Implicit Causality The loose sequencing of narrative
video image closely matches the original theatrical aspect
events. Narrative causality is minimized, and the viewer’s
ratio, the trade-off is a small and narrow image as displayed
sense of the direction in which the story is moving is weaker
on a television monitor.
than it is in films that feature explicit causality.
Implied Author The artistic perspective implied and em-
Limited-Release Market The theatrical distribution of in-
bodied by a film’s overall audiovisual design.
dependent film, typically on a smaller scale than the release
market for major studio productions.
Intensity A basic attribute of color. Intensity measures the
brightness of a hue.
Linear Editing System Until the late-1990s, editors worked
on celluloid film, with the footage in their workprints de-
Internal Structural Time The dynamic tempo of a film, es-
rived from camera negative. Using a linear system, the editor
tablished by its internal structure (camera positions, editing,
searched for material by running footage from beginning to
color and lighting design, soundtrack). Perceiving this inter-
end and joined shots sequentially, one after another. Such
nal tempo, viewers label films as fast or slow moving, yet
editors were in physical contact with actual film, unlike
internal structural time never unfolds at a constant rate. It
those using nonlinear systems who access an electronic sig-
is a dynamic rhythm. Filmmakers vary the tempo of internal
nal via a keyboard.
structural time to maintain viewer interest.
Live Action Those components of a special effects shot or
Interocular Distance The amount of distance or separation
scene that were filmed live before the camera. These elements
between human eyes. Stereoscopic cinema scales interocular
may then be composited with digital effects.
distance in terms of dual camera position to elicit 3D effects.
Long Shot One of the basic camera positions in which a
Interpretation The goal of criticism. By examining a film’s
camera is set up at some distance from the subject of the
structure, a critic assigns meaning to a scene or film that it
shot. Filmmakers usually use long shots to stress environ-
does not immediately denote.
ment or setting.
Interpretive Processing The viewer’s attribution of mean-
Long Take A shot of long duration, as distinct from a long
ing to audiovisual information, as distinct from perceptual
shot, which designates a camera position.
processing, which is the purely perceptual response to
this information. Film viewing involves both components.
Low-Angle A camera angle usually below the eye level of
Understood in terms of perceptual processing, a viewer
performers in a scene.
watching a cross-cut sequence sees a succession of shots
Low-Key Lighting A lighting design that maximizes con-
flashing by on screen as an alternating series. Via interpre-
trast and fall-off by lighting selected areas of the scene for
tive processing, the viewer attributes a representation of si-
proper exposure and leaving all other areas underexposed.
multaneous action to the alternating series. This attribution
Majors The large studio-distributors that fund film pro-
is not a meaning contained within the images themselves. It
duction and distribute films internationally. Collectively,
is the viewer’s contribution.
these companies constitute the Hollywood industry. They
Iris An editing transition prevalent in silent cinema. A cir-
are Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros., Disney, MGM/UA,
cular mask closed down over the image (an iris out) to mark
Paramount, 20th Century Fox, and Universal.
the end of a scene or, alternatively, opened up (an iris in) to
Male Matte In a matte/counter-matte system, the male
introduce a new scene.
matte, also known as a holdout matte, is a black silhou-
Jump Cut A method of editing that produces discontinuity
ette of the foreground element with all other areas of
by leaving out portions of the action.
the film frame being transparent. The opaque silhouette
Key Frames In digital animation, the points at which a
blocks light from being transmitted through the film in
character’s position changes substantially. The animator
this area during printing (or, if working digitally, during
specifies and creates these key frames, and a software pro-
compositing).
gram then creates the intervening frames.
Master Shot A camera position used by filmmakers to
Key Light The main source of illumination in a scene usu-
record the entire action of a scene from beginning to end.
ally directed on the face of the performer. Along with fill
Filmmakers reshoot portions of the scene in close-up and
and back lights, it is one of the three principal sources of
medium shot framings. Editors cut these into the master shot
illumination in a scene.
to create the changing optical viewpoints of an edited scene.
Latent Meaning Meanings that are indirect or implied by a
When used to establish the overall layout of a scene or loca-
film’s narrative and audiovisual design. They are not direct,
tion, the master shot can also double as an establishing shot.
immediately obvious, or explicit.
Matched Cut A cut joining two shots whose compositional
Leitmotif A recurring musical passage used to characterize
elements strongly match. Matched cutting establishes conti-
a scene, character, or situation in a film narrative.
nuity of action.
6
Glossary
Matte A painted landscape or location that is composited
from a multiplane camera. It can move toward or away
with the live action components of a shot. Mattes were
from them, and they can be moved across its field of view.
traditionally done as paintings on glass, but many con-
Multipass Compositing Method for creating a final, ren-
temporary films use digital mattes created on a computer.
dered image from separate operations carried out upon
Matte can also refer to a mask that is used to block or hide
different image layers. Prior to the digital era, multi-pass
a portion of the frame, as when producing a widescreen im-
compositing had been carried out on optical printers. Some
age in theatrical projection. See Soft-Matted , Hard-Matted,
of the optical printer effects shots in Return of the Jedi were
Counter-Matte, Traveling Matte .
so complex that they required more than a hundred passes.
Maquette A small, 3D sculpture that forms the basis for
Music One of the three basic types of film sound. Film
subsequent digital animation. Often used in creature effects.
music may include the score that accompanies the dramatic
Medium Shot One of the basic camera positions in which
action of scenes as well
as music originating on screen from
a camera is set up to record from full- to half-figure shots of
within a scene.
a performer.
Negative Cost Accounting term for the expenses incurred
Melodrama The predominant dramatic style of popular
by a film production, excluding the cost of advertising and
cinema, emphasizing clear moral distinctions between hero
publicity.
and villain, exaggerated emotions, and a narrative style in
Negative Parallax In stereoscopic cinema, placement of
which the twists and turns of the plot determine character
the left-eye image on the right, and the right-eye image on
behavior.
the left, requiring that viewers converge their eyes to fuse
Method Acting An approach to screen performance in
the images. This results in positioning objects in front of the
which the actor seeks to portray a character by using per-
screen.
sonal experience and emotion as a foundation for the por-
Neonoir Film noir made in the contemporary period and
trayal.
shot in color.
Miniature A small-scale model representing a portion of a
Neorealism A filmmaking style that developed in postwar
much larger location or building.
Italian cinema. The neorealist director aimed to truthfully
Mise-en-scène A film’s overall visual design, created by
portray Italian society by avoiding the gloss and glitter of
all of the elements that are placed before the camera. These
expensive studio productions, emphasizing instead location
include light, color, costumes, sets, and actors.
filmmaking, a mixture of non- and semiprofessional actors,
Mockumentary A fiction film that uses the style of docu-
and simple, straightforward visual technique.
mentary to create the illusion, typically for comic effect, that
Newspaper/Television Reviewing A mode of film criticism
it is a documentary.
aimed at a general audience that performs an explicit con-
Monocular Depth Cues Informational sources about
sumer function, telling readers whether or not they should
depth, distance and spatial layout that can be perceived with
see the film being reviewed. Film reviews presented as part of
one eye.
television news or review programs also belong to this mode.
Montage Used loosely, montage simply means “edit-
New Wave A new stylistic direction or design appearing
ing.” In a strict sense, however, montage designates
within a national cinema in the films of a group of (usually
scenes whose emotional impact and visual design are
young) directors who are impatient with existing styles and
achieved primarily through the editing of many brief
seek to create alternatives.
shots. The shower scene from Hitchcock’s Psycho is a
Nodal Tripod Camera mount that enables a camera to
classic example of montage editing.
pivot around the optical center of the lens, producing no
Motion Control Cinematography in which the camera’s
motion perspective. Often used in shots employing hanging
movements are plotted by computer so that they can be rep-
miniatures to disguise the presence of the miniature.
licated when designing the digital components of the shot.
Nondiegetic sound Sound that cannot be heard by charac-
Motion Parallax Also known as motion perspective , the
ters in a film but can be heard by the film’s viewer. See also
term designates the changing positions of near and far ob-
diegetic sound.
jects as the viewer or the camera moves through space.
Nonlinear Editing Systems Computerized editing on digital
Motion Perspective The change in visual perspective
video. This system gives editors instantaneous access to any
produced by the camera’s movement through space. The
shot or scene in a film and enables them to rapidly explore
visual positions of objects undergo systematic changes as the
different edits of the same footage. Once a final cut has been
camera moves in relation to them. Camera movement will
reached on the digital video footage, the camera negative is
produce motion perspective but a zoom shot will not.
then conformed (edited to match) this cut. Unlike an editor
Multiplane Camera A standard tool of 2D animation used
using a linear system who would actually handle film, the
to produce effects of camera movement and motion and
nonlinear editor uses a computer keyboard to find shots and
depth perspective. Cells are arranged at varying distances
join them together.
7
Glossary
Nonsynchronous Sound Sound that is not in synch with a
Perceptual Processing The film viewer’s perceptual response
source visible on screen.
to audiovisual information, as distinct from interpretive pro-
cessing, which is the active interpretation of that information.
Normal Lens A lens of moderate focal length that does not
Film viewing involves both components. The viewer sees color,
distort object size and depth of field. The normal lens records
depth, and movement (perceptual processing) in cinema and
perspective much as the human eye does.
may attribute particular meanings to those perceptions (inter-
Off-Screen Sound A type of sound in which the sound-
pretive processing). Understood in terms of perceptual process-
producing source remains off-screen. Off-screen sound
ing, a viewer watching a cross-cut sequence sees a succession
extends the viewer’s perception of a represented screen
of shots flashing by on-screen as an alternating series. Via in-
location into an indefinite area of off-screen space.
terpretive processing, the viewer attributes a representation of
180-Degree Rule The foundation for establishing conti-
simultaneous action to the alternating series. This attribution
nuity of screen direction. The left and right coordinates of
is not a meaning contained within the images themselves. It is
screen action remain consistent as long as all camera posi-
the viewer’s contribution.
tions remain on the same side of the line of action. Crossing
Perceptual Realism The correspondence of picture and
the line entails a change of screen direction.
sound in cinema with the ways viewers perceive space and
Open Matte Formatting of 1.85:1 aspect ratio films for the
sound in the real, three-dimensional world.
television/home video ratio of 4:3 by transferring the film
Perceptual Transformation Those properties of cinema
full frame without the matting that was used during projec-
(e.g., a telephoto lens or a simultaneous zoom and track in
tion in theaters.
opposite directions) that distort or alter the visual informa-
Optical Printer Device used to composite effects shots dur-
tion that viewers encounter in the everyday world or that
ing the Hollywood studio era. Optical printers were made
create completely novel visual experi
ences that have no basis
of a synchronized process camera and a process projector
in real-world experience. An example of the latter would be
that was called the printer head. Master positive footage of
the high-speed bullet effects used in The Matrix.
effects elements—models, travelling mattes, animation—was
Performance Capture Digital means for extracting the
loaded into the printer head and run through and photo-
movements of a live actor and compositing these into a
graphed frame by frame in the process camera. (A process
cartoon or special effects character. The live actor’s perfor-
camera is one used in the laboratory for effects work, in
mance is thereby mapped onto the digital character.
distinction to a production camera used to film live action.)
Performance Style The actor’s contribution to the audiovi-
The final composite (the finished effects shot) was created
sual and narrative design of a film.
gradually by this process of re-photographing each of its
components.
Persistence of Vision A characteristic of the human eye in
which the retina briefly retains the impression of an image
Ordinary Fictional Realism A subcategory of the real-
after its source has been removed. Because of persistence of
ist mode of screen reality. Such films feature a naturalistic
vision, viewers do not see the alternating periods of light
visual design, a linear narrative, and plausible character be-
and dark through which they sit in a theater.
havior as the basis for establishing a realist style.
Phi Phenomena The many different conditions under
Pan A type of camera movement in which the camera piv-
which the human eye can be fooled into seeing the illusion
ots from side to side on a fixed tripod or base. Pans produce
of movement. Beta movement is one of the phi phenomena.
lateral optical movement on-screen and are often used to
follow the action of a scene or to anticipate the movements
Photogrammetry Method of building a 3D environment in
of performers.
the computer by using photographs. By tracing the camera’s
lines of sight in multiple photographs of the same area, and
Pan-and-Scan A method of formatting wide-screen motion
plotting their intersection, a 3D model of the depicted area
pictures for video release. Only a portion of the original
can be assembled.
wide-screen image is transferred to video. A full screen im-
Movies and Meaning- Pearson New International Edition Page 3