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Film Terms
Glossary
Illustrated

Film Terms Glossary - Index

(alphabetical and illustrated)
Introduction | A1 | A2-B1 | B2 | B3-C1 | C2 | C3 | C4-D1 | D2-E1 | F1 | F2-I1
I2-L1 | L2-M1 | M2-O1 | O2-P1 | P2-S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5-T1 | T2-Z

Film Terms Glossary

Cinematic Terms

Dogme 95

Definition and Explanation

Example (if applicable)

a collective of film directors founded in Denmark in 1995 led

Examples: Thomas Vinterberg's Festen (The
by Lars von Trier, with a distinctive democratizing philosophy
Celebration) (1998), von Trier's Idioterne
and set of rules (termed "the vow of chastity") that rejected
(The Idiots) (1998), writer/director Harmony
special effects and contrived lighting/staging and camera
Korine's Julien Donkey-Boy (1999), Sren
work, and espoused returning to more "truthful" and honest,
Kragh-Jacobsen's Mifune (1999), Jean-Marc
"non-Hollywood" forms of cinema; the ten rules included
Barr's Lovers (1999, Fr.), Richard Martini's
shooting on location, use of hand-held cameras, natural
Camera (2000), Kristian Levring's The King
lighting only, no props, use of digital-video (DV), lack of credits
is Alive (2000), Lone Scherfig's Italian for
for the director, etc.
Beginners (2001, Denmark).
a stereo-sound process for motion pictures created by Dolby
Examples: The first Dolby encoded stereo-optical soundtrack
Laboratories, Inc., used to improve sound quality; 35mm prints on a feature film was Ken Russell's Lisztomania (1975). Other

Dolby stereo

dolly (shot)

have two optical sound tracks (Dolby can decode and

playback on four channels), while 70mm prints have six
magnetic tracks for multi-channel playback; by the 1990s,
Dolby Stereo was superceded by advanced digitally-recorded
sound
refers to a moving shot in which the perspective of the subject
and background is changed; the shot is taken from a camera
that is mounted on a hydraulically-powered wheeled camera
platform (sometimes referred to as a truck or dolly), pushed
on rails (special tracks) and moved smoothly and noiselessly
during filming while the camera is running; a pull-back shot
(or dolly out) is the moving back ('tracking back') of the
camera from a scene to reveal a character or object that was
previously out of the frame, dolly in is when the camera
moves closer ('tracking in') towards the subject, and dollying
along with (or 'tracking within') refers to the camera moving
beside the subject; also known as tracking shot, trucking
shot, follow shot, or traveling shot; contrast with zoom
shots.
a German word literally meaning: "doublewalker," a reference
to the fact that a shadow-self, duplicate, counterpart or double
(spiritual, ghostly, or real) accompanies every individual

doppelganger

Dolby stereo soundtracks existed for Star Wars (1977),

Apocalypse Now (1979), Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(1977), and Superman (1978).

Examples: the first eight minutes of

Robert Altman's The Player (1992)
was filmed with a sustained dolly
shot, similar to the famous opening
sequence (shown here) of Welles'
Touch of Evil (1958); or the opening
shot in Boogie Nights (1997) that
tracked into the 70s disco, or the shot from the dressing room
to the ring in Raging Bull (1980)

Examples: in cinematic use, the

contrast between the 'good' and 'evil'
side of a person, as in Hitchcock's
Strangers on a Train (1951) between
Robert Walker and Farley Granger
(shown in criss-crossing shots of their

shoes), or the 'evil' Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) and his

'twin' counterpart - the 'good' young Charlie (Teresa Wright) in
Shadow of a Doubt (1943); also evidenced in Brian De
Palma's Sisters (1973), Kieslowski's film The Double Life of
Vronique (1991), David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers (1988),
and Fight Club (1999)

double

refers to the person who temporarily takes the leading player's

place for a dangerous or difficult stunt, or to photographically
stand in for the actor (when the latter is not available or when
the actor wants a body double for a nude scene, etc.)

double exposure

to expose a single frame twice so that elements of both

images are visible in the finished product; produces an effect
similar to superimposition and is often used to produce
'ghostly' effects

double take

a comedic convention that refers to the way in which an actor

first looks at an object (subject, event, scene, etc.), then looks
away, and then snaps his head back to the situation for a
second look - with surprise, disgust, sexual longing, etc.; a
variation is termed a spit-take (the double-take causes the
character to spit out whatever he is drinking)

Example: W.C. Field's double-take at a

black bank customer in a teller line in
The Bank Dick (1940)

an outdoor movie theatre in which the patrons viewed a film

from their automobile; films projected were often B-films or
low-budget films; reached their peak in terms of popularity and
numbers in the 1970s; also called a passion pit, ozoner;
drive-in

contrast with a hard top (or indoor movie theatre).

dub
(or dubbing)

the act of putting a new soundtrack on a film or adding a

soundtrack (of dialogue, sound effects, or music) after
production, to match the action and/or lip movements of
already-filmed shots; commonly used when films are shot on
location in noisy environments; also refers to adding
translated dialogue to a foreign-language film; as opposed to
direct sound - which is sound recorded when filming a scene;
contrast to looping.

dunning

the process or technique of combining shots filmed in a studio

with background footage shot elsewhere

dutch tilt
(or canted angle)

dynamic frame

a shot made with the camera leaned to one side and filming at Examples: in Carol Reeds The Third Man (1949).
a diagonal angle; see also camera angle.
a photographic technique used to mask the projected image
size and shape to any ratio that seems appropriate for the
scene (e.g., the image narrows as an actor passes through a
narrow passageway, and then widens as he emerges)

dystopia

an imaginary, wretched, dehumanized, dismal, fearful, bad,

Example: the worlds of Metropolis
oppressive place or landscape, often initiated by a major world
(1927), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), A
crisis (post-war destruction) coupled with, an oppressive
Clockwork Orange (1971), the
government, crime, abnormal behavior, etc.; the opposite of
comedy Sleeper (1973), Mad Max
utopia (a state of ideal perfection); see also nihilism
2: The Road Warrior (1979), Blade Runner (1982) (pictured)
and 1984 (1984)

editing
(editor)

the process (performed by a film editor) of selecting,

assembling, arranging, collating, trimming, structuring, and
splicing-joining together many separate camera takes
(includes sound also) of exposed footage (or daily rushes)
into a complete, determined sequence or order of shots (or
film) - that follows the script; digital editing refers to
changing film frames by digitizing them and modifying them
electronically; relational editing refers to editing shots to
suggest a conceptual link between them; an editor works in a
cutting room; the choice of shots has a tremendous influence
upon the film's final appearance.

ellipsis

the shortening of the plot duration of a film achieved by

deliberately omitting intervals or sections of the narrative story
or action; an ellipsis is marked by an editing transition (a fade,
dissolve, wipe, jump cut, or change of scene) to omit a
period or gap of time from the film's narrative.

emcee

another term for master of ceremonies

end (or closing)

credits

enfant terrible

See Best Film Editing Sequences.

credits appearing at the end of a film; aka end titles

literally from the French, meaning "terrible baby" - referring to
a brilliant, young, passionate but egotistical, brash director;

Example: Orson Welles and Citizen Kane (1941), Steven

Spielberg and Jaws (1975), Michael Cimino and The Deer

characteristics of an enfant terrible director include being

Hunter (1978), Guy Ritchie and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking

ensemble (film)

innovative and unorthodox

Barrels (1998), and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and

The Lives of Others (2006, Germ.)

a film with a large cast without any true leading roles, and
usually with multiple plotlines regarding the characters; it also
literally means 'the group of actors (and sometimes directors
and designers) who are involved in a film'.

Examples: The Philadelphia Story (1940), Rio Bravo (1959),

The Last Picture Show (1971), The Godfather (1972) films, St.
Elmo's Fire (1985), The Breakfast Club (1985), Steel
Magnolias (1989), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Reservoir
Dogs (1992), and numerous Altman films, such as Nashville
(1975) and Short Cuts (1993)

a costly film made on an unusually large scale or scope of

dramatic production, that often portrays a spectacle with
historic, ancient world, or biblical significance.
epic
Examples: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), or Patton (1970),
shown here.
a short, concluding scene in a film in which characters
(sometimes older) reflect on the preceding events

Example: the epilogue of Saving

Private Ryan (1998) and
Schindler's List (1993) (pictured)

epilogue

epiphany

a moment of sudden spiritual insight for the protagonist of a

film, usually occurs just before or after the climax
Example: Twilight Zone - The Movie (1983)

episode

a self-contained segment or part of an anthology film or

serial; a number of separate and complete episodes make up
an episode film

episodic

a film that is composed of a series of loosely-related

segments, sections, or episodes, with the same character(s)

Examples: Intolerance (1916), Around the World in 80 Days

(1956), Short Cuts (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994)

establishing shot

exec or exex
executive producer

exhibitor

experimental film

usually a long (wide-angle or full) shot at the beginning of a

Example: the beginning of
scene (or a sequence) that is intended to show things from a
Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944)
distance (often an aerial shot), and to inform the audience
includes an establishing shot
with an overview in order to help identify and orient the locale
across a detailed model of 16th
or time for the scene and action that follows; this kind of shot
century London; also the early
is usually followed by a more detailed shot that brings
wide-angle views of the New
characters, objects, or other figures closer; a re-establishing Zealand coastline in The Piano (1993)
shot repeats an establishing shot near the end of a sequence.
abbreviations for 'executive' or 'executives'
the person who is responsible for a film's financing, or for
arranging the film's production elements (stars, screenwriter,
etc.)
term meaning 'movie theatre owner'; aka known as exhib
(shortened term)
refers to a film, usually a low-budget or indie film not oriented Examples: Disney's Fantasia (1940), Hitchcock's Rope (1948),
toward profit-making, that challenges conventional filmmaking Jonathan Demme's Swimming to Cambodia (1987)
by using camera techniques, imagery, sound, editing, and/or
acting in unusual or never-before-seen ways; sometimes aka
avante-garde, art films

exploitation film

exposition

expressionism
(and expressionist)

a sensational, often trashy B-film aimed at a particular

audience and designed to succeed commercially and
profitably by appealing to specific psychological traits or needs
in that audience without any fuller analysis or exposition; often
refers to films with extremely violent or sexual scenes; not
necessarily a derogatory term; various types include
blaxploitation, sexploitation, splatter films.

Examples: Beyond the Valley of the

Dolls (1970), Cannibal Holocaust
(1980, It.), Porky's (1981) shown
here, or any of Roger Corman's New
World Pictures films, such as Bury Me
an Angel (1971).

the conveyance (usually by dialogue or action) of important

background information for the events of a story; or the set up
of a film's story, including what's at stake for the characters,
the initial problem, and other main problems.
refers to the distortion of reality through lighting, editing, and
costumes, to reflect the inner feelings and emotions of the
characters and/or the filmmaker; a cinematic style of fantasy
film common in post-WWI Germany in the 1920s and 1930s,
characterized by dramatic lighting, dark visual images and
shadows, grotesque and fantastic shots, distorted sets and
angles, heavy makeup, highly stylized acting, and symbolic
mime-like action and characters; opposed to realism.
a person who appears in a movie in a non-specific, nonspeaking, unnoticed, or unrecognized character role, such as
part of a crowd or background, e.g., a patron in a restaurant, a
soldier on a battlefield; usually without any screen credit; also

Examples: Robert Wiene's The Cabinet

of Dr. Caligari (1920) led to the term
caligarisme (referring to the chaotic,
expressionistic cinematic style in the
film); also F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu
(1922) and Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927)

Examples: The Ten

Commandments (1956) in
the Exodus scene, Ben-Hur
(1959) chariot scene,

soldier on a battlefield; usually without any screen credit; also

termed atmosphere people; contrast with walk-on and nonspeaking role, bit players, or principals; also see cast of
thousands

extra(s)

a cut between two shots that creates the illusion of the

character (in the first shot) looking at an object (in the second
shot).

eyeline match

GREATEST FILMS

(1959) chariot scene,

Spartacus (1960). Recent
films use CGI to create fictional crowds of extras, such as in
Gladiator (2000), or soldiers and a fleet of ships in Troy (2004)
(pictured).

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