Glossary

Posters, Taglines and Synopsis

Poster - A visual advertisement that promotes a movie to possible viewers
Tagline - a short phrase used in advertising to interest the audience and that relates to the plot of the movie
Synopsis - A summary of the entire plot of the film including characters, conflicts and the ending
Genre Conventions - The themes and patterns that define a specific genre
Target Audience - The group of people that a movie is intended for based on age, interests and demographics

The 12 character archetypes

Hero - A central character that faces challenges and fights against evil or hardship. Example: Spiderman
Rebel - Someone who challenges the societal norms and has courage, independence and defiance. Example: The Joker
Caregiver - A character who is selfless and dedicated to helping others. Example: Marlin (Nemo's dad)
Explorer - Someone who craves adventure, new experiences and personal freedom Example: Moana
Magician - Someone who uses knowledge, skill or power and is a master of their craft. Example: Doctor Strange
Sage - A character who provides wisdom and guidance to the protagonists. Example: Yoda
Ruler - Represents characters who have authority and control. Example: Mufasa
Innocent - A character who is pure, naive, and optimistic, seeing and believing in the good of everyone and everything. Example: SpongeBob
Everyman - A relatable character who has ordinary traits and experiences and can often relate with the audience. Example: Jim Halpert (The Office)
Jester - A character who is defined by their humour and playfulness. Example: Deadpool
Lover - A character who desires love and passion. Example: Romeo
Creator - Represents characters driven by a passion for innovation and originality Example: Willy Wonka

Scriptwriting terms

Screenplay - A written work that details the story, characters, dialogue and actions, giving a structured format that guides the production process
Slugline - A slug line is a line within a screenplay written in all uppercase letters to draw attention to specific script information including if the scene is inside or outside, the location and the time of the scene
INT/ EXT - Found in the slugline, this means if a scene is inside (INT) or outside (EXT)
Parenthetical - A note or a direction in a script that say how a line should be delivered by the actor e.g. angrily, cheerfully, quietly
Action line - A description of what the audience sees and hears such as the setting, character actions and movements
Dialogue - What the characters are saying, this can be a conversation or a character talking to themselves
Transition - A line that says how to move from one scene to the next e.g. "cut to" "fade in"
Voice Over (V.O.) - Dialogue that comes from a character that you cannot see
Off Screen - A character who is in the location but they are not in the camera's view

Extreme close up (ECU)

An extreme close up is a shot type where the camera is very close to the subject and focuses in on the details of the person or object. This shot type is effective for showing a change in emotion through a character's eyes and for creating an emotional connection between viewer and character.

Close up (CU)

A close up is a shot type that shows the subject on screen close up and typically in detail, on a person it means that only their head and sometimes their neck will be shown. This shot type is extremely effective for showing a characters emotions and allowing the audience to focus on how they feel and understand them.

Medium close up (MCU)

A medium close up is a shot type that on a person, means that only their chest up will be shown on screen. This shot type is effective for showing someone's facial expressions while still maintaining some of the background and surrounding environment.

Medium shot (MS)

The most common shot type, the medium shot shows a person from their waist up and is a useful shot to use for when you want to show someone's body language but still see their face. It is the most commonly used shot due to this ability.

Cowboy shot

A cowboy shot is a shot type that frames the subject from their mid thigh up, this shot type is popular in the western film genre as it shows the subject's waist and this is where the gun in the holster stays. It's important to show the gun in the holster so that the audience can see when the character is taking out their gun to shoot someone for example.

Full shot

A full shot is a shot type where a character's full body is shown within the frame. This allows the audience to see the character's facial expressions as well as their full body language as well as being able to see only some of the background and environment.

Over the shoulder shot

An over the shoulder shot is a shot type where you can see the back of a character's shoulder and sometimes head on one side of the frame and on the other side you can see whatever they are looking at, which could be a person, an object, the scenery etc.. This shot type is often used during conversation between people and this creates a sense of perspective.

Point of view (POV)

A POV shot is a shot type where you see what a character would see. This is effective for making the audience see a character's perspective and immersing them in the film.

Extreme wide shot (EWS)

An extreme wide shot is a shot type where the camera is at a very far distance away, making the subject seem small against their surroundings and can make the subject appear isolated. This shot type is effective for showing the environment while also showing that the subject is alone.

Wide shot (WS)

A wide shot (also known as a long shot) is a shot type that shows a character's full body but also shows the background and the environment. This shot type is effective for if you want the audience to see the character as well as the background because it could be significant to the story.

Dutch tilt

a Dutch tilt is a camera angle that is tilted to the side so the camera is not straight. this tells the audience that something is wrong or that a character is descending into madness. This is effective for showing the audience that something has changed and will have a negative impact.

Low angle

A low angle is a camera angle that is positioned below the subject and pointing up to make the subject seem stronger, larger and more intimidating. this shot type is effective for if you want to compare a strong character with a weak character by using a low angle on the strong character and a high angle on the weak character

High angle

This is a shot type where the subject is positioned under the camera and the camera is pointing down at them to make them look smaller, weaker and more insignificant. This shot type is effective during fight scenes where you want to make someone look weaker

Dolly Zoom

A dolly zoom is a type of zoom and shot type where the physical camera moves backwards but the camera is zoomed in slowly. it creates an interesting effect which distorts the camera and shows a possible shift with emotions in a character.

Story Structure (Three-Act Structure)

Three-act structure - A storyline structure that divides stories into three parts, act one, act two and act three. This could also be called the beginning, middle and end
Act one (Setup) - The start of the film where the characters and their world get get introduced and there is an inciting incident
Inciting Incident - An event that disturbs the character's normal life and starts the story's main conflict
Rising action - Events in a story that build tension and suspense, and lead up to the story's climax
Midpoint - When characters face significant changes or greater challenges that propel the story into a new direction
Act two (Confrontation) - This is the longest part of the story where the character faces escalating obstacles that relate to the central problem of the story
Climax - The conflict or crisis comes to a peak and has the most amount of tension
Act three (Resolution) - The final part of the three act structure and the story has high tension here and shows the aftermath of the climax
Prologue - The opening of a story which is not part of the main story but introduces important information to the reader
Epilogue - The ending of a story which is not part of the main story but ties up loose ends

Editing Basics

Timeline - The area of a video or sound editing application where you organise all of your clips together
Transition - A technique in video editing used to connect one shot to another, which is used to move between shots
Cut - The most common transition, which is where one shot ends and other one begins
Fade in - A transition where a sound, image or video increases in visibility or volume, usually starting from a black screen or silence
Fade out - A transition where a sound, image or video decreases in visibility or volume, usually until the sound or image is completely gone
Montage - An editing technique that puts short clips into a sequence to show the passage of time and show that something is happening
Title card - Some text shown on screen that includes information like the title, credits or dialogue
Export - Converting an edited project into a file such as a PNG, JPEG, MP4 or MP3
Render - The process of having your footage, effects and layers and generating a final playable file

Editing style

Match cut - An editing technique that connects two shots together through a visual or action based link, creating a seamless transition
Jump cut - An editing technique where a cut is made in a single continuous shot, making the subject appear to jump forward in time
Cross cutting - An editing technique that alternates between two or more different shots to show that they are happening at the same time in different locations
Montage sequence - A section of the film that contains short clips to show the passage of time and show that something is happening
Continuity editing - An editing system used to maintain consistency of time in a film
Non linear editing - An editing process where editors can edit and arrange any part of a video clip in any order, without being restricted by the original sequence
L cut - An editing technique where the audio of one clip continues into the video of the next clip, creating an L shape on the timeline
J cut - An editing technique where the audio of one clip starts before the video is on screen, creating a J shape on the timeline
Smash cut - An editing technique that moves from one scene to another in an abrupt way without pause or warning in a visual or sound way
Dissolve - An editing technique where one shot fades out and another one fades in, briefly overlapping to create a smooth transition
Split screen - An editing technique where two or more videos are shown on screen at the same time

Camera movement and storyboarding

Pan - A camera's smooth horizontal movement across a scene
Tilt - A camera's smooth vertical movement in a scene
Tracking dolly - A wheeled platform (the dolly) that moves the camera along some tracks to follow a subject or move around a space
Crane shot - A shot that is taken by a camera that is on a moving crane, this is often used in establishing shots
Zoom - Changing the focal length on a camera to make it look like the camera is moving closer when it is not
Storyboard - A series of illustrated panels that visually represent the shots of a movie in order
Directional arrows - Used to show movement from a camera or actor in a storyboard
Shot list - A document that maps out every shot needed for a scene and includes details like camera angle, shot type and location

Sound design

Diegetic sound - Sound that comes from the world of the film and the characters can hear
Non diegetic sound - Sound that does not come from the world of the film and the characters cannot hear, which is often sounds that are edited in
Foley - The process of adding everyday sounds into a film during post production to enhance a film's audio
Soundtrack - the recorded songs in a film that are pre-existing or made for the film
Atmos - Also known as Dolby Atmos, is a technique used in cinemas where sounds are placed above and around the audience, not just in front and behind to create a more immersive experience
Ambience - The background sounds of a scene's location such as traffic noises or wind that are not too distracting but establish the atmosphere, mood and setting
Sound bridge - A technique where the sound of the last scene carries over into the next scene
Sound effect (SFX) - A sound that is created to provide a sense of realism, add and create emotion and help set the scene without dialogue
Volume mixing - The process of balancing the different audio elements to ensure that all parts of the audio are at the right volume
Layering - Combining various audio elements such as music, environmental sounds and foley that creates a unique and unified sound

Photoshop and VFX

Visual effects (VFX) - The process of digitally manipulating videos to enhance or change footage
CGI (Computer generated imagery) - The application of computer graphics for creating or improving images or videos
Compositing - The process of combining multiple visual elements from different sources into one photo or video
Keying (Green screen) - Keying is an editing technique that makes the green screen background transparent so that it can be replaced with another image or video
Masking - A technique used to isolate specific parts of an image or video so that only a certain area can be affected by edits
Layers - The layout of the timeline's clips where the sound, videos and text are on separate stacked levels
Rendering - Generating a final, high quality image from 3D models

Other terms

Character arc - The transformation or story the character goes through over the course of a story
Motivation - The reason behind a characters actions, decisions and goals
Conflict - the struggle between opposing forces that drives a story forwards
Transformation - The process of a character changing from who they are at the beginning, to who they are at the end of the story, driven by the events of what happened during it