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2-shot
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An image frame containing two principal characters.
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A
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acousmêtre
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This is a term of Michel Chion's meaning "acoustical being". A character who appears in a film only or mostly as a disembodied voice but is diegetic (different from a non-diegetic narrator doing a voice-over).
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audio dissolve
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When diegetic accompaniment becomes non-diegetic or is "sweetened" by non-diegetic elements. Rick Altman's term.
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C
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counterpoint
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Counterpoint is a musical term that is used in film contexts in two different ways. Eisenstein (as explained by Royal S. Brown) uses counterpoint to mean the conveying of a similar idea, expression, or sentiment through the two different senses of sight and sound. What is significant for him is that the two are not synchronized, but yet still work together to express something. Buhler and Neumeyer use the term counterpoint to mean when the visual and the audio are at odds with each other, either because of poor film-making technique or deliberately to create emotional distance. In the Buhler and Neumeyer definition, counterpoint can also be called anempathetic.
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D
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dialogue
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Speech delivered by or between characters. One of three components of the soundtrack (dialogue, music, sound effects).
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diegesis
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Story or narrative world of film.
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diegetic / non-diegetic
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Diegetic sound can be heard by the characters. Non-diegetic sound cannot be heard by the characters.
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dissolve
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A transitional device in which one shot fades out as another fades in.
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E
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establishing shot
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A general view of the physical space to begin a scene.
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establishing sound
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Sound used to establish a physical space at the beginning of a scene (Rick Altman's term).
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F
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Foley
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Named after Jack Foley, Foley refers to the production of everyday sounds added to film in post-production to enhance the audio track (creaking leather, clicking heels in an empty hallway etc.)
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H
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hard cut
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Transition from one shot to another accomplished by an abrupt shift in both image and sound.
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harmony
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The combination of musical tones simultaneously to produce a chord or a series of chords.
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I
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informational prologue
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Voice-over narration at beginning of film to provide background for the narrative of the film.
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M
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medievalism
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An investigation of the influence or appearance of the medieval in a later period, and of attitudes towards and meanings of the medieval in all areas of culture.
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melody
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A melody is a tune or a musical line made up of a series of pitches (or notes or tones). It's the part of music you might find yourself singing, or humming, or whistling.
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montage sequence
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A type of editing. Involves a series of shots, in which any individual shot is only understood in relation to the others. Often used to show the compression of time. Often uses music as a sound bridge to link the images into a single unit.
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music
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One of the three components of a sound track (dialogue, music, sound effects).
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musical convention
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A musical stereotype such as a rising, leaping, driving melody played on the trombone being associated with heroism.
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O
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onscreen/offscreen
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Onscreen is the part of the world of the film that is within the camera's frame, while offscreen is what we know is there in the film's world but that is not within the camera's frame.
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P
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point-of-view shot
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A point-of-view shot is when the audience sees through the character's eyes.
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R
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rhythm
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An arrangement of musical sounds according to duration and stress.
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S
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Scene
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A number of shots (or very occasionally a single very long shot) brought together for narrative purposes, unifying time and space.
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Sequence
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A series of scenes related as a narrative unit. Sometimes used to refer to any series of shots that are related.
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shot
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A single take (or single strip of film); could be seconds or minutes.
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sound advance
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A sound is heard before its associated image appears; this technique can be used in a cut or dissolve.
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sound bridge
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Sound (music, dialogue or sounds effects) create a smooth transition between two shots (and/or scenes).
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sound effects
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All sound that isn't music or dialogue/speech. See also Foley.
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sound lag
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A transition in which the sound from one scene continues through to the beginning of the next scene (less common than a sound advance).
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sound link
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A sound bridge between otherwise unrelated cuts.
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sound match
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A transition in which the sound belonging to one scene is followed by a similar or identical sound belonging to the next scene.
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soundtrack
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All audio in a film, although people often use the term to refer to the music soundtrack.
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stinger
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A sudden and sharp sharp accent, such as a cymbal crash, but can also be applied to speech (a scream or cry) or to sound effects (door slamming).
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synchronization
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Synchronization refers to a close relationship between the audio and visual elements in a film or in a scene. Close synchronization is also referred to as empathetic.
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T
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timbre
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The character or quality of a musical sound or voice. Terms people use to describe timbre include grainy, tinny, pure, gritty, reedy, bright, warm, thin, harsh, gentle, wooden, ringing etc.
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tonality
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In western music, a system revolving around a single pitch or chord, which functions as a centre of gravity.
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U
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underscore
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Non-diegetic music. Sometimes called the accompaniment or scoring.
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V
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voice-over
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When an unseen person, a narrator, speaks directly to the viewer.
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W
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wipe
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A type of transition in which a boundary line (or shape) replaces one shot with another (often from side to side, or from top to bottom, or bottom to top).
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