call sheet
A listing of which actors will be required for which scenes, and when they will be required. Call sheets are created by assistant directors and others.
cameo
A bit part played by a famous actor who would ordinarily not take such a small part. Originally meaning "a small piece of artwork", the term was borrowed by director Michael Anderson when attempting to attract famous actors to play bit parts in Around the World in 80 Days (1956).
Twelve Angry Men (1957)
The Haunting (1963)
Halloween (1978)
The camera's point of view when it is set up for shooting; the relative depth, height, or width at which an object or an action is photographed. The angle from which the camera views the subject determines not only what will be included in any particular shot but to a large extent how the audience will view it—from near or far, from above or below, subjectively or objectively, etc.
The choice of camera angle thus affects not only the progression of the plot but also the aesthetic quality of a scene and the psychological attitude of the viewer. Over the years, directors and cameramen have established a set of conventions regarding the technical, aesthetic, and psychological properties of the various camera angles.
The eye-level angle is considered the most lifelike but least dramatic. It is supposed to provide the normal viewpoint and is usually shot from a height of four to six feet, with no distortion of vertical lines. The eye level of the performer, not the cameraman, determines camera height, and is especially crucial in close-up shots. Because of normal viewpoint, the eye-level shot is considered useful in establishing situations and providing audiences with a frame of reference. (Also point-of-view shot, eyeline match.)
In a high-angle shot the camera looks down on the subject. Technically, it may allow a director to cover much ground and action in deep focus. Such a shot will also tend to slow the action and to reduce the height of an object or a person by foreshortening. This last feature may produce psychological side effects, such as giving an audience a sense of superiority over screen characters or implying the subordination of any of the characters to surrounding persons or environment. In Murnau's THE LAST LAUGH, for example, actor Emil Jannings is often shot from a high angle after his downfall, while earlier scenes depicting him as a proud doorman are shot mostly from a low-angle position. In a low-angle shot the camera looks up at a subject. The effect is often highly dramatic, producing a powerful distortion of perspective and composition. It tends to speed up action and to attribute stature and strength to characters.
The low-angle setup was dominant in Orson Welles's CITIZEN KANE to suggest the titanic dimension of the tycoon protagonist. To permit the frequent use of the low-angle, Welles had to build his sets complete with ceilings, and the omnipresence of ceilings in the background is one of the many unusual features of CITIZEN KANE. By merely shifting camera angles, a director can suggest not only the ups and downs in a character's fortune but also the attitude an audience should adopt toward any personality or action in the film.
The variety of camera angles is almost infinite. There are no strict rules regarding the exact position of the camera relative to the subject photographed. The eye-level, high, and low angles are just broad categories, as are the side view angle (which tends to give an object added dimension), the so-called "Dutch" angle/canted framing (which presents an object in a highly effective diagonal tilt), and the many other camera positions that have been discovered and utilized over decades of filmmaking.
The panning, tilting, tracking, or zooming of a motion picture camera. There are certain conventions that are universally observed in camera movement. As a rule, a cameraman will run the camera in a static position for a brief moment before beginning the movement, and again after the movement is completed and the camera comes to rest. This not only makes for a smooth look on the screen but also provides the editor with a choice between a static or a moving situation when he cuts from one shot to another.
Another widely observed rule is that movement begins and ends on specific points of interest that have been preselected, with the entire movement rehearsed before shooting. The direction of camera movement is as important as the direction of subject movement within the frame. Thus, a pan from left to right would normally not be followed with a pan from right to left, and so on, just as the movement of a performer from left to right would not be followed by the same subject's movement in the opposite direction.
camera, hand-held
A portable, lightweight motion picture camera that is held in the hands of the cameraman and steadied against his body without the use of a tripod. Hand-held cameras, originally designed for newsreel photography, have been widely used by documentary and avant-garde filmmakers. Since the early '60s there has been an increase in the use of hand-held cameras in the production of feature films, both as a matter of convenience and for achieving a greater sense of realism for certain scenes.
camp
A form of comedic parody where the clichéd conventions of a dramatic form like adventure are deliberately exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness. Often unfairly used to describe superhero films and shows as "Batman" (1966) is a prime example of this form of comedy.
certificates
Various countries or regions have film classification boards for reviewing movies and rating their content in terms of its suitability for particular audiences. For many countries, movies are required to be advertised as having a particular "certificate" or "rating", forewarning audiences of possible "objectionable content". The nature of this "objectionable content" is determined mainly by contemporary national, social, religious, and political standards. The usual criteria which determine a film's certificate are violence and sexuality, with "mature" (adult) situations and especially blasphemy and political issues often being considered more important outside the Western world. In some cases, a film classification board exhibits censorship by demanding changes be made to a movie in order to receive a certain rating. As many movies are targetted at a particular age group, studios must balance the content of their films against the demands of the classification board. Negotiations are common; studios agree to make certain changes to films in order to receive the required rating.
chiaroscuro
Pronounced "kyahro-skooro," this is the technique for arranging scenes using light and dark values in a pictorial setting. Literally, it is also the combination of the two Italian words for "clear" and "dark."
The person in
charge of lighting a set and photographing a film. Also known as "director
of photography," "first cameraman," or "lighting cameraman," s/he is responsible
for transforming the screenwriter's and director's concepts into real visual
images.
In the early days of cinema, camera work was handled by one person who not
only operated the camera, but often also developed the film and printed it
in the laboratory. But as the art of film progressed and grew in complexity,
the duties of the cameraman became more specific and his contributions to
the quality of a film more vital. Many of the technical innovations credited
to director D.W. Griffith originated with his cameraman, Billy Bitzer, or
came about as a result of the close creative partnership between the two men.
The modern director of photography does not physically operate the camera.
This is done by a "camera operator." Others in the crew under the charge of
the director of photography are the first assistant cameraman, also known
as the "focus-puller," and the second assistant cameraman, also known as the
"clapper boy" or the "loader." This leaves the director of photography free
to deal with his main responsibility—creating the appropriate mood, atmosphere,
and visual style of each and every shot and sustaining these qualities throughout
the entire film.
The director of photography's involvement in a film begins some time before
the actual start of production. He is usually consulted by the producer and
director about a variety of technical details, including the choice of film
stock and laboratory. He normally scouts the proposed locations to ascertain
their suitability and to determine the type and number of cameras and lighting
equipment that may be needed for shooting. The art director and set decorator
consult him on the placement of lighting units and camera riggings in every
set.
Once shooting begins, the director of photography is second in importance
on the set only to the director. Working closely together, the director and
the director of photography determine the camera angles, setup, and movement
for every shot, The latter then selects the proper lens and filter that will
best achieve the former's concept of the shot, determines the exposure, and
sets up the lights to achieve the particular effect desired. The camera operator
takes over from there. Later, the director of photography joins the director
in viewing the dailies, or rushes, to evaluate his earlier work and make necessary
adjustments for future shooting. At the conclusion of production, the director
of photography supervises the grading of the first print in the lab to assure
that the desired degree of brightness and the right color tone are achieved
for the images the public will eventually see on the screen.
Cinema Verité
Literally: Cinema Truth. A documentary style in which no directorial control is exerted. The term is frequently misused to describe new-wave "handheld" camera techniques.
clapper board
A hand-held chalkboard that illustrates necessary shot information for a film, photographed before each take (film title, director, take number, etc.). A wooden stick, or clapstick, is attached to the top of the board so that when the stick is snapped shut, there is both a sound and image that can later be used to synchronize the resulting sound and film tracks. Today an electronic clapper board may be used.
cliffhanger
A moment of high drama, frequently used at the end of serial. Named for the (now clichéd) practice of leaving a hero or heroine hanging onto the edge of a cliff.
Also: CU
A shot in which the subject is larger than the frame, revealing much detail.
comedy
When an audience unexpectedly laughed during a performance of The Rose Tattoo, Tennessee Williams supposedly remarked, "If they laugh, I wrote a comedy." Any film categorized as comedy may require the seal of audience approval: do they laugh? It follows, according to one maxim in the movie industry, that comedies must never be screened for jaded critics without a "real" audience. Yet any audience geared to laugh may find some filmmakers hilarious and others not very amusing. Witness the French enthusiasm for Jerry Lewis or the outraged reactions to the films of John Waters or Spike Lee.
What's Funny?
Defining film comedy is a tricky business. Do the ironic attitudes found in the work of Robert Altman, Alan Rudolph, and Jim Jarmusch qualify their films as comedies, if only for those who "get" the jokes? Likewise, the delectable behavioral studies of Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Paul Mazursky, or Denys Arcand may be categorized as either drama or comedy. The absurdist visions of Stanley Kubrick, Terry Gilliam, and David Lynch do not produce comedies, no matter how hard we laugh at their films. If approached as a symbiotic relationship between film and its viewers, the humorless enterprise of examining film comedy is so complicated that one is tempted, rather, to slip on the banana peel of the historical approach.
continuity
The uninterrupted progression of related shots, scenes, and sequences necessary to maintain a logical development of theme or story in a film. Since motion pictures are frequently shot out of sequence, care must be taken to avoid breaks in the flow of action and dialogue as well as discrepancies in the minutest details. The appearance of performers, props, costumes, and backgrounds must match exactly from one shot to the next so that the illusion of sequential filming is maintained.
counterpoint
In film theory, the combining of image and sound in a way that the visual image and the sound track accompanying it denote different meanings, though they both may represent the same object. The term is borrowed from music terminology. Opposite of parallelism.
credits
1. A list of the names of the principals involved in the production of a motion picture with their functions — e.g., the stars, the featured players, the director, the producer, the screenwriter, the cinematographer and other technical personnel, and the crew. The list appears as titles, usually at the beginning or end of a film, or both. Since the early '50s there has been a tendency to substitute straight credit listings with more imaginative methods involving superimposition over action scenes, bold designs, animation, and special effects.
2. A list of titles of films in which an actor, a director, or some other individual has been involved.
cross cutting
The technique of intercutting two independent sequences to and fro in the course of editing so that a relationship is established between the parallel actions. Cross cutting is the key to tension building in chase scenes, with emphasis shifting back and forth from pursuer to pursued.
cult movies
Read about everything you've always wanted to know about cult movies but were afraid to ask!
A change in either camera angle or placement, location, or time. "Cut" is called during filming to indicate that the current take is over. A "cut" of a movie is also a complete edited version.
cyberpunk
A subgenre of science fiction that typically has elements which include a futuristic tone, massive urban areas in decay and poverty, partial environmental collapse, extremely powerful business corporations, random street gang violence with the overall presence of extremely powerful computer, robotic and information technology. Blade Runner (1982) is considered the definitive cyberpunk movie.
