Glossary
Comprehensive glossary of filmmaking terms, concepts, and techniques.
Showing 46 terms
A
4Ambient Light
The non-directional background light present in an environment from all surrounding sources combined.
Animation
The art and technique of creating the illusion of movement from a sequence of still images, drawings, or computer-generated frames.
Aperture
The opening in a lens through which light passes, controlling exposure and depth of field.
Available Light
All light already present in a location -- natural or artificial -- used without adding any film lighting equipment.
C
5Camera
The device that captures light and records it as a sequence of still images forming a motion picture.
Chiaroscuro
The strong contrast between light and shadow used as a primary expressive tool to create depth and drama.
Close-Up
A shot framed tightly on a subject's face or a specific object, filling most of the frame.
Contrast
The ratio between the brightest and darkest areas of an image, determined by lighting ratios and scene tonal range.
CTO
Colour Temperature Orange — a family of colour correction gels used to lower the colour temperature of a cool light source, converting HMI or daylight output toward tungsten balance.
D
5Deep Focus
A cinematographic technique in which all planes of the image — near, mid, and far — are in sharp focus simultaneously.
Deep Focus Shot
A shot in which subjects at very different distances from the camera are all rendered in sharp focus simultaneously.
Depth of Field
The range of distance within a scene that appears acceptably sharp in a recorded image.
Depth of Focus
The range of distances the camera's image plane can shift while keeping a focused subject acceptably sharp.
Dolly Zoom
A camera technique combining simultaneous physical camera movement and zoom adjustment in opposite directions, keeping the subject constant while the background distorts.
E
2Electronic ViewFinder
A small screen built into or attached to a camera that displays a live electronic image of what the lens is seeing, used for framing and monitoring exposure.
Extreme Close-Up
A shot framed on a single feature or small detail, isolating it entirely from its surrounding context.
F
7F-Stop
A numerical scale that indicates a camera lens's aperture setting, controlling the amount of light passing through the lens to the film or sensor.
Film Grain
The visible texture in photochemical film images caused by silver halide crystals in the emulsion.
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.
Flashback
A scene or sequence that interrupts the present narrative to dramatise events from the past.
Focus
The precise optical alignment that renders a subject at a specific distance as sharp in the recorded image.
Focus Puller
The first assistant camera operator responsible for maintaining precise focus on the subject throughout every shot, operating the focus ring of the lens during filming.
Frame
A single still image in the continuous sequence that makes up a motion picture.
M
2Medium Shot
A shot framed from roughly the waist up, balancing the subject with their immediate environment.
Metaphor
A figure of speech or visual device that describes one thing in terms of another to illuminate a deeper meaning.
R
2Rack Focus
A deliberate shift of focus from one subject to another within a single shot, drawing the viewer's attention from one plane of depth to another.
Rotoscoping
An animation and visual effects technique in which animators trace over live-action footage frame by frame to create realistic movement or isolate subjects.
S
6Shallow Depth of Field
A narrow focus plane that keeps the subject sharp while rendering the background and foreground as soft blur.
Shutter Speed
The duration of time the camera's shutter stays open for each frame, controlling exposure and motion blur.
Simile
A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using 'like' or 'as' to illuminate a quality or state.
Soft Focus
A lens or filter technique that reduces image sharpness and spreads highlights, creating a dreamy, romantic quality.
Soundtrack
The complete audio track of a film, or the commercial album of music from that film released separately.
Steadicam
A camera stabilisation system worn by an operator that isolates the camera from body movement, producing smooth fluid shots.
T
2T-Stop
A calibrated measurement of a lens's actual light transmission, accounting for internal glass losses, used in cinema to ensure accurate exposure matching across different lenses.
Telephoto Lens
A long focal length lens that magnifies distant subjects and compresses apparent depth between planes.
W
2White Balance
A camera setting that adjusts colour rendering so that white objects appear neutral regardless of the light source's colour temperature.
Wide Angle Shot
A shot captured with a short focal length lens, producing a broad field of view and exaggerated depth.