Film Study Terminology

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Film Study Terminology

• SHOT

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SHOT

• Shot is a single piece of film, long or short,
  without cuts, exposed continually.

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SHOTCharacter depiction

• Close-up. A shot of the face only.
• Detail shot. A more magnified shot than a
  close-up (an eye, a mouth).
• Full shot. A shot of the subject that includes
  the entire body and not very much else.
• Medium shot. A shot intermediate between a
  close-up and a full shot.
• Over-the-shoulder shot. A shot used in dialogue
  scenes in which the speaker is seen as well as
  part of the head and part of the shoulder of the
  listener.

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SHOT Reaction and Interaction

• Point of view shot. A shot showing the scene from
  the point of view of a character.
• Follow shot (tracking shot). Follows the subject
  as it moves.
• Reaction shot. A shot which cuts away from the
  main scene in order to show the reaction of a
  character to it.

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SHOT Function

• Insert shot. A detail shot giving specific
  information needed to understand the scene (ex.,
  a letter, the face of a clock, a tell-tale
  physical detail).
• Bridging shot. A shot used to cover a jump in
  time or place, or other discontinuity.
• Stock shot. 1) A shot borrowed from the library
  (ex., from documentaries) 2) A common,
  unimaginative, typical shot.

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SHOT and SCENE

• Scene. A series of shots or one shot taking place
  in a single location and dealing with a single
  action.
• Establishing shot. A long shot showing the
  general location of the scene which follows.
• Master shot (cover shot). Single shot of the
  entire scene taken to facilitate the assembly of
  the component closer shots and details.
• Pull-back shot. A tracking or a zoom shot which
  moves back to reveal the context of the scene.

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SHOT Camera position

• Sequence shot. A long complicated shot including
  complex camera movements and action.
• Dolly shot. A shot that uses a dolly to move a
  camera.
• Tilt shot. The camera tilts up or down, rotating
  around the left-right axis of the camera head.
• Crane shot. A panoramic shot taken from a crane.