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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.
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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.