Glossary



Code - A system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.



Connotation - An idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

Continuity - The state of continuing without changes.



Convention - What the audience expects to see in a certain genre.



Denotation - The literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.



Diegetic Sound - A sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film, sounds made by objects in the story or music represented as coming from the instruments in the story.



McGuffin - An object or device in a film or a book which serves merely as a trigger for the plot.

Mise en Scene - Everything that appears within the scene.








Narrative Theory - Chain of events occurring in time and space.

Non Diegetic Sound - Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action e.g.. narrators commentary, sound effects added for dramatic effect, mode music. Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from a source outside the story space.

Production - Everything in the making of a text / film etc.



Semiology - Study of signs and their meanings

Verisimilitude - Being believable or having the appearance of being true.




Bird's eye view - A shot in which the camera photographs a scene from directly overhead.

Canted angle - When the camera shot is askew.

Close Shot - Head to stomach shot. 

Shows detail of a subject and can create emotional connection for audience.



Crane shot - A shot taken from a special device called a crane, which resembles a huge mechanical arm. The crane carries the camera and cameraman, and can move in virtually any direction.

Depth of field - The distance between the nearest and the furthest objects giving a focused image.

Establishing Shot - Usually the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience where the action is taking place. It is usually a very wide shot or extreme wide shot.

Extreme Close up - Eyes only shot.



Eye-line shot - When you are able to see what the character on screen is seeing.

Focus Pull - A creative camera technique in which you change focus during a shot

Full Close up - Head to shoulders shot.



Full Shot - Full body shot.



High angle shot (looking down) - Can give the impression that the subject is vulnerable.



Jump Shot - When the camera cuts to another scene from the scene being presented.

Long Shot - Includes an amount of picture within the frame which roughly corresponds to the audience's view of the area within the proscenium arch of the legitimate theatre.

Low angle shot (looking up) - Can give the impression that the subject is powerful.



Master Shot - A film recording of an entire dramatized scene, from start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the players in view. It is often a long shot and can sometimes perform a double function as an establishing shot.

Match on Action - An action that begins in one shot and is continued or completed in the next.



Medium Close Shot - Head to waist shot.



Medium Close up - Face only shot.



Medium Full Shot - Head to knees shot.



Mid shot - Subject shown in some detail whilst given some context.



Point-of-view shot (first person camera) - Any shot which is taken from the vantage point of a character in the film.

Reverse Angle - When the camera passes over the invisible axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line.



Shot Reverse Shot - A film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off screen) and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character.



Steadicam - A lightweight mounting for a film camera which keeps it steady for filming when handheld or moving.

The 180° Rule - A cinematography guideline that states that two characters in a scene should maintain the same left/right relationship to one another.



Wide Closeup - Head to chest shot.



Wide shot - Establishes setting and context for the subject.




Form - e.g. Drama, Light Entertainment, Above or Below the Line Advertising, Newspaper



Genre - e.g. Sci-fi, Soap Opera, Documentary, Game Show, Broadsheet



Medium - e.g. Print, Television, Radio, Film, Internet

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Other Categories - e.g. Nationality, Target Audience, Director, Star, Public Sector.

Purpose - e.g. to: Inform, Entertain, Persuade, Educate, Gain Profit



Style - e.g. Realist, Expressionist, Un/Conventional, Traditional, Modern



Tone - e.g. Serious, Comic, Ironic, In/Formal, Objective, Personal, Scientific




Antagonist - The character/s or situation that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend. The antagonist is an obstacle that the protagonist must overcome.

Anti-Hero - A major character, usually the protagonist, who lacks conventional nobility of mind, and who struggles for values not deemed universally admirable.

Archetypal - A character who's appearance and behaviour appears as a stereotype

Foil - Any character (usually the antagonist or an important supporting character) whose personal qualities contrast with another character (usually the protagonist). By providing this contrast, we get to know more about the other character.

Protagonist - The central person in a story, often referred to as the story's main character. They are faced with a conflict that must be resolved. May not always be admirable (e.g. an anti-hero); nevertheless they must command involvement/empathy on the part of the audience.


Hegemony - Leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others.

Objectification - Seeing or treating a person as an object

Stereotypes - Labels attached to someone based upon a social factor

Voyeurism - One who receives sexual gratification from seeing sexual images.