38 Moving Images: Making Movies, Understanding MediaForeground – In relation to the depth of space depicted in the frame, the
foreground is made up of those elements (people, objects, and so forth) that
are closest to the camera.
Full close-up (FCU) – Framing that includes the subject’s head and shoulders.
Full shot (FS) – A composition that includes the entire human fi gure.
Hand-held – A shot in which the camera is held directly by the cameraperson,
sometimes with the aid of a brace.
Head room – Th e amount of space in the frame that is above the primary character(s)
head(s). Excessive headroom can be a sign of amateurish photography.
High-angle shot – A shot in which the camera is higher than the subject and
tilted down.
Jump cut – An edit between two shots from a single sequence that makes time
or space shift abruptly or in a jolting manner: not continuous.
Lead room – When a character is facing to one side of the frame or the other,
this is the area in the frame between the character’s face and the edge of the
frame towards which he or she is facing.
Live action – Moving images featuring living subjects in the physical world,
as opposed to animation.
Long shot – Shot fi lmed at a signifi cant distance from the subject.
Low-angle shot – A shot in which the camera is lower than the subject
and tilted up.
Match cut – An edit in which an action or visual form in the fi rst shot is
matched with one in the second shot to create a smooth transition between
the shots.
Medium close-up (MCU) – A shot in which the face occupies a substantial
portion of the image. Th e top of the screen frames the face from the forehead
to near the top of the head while the bottom frames the person below the
mouth or chin.
Medium shot (MS) – Shot framed at the waist of the subject and including
the entire upper body of the person.
Motion picture language – Motion picture language (or fi lm language or screen
grammar) is the “language of images” that stems from the meanings that we
derive from the moving images created by anyone making movies. Th ese
meanings are generated by the visual elements of shots, their juxtaposition into
sequences, and the use of transitions, animated frames, and visual eff ects.
Narrative – Th is is the broad category of fi lms that primarily consist of
sequences of events that are linked by cause and eff ect following continuity
of time and space.
Over-the-shoulder shot – A shot taken from the vantage point of behind one of
the characters, and including the person’s shoulder and/or back of the head.Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).