Glossary
Comprehensive glossary of filmmaking terms, concepts, and techniques.
Showing 20 terms
D
2Dolly Zoom
A camera technique combining simultaneous physical camera movement and zoom adjustment in opposite directions, keeping the subject constant while the background distorts.
Dutch Angle
A shot where the camera is tilted on its roll axis, creating a diagonal horizon and sense of unease.
F
2Film Noir
A style of crime and thriller cinema characterised by chiaroscuro lighting, moral ambiguity, femme fatales, and cynical worldviews.
Fish-Eye Lens
An extreme wide angle lens with a very short focal length that produces strong barrel distortion and a curved, spherical field of view.
L
2Lens
An optical instrument mounted on the camera that focuses light onto the sensor and determines field of view.
Low Angle Shot
A shot where the camera looks up at the subject from below, making them appear larger, dominant, or threatening.
S
3Subjective Cinema
A filmmaking approach that restricts the camera and narrative to a single character's perspective, perception, and inner experience.
Surrealism
A movement in art and cinema that draws on dreamlike imagery, irrational juxtapositions, and unconscious logic to challenge rational perception.
Symbolism
The use of objects, images, colours, or events to represent ideas or meanings beyond their literal presence in the story.
T
2Tilt Shot
A shot in which the camera rotates on its horizontal axis, moving the lens angle up or down.
Tracking Shot
A shot in which the camera moves horizontally to follow a subject as they move through space.