Long Shot

This shot type (also referred to as a full shot or a wide shot) shows the entire person or object, with the intention to place it in some relation to its surroundings. This is considered the most “natural” shot type as it is wide enough to inform the viewer about the setting of the scene, and close enough to make most of the action in the scene visible.

Aspect ratio

Aspect ratio: in general, a term for how the image appears on the screen based on how it was shot; refers to the ratio of width (horizontal or top) to height (vertical or side) of a film frame, image or screen; the most common or standard aspect ratio in early films to the 1950s was called Academy Aperture (or ratio), at a ratio of 1.33:1 (the same as 4:3 on a TV screen); normal 35mm films are shot at a ratio of 1.85:1; new widescreen formats and aspect ratios were introduced in the 1950s, from 1.65:1 and higher; CinemaScope (a trade name for a widescreen movie format used in the US from 1953 to 1967) and other anamorphic systems (such as Panavision) have a 2.35:1 AR, while 70mm formats have an AR of 2.2:1; Cinerama had a 2.77:1 aspect ratio; letterboxed videos for widescreen TV's are frequently in 16:9 (or 1.77:1) AR.

ALLUSION

A direct or indirect reference - through an image or through dialogue - to the Bible, a classic, a person, a place, an external and/or real-life event, another film, or a well-known cultural idea.

Example: In Red River (1948), Montgomery Clift (as Matt Dunson) and John Ireland (as Cherry Valance) show off their guns to each other and ask: "You know, there are only two things more beautiful than a good gun: a Swiss watch or a woman from anywhere. You ever had a good Swiss watch?" - a scene often interpreted as alluding to homosexuality

Types of Camera Shots: XCU, CU, MCU, MS, LS/Full Shot?

Shot designations for films include: Long shot (LS) or full shot (FS), medium shot (MS, medium close-up (MCU), close-up (CU), Extreme close-ups (XCUs), A boom shot, jib shot, or crane shot.

aerial shot

a camera shot filmed in an exterior location from far overhead (from a bird's eye view), as from a helicopter (most common), blimp, balloon, plane, or kite; a variation on the crane shot; if the aerial shot is at the opening of a film, aka an establishing shot

Actor and actress

Actor: Refers either to a male performer, or to any male or female who plays a character role in an on-screen film; alternate gender-neutral terms: player, artist, or performer

Actress: Refers to any female who portrays a role in a film

Script Terms and Abbreviations

Although scriptwriters sometimes feel an urge to indicate camera shots and angles on a script, this is an area that's best left to the judgment of the director.

Even so, in dramatic scripts you will often see the terms camera finds indicate the camera moves in on a particular portion of a scene; camera goes with to indicate the camera moves with a person or object; reverse angle to indicate a near 180-degree shift in camera position; and shot widens to signal a zoom or dolly back.

CLEAR

CLEAR: Get out of the way, either of another actor who you are blocking from the camera, or to get off the set when a rehearsal or scene is about to begin. Also, as in CLEAR YOURSELF, to make sure you are in clear view of the camera.

Cut

An abrupt or sudden change or jump in camera angle, location, placement, or time, from one shot to another; consists of a transition from one scene to another (a visual cut) or from one soundtrack to another (a sound cut); cutting refers to the selection, splicing and assembly by the film editor of the various shots or sequences for a reel of film, and the process of shortening a scene; also refers to the instructional word 'cut' said at the end of a take by the director to stop the action in front of the camera; cut to refers to the point at which one shot or scene is changed immediately to another; also refers to a complete edited version of a film (e.g., rough cut); also see director's cut; various types of cuts include invisible cut, smooth cut, jump cut (an abrupt cut from one scene or shot to the next), shock cut (the abrupt replacement of one image by another), etc.

180 degree rule

a screen direction rule that camera operators must follow - an imaginary line on one side of the axis of action is made (e.g., between two principal actors in a scene), and the camera must not cross over that line - otherwise, there is a distressing visual discontinuity and disorientation; similar to the axis of action (an imaginary line that separates the camera from the action before it) that should not be crossed