Media Terminology for analysis

Explore media terminology used to analyse exam texts.

Camerawork

• Establishing shots
• low angle, high angle, canted angle or aerial shots
• elaborate camera movement such as tracks, steadicam or crane shots
• hand-held camera
• point-of-view shots
• shallow focus and focus pulls 

Editing

• shot/reverse shot
• juxtaposition
• non-continuity editing
• crosscutting
• fast-paced editing
• less common transitions; dissolve, wipe, fade
• post-production effects.

Soundtrack

• music
• diegetic/non-diegetic sound
• sound effects
• sound bridge
• voiceover

Mise-en-scene

• lighting(especially low-key lighting)
• location/set
• costume and makeup
• props
• casting and production style
• blocking(the composition of elements within the shot)

Wheatus- Teenage Dirtbag- Narrative performance

Avril Lavigne- Sk8er Boi- Narrative performance

DEFINITIONS

• Establishing shots- An establishing shot is a long shot at the start of a scene (or sequence) that shows things from a distance.
• Low angle- a shot from a camera angle positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eye line, looking up.
• High angle- a cinematic technique where the camera looks down on the subject from a high angle and the point of focus often gets "swallowed up".
• Canted angle- a type of camera shot which involves setting the camera at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame.
• Aerial angle- a shot that's taken from an elevated vantage point than what is framed in the shot
• Steadicam- a lightweight mounting for a film camera which keeps it steady for filming when handheld or moving.
• Crane shot- a shot taken by a camera on a moving crane or jib.
• Hand Held Camera- a filmmaking and video production technique in which a camera is held in the camera operator's hands as opposed to being mounted on a tripod or other base.
• Point of view shot- A point of view shot (also known as POV shot, first-person shot or a subjective camera) is a short film scene that shows what a character (the subject) is looking at (represented through the camera).
• Shallow focus- a photographic and cinematographic technique incorporating a small depth of field.
• Focus pulls- he focus pull is a creative camera technique in which you change focus during a shot.
• Digetic- Music that the characters can hear.
• Non-digetic- Music that the characters can't hear.
• Reverse shot- a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character.
• Sound bridge- a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film.