaking. Often used to show the characters true emotions to a certain event - past or present.

Sound Bridge: Links multiple scenes together. The sound from one scene carries on to the next.