COM11–ARaisinintheSun McLean2016

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Screenplay Vocabulary

Ascreenplayisascriptforafilmsupplementedwithalistof“shots,”whichareessentiallyblueprintsforwheretoplacethecameraandwhattopointitat.Knowingthisvisualvocabularycanhelpyoubetterenvisiontheactionofascreenplay.

TypeofShot Definition

LongShot

(AKAWideShot)

Inalongshotthesubjectoftheshotisvisiblefromadistance,withtheprimaryfocusbeingontheenvironment.Thistypeofshotestablishesthelocationandcontextforthesceneandisknownasan“establishingshot”.

FullShot

Afull-shotisatypeoflongshotthatincludesasubject'sentirebody(headtofeet).Inafullshotthecameraappearstobemuchclosertothesubject(s)oftheshot,resultinginanarrowingoffocus.Thisisaidedbythefactthatmuchofthesurroundingenvironmentiscutoutoftheframe.Fullshots,byvirtueofthename,allowtheentiresubjecttobeseen,head-to-toe.

MediumShot(MED.)

Amediumshotisaconventionalcamerashotfilmedfromamediumdistance;althoughitisdifficulttopreciselydefine,itusuallyreferstoahumanfigurefromthewaist(orknees)up.

COM11–ARaisinintheSun McLean2016

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CloseShot

Acloseshotisashottakenfromaclosedistanceinwhichtheobjectfillstheentireframetofocusattentionandemphasizeitsimportance;i.e.,aperson'sheadfromtheshouldersorneckupisacommonly-filmedclose-up.

ExtremeCloseShot

Anextremecloseshotisaverytightshotofapartofacharacterorobject(e.g.,face,head,hands)toemphasizedetail.

TravellingShot(AKADolly

Shot)

Atravellingshotisatermusedtodesignateashotwherethecameraisbeingmovedbymeansofwheels

TwoShot

Atwoshotisamediumorclose-upshotoftwopeople(oftenindialoguewitheachother),framedfromthechestup;oftenusedtoprovideacontrastbetweenthetwocharacters

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ExteriorShot(EXT.)

Anexteriorshotdesignatesthatthisscenetakesplaceoutdoors.

InteriorShot(INT.)

Aninteriorshotdesignatesthatthisscenetakesplaceindoors.

PanningShot(AKAPanorama

Shot)

Apanningshotreferstothehorizontalscan,movement,rotationorturningofthecamerainonedirection(totherightorleft)aroundafixedaxiswhilefilming

PointofViewShot(P.O.V)

Apointofviewshotshowsthescenefromthespecificpointofviewofoneofthecharacters.

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Editing Terms Theselasttermsrefertotheeditingofafilm.Filmeditingistheart,technique,andpracticeofassemblingshotsintoacoherentsequence.Havingtheseeditingcuesinascreenplayhelpstoshowthereadertherelationshipbetweenthedifferentscenesasagreaterfilm.

TypeofEdit Definition

Cut

Acutisanabruptorsuddenchangeorjumpincameraangle,location,placement,ortime,fromoneshottoanother;consistsofatransitionfromonescenetoanother.Aquickshotisatypeofcutthatrecordsacharacter'sorgroup'sresponsetoanothercharacterorsomeon-screenactionorevent;oftenaccompaniedwithaPOVshotorreactionshot.

Dissolve(AKAFadein/Fadeout)

Adissolveisatransitionaleditingtechniquebetweentwosequences,shotsorscenes,inwhichthevisibleimageofoneshotorsceneisgraduallyreplaced,superimposedorblended(byanoverlappingfadeoutorfadeinanddissolve)withtheimagefromanothershotorscene;oftenusedtosuggestthepassageoftimeandtotransformonescenetothenext.