Film Tropes and Language

Key Words

XLS – Extreme Long Shot aka establishing shot

VLS – Very Long Shot, something in the distance

LS – Long Shot, main character ~ usually central

MLS – Medium Long Shot ~ ¾ shots, cut off at knee

MS – Mid Shot ~ framed from waist upwards

MCU – Medium Close Up ~ Chest upwards

CU – Close Up ~ Focus on individual’s face

BCU – Big Close Up ~ Cuts off chin and top of head, more details

ECU – Extreme Close up ~ Mainly on eyes, used for suspense

POVS – Point of Views ~ 1^st person = camera as eyes, 3^rd person = onlooker aka over-the-shoulder shot
 

Tilt – Camera moves up or down to follow the action

Matte

Pan – Steady, sweeping movement from one point to another

Top Shot

Tracking dolly/ shot – Follows a subject (dolly is a rail = smooth movement)

Bridging

Fade – Fades to black, or fades in from black ~ shows passage of time

Dissolve – Transition between two shots ~ as one fades away another fades in

Arc – Subject is circled by the camera

High Camera Angle – Looks down at subject ~ makes things look small/ unimportant

Low Camera Angle – Looks up at subject ~ makes things appear big/ powerful/ important

Medium Camera Angle – Same height as subject

Jump Cuts – Rapid, jerky transition from one frame to the next, disrupts flow of time

Deep Focus – Everything is sharp

Dolly Zoom – Camera tracks forward toward a subject while simultaneously zooming in/out creating a woozy vertiginous effect

Handheld Shot – Camera operator holds

Locked Down Shot – Camera is fixed in one position while the action occurs in a scene or continues offscreen

Key Narrative Codes

Hermeneutic – Relies on creation of enigmas or unanswered questions

Proairetic – Anticipation of an actions’ resolution

Semic – Cultural science (semiology) see below

Indexical Signs

Motifs that tend to make us think of/ reflect on things

Symbolic Codes

We accept their meanings, culturally eg Red heart = love 

Narrative Arc