Filming+Skills

=Filming Vocabulary=
 * Accent Light**: A light unit that emphasizes one subject. Action Cutting: The cutting of film from one shot to another in a way yielding the impression that action is continuous and uninterrupted. (Film Editing)


 * Aerial Shot:** An extremely high angle view of a subject usually taken from a crane or a high stationary camera position, but may also refer to a shot taken from an actual airplane or helicopter. (Production).


 * Angle of View**: This is the size of the field covered by a lens, measured in degrees. However, because of the aperture masks in film, the angle of view for a given lens is generally described in terms of the height and width of a lens. (Cinematography).


 * Atmosphere**: Extras who are staged and photographed to portray normal human traffic needed to add detail in various script situations. (Production)


 * Background:** This is a term with a broad range of meanings, depending upon the context. In production, it has the same connotation as 'atmosphere', meaning extras who are staged to supply detail in the form of normal human traffic in a scene. In sound, it can mean the same as 'ambience' or it may refer to relative volume.


 * Backlight:** A light which is generally mounted behind a subject to light the subject's hair and shoulders without illuminating a subject's front. (Lighting)


 * Blocking:** Plotting actor, camera and microphone placement and movement in a production or scene. (Production) Camera Angle: The view point chosen from which to photograph a subject. (Cinematography)


 * Cueing:** A term with a broad range of meanings depending on the particular context. For Voice-Over Narration or Dialogue Replacement: The marking of the cue point in a way which will permit a signal to be given to the 'talent' to begin each element of work at the appropriate time. In General: Any system used by a second person to signal 'talent' that recording should begin.


 * Cueing:** Any system used by a second person to signal 'talent' that recording should begin.


 * Dissolve:** A transition between two scenes where the first merges imperceptibly into the second. (Film/Video)


 * Dubbing:** An actor's voice synchronization with lip movements which are not the originally recorded sound. This is used to replace unusable dialogue or recordings, and also used to prepare foreign films for new markets. (Post Production)


 * Echo:** A sound wave that has been reflected and returned with sufficient magnitude and delay to be perceived as a wave distinct from that which was initially transmitted.


 * Equalization:** The alteration of sound frequencies for a specific purpose, such as to remove 'noise' frequencies or to improve speech clarity. (Post Production)


 * Establishing Shot:** Usually a long shot at the beginning of a scene which is intended to inform the audience about a changed locale or time for the scene which follows. (Production)


 * Intercutting:** An editing method whereby related shots are inserted into a series of other shots for the purpose of contrast or for some other effect. (Film Editing)


 * Library Shot:** Stock footage shot or other footage which is germane to a given visual presentation but which was not generated for that specific film or television presentation. (Film Editing)


 * Lip-Sync:** The relationship of sound ad picture that exists when the movements of speech are perceived to coincide with the sounds of speech.


 * Looping:** A continuous sound track that runs repeatedly in playback as a guide for re recording. (Post Production) Matching Action: The process of aligning or overlapping the shots of a film sequence in order to achieve a smooth transition from the action in one shot to the action of the succeeding shot. (Film Editing)


 * Montage:** The assembly of shots and the portrayal of action or ideas through the use of many short shots. (Film Editing)


 * Noir:** Usually refers to the classic black and white film noir style used in detective mysteries, typically employing hard lighting and dark, low key lighting. (Camera/Lighting)


 * Out-Take:** A take of a scene which is not used for printing or for the final assembly of a film. Pan: A horizontal movement of a camera on a fixed axis.


 * Pick-up Shot**: Reshooting a portion of a scene, the rest of which was acceptably filmed in a previous take.


 * Post-Production:** The period in a project's development that takes place after the picture is delivered, or "after the production." This term might also be applied to video/film editing or refer to audio post-production.


 * Principal Photography:** The main photography of a film and the time period during which it takes place. (Production)


 * Reaction Shot:** A shot of a player listening while another player's voice continues on the sound track. (Production)


 * Re-recording:** The process of mixing all edited music, effects and dialog tracks of a film or video production to mono, stereo, multichannel or whatever audio format is desired for the final print master.


 * Rough cut:** A preliminary trial stage in the process of editing a film. Shots are laid out in approximate relationship to an end product without detailed attention to the individual cutting points. (Film Editing)


 * Second Unit:** A photographic team that shoots scenes which do not involve the principal cast, such as stunts, car chases, or establishing shots.


 * Set Dressing:** Items of decoration which are not designated in the script or by the director as part of specific action. (Production)


 * Single:** A shot with only one subject in the frame. (Production)


 * Sound Effect:** A recorded or electronically produced sound that matches the visual action taking place onscreen.


 * Split Screen:** An optical or special effects shot in which two separate images are combined on each frame.


 * Voice-over:** Narration or non-synchronous dialog taking place over the action onscreen


 * Zoom:** An optical effect in which the image rapidly grows larger or smaller as though the camera is moving closer or away from its subject.

//Taken from// www.filmland.com/glossary/Dictionary.html

=Filming Tips= STABILITY IS KEY!! There are a lot of reasons to keep a camera stable--or static, as the movie industry calls it. Aside from the prevention of audience nausea, a static camera shot forces viewers to focus their attention on something specific. If you must hand-hold a static shot, remember some basic rules of comfort. The first is to stand in a position you can tolerate for at least 10 minutes. One method I've found useful is to cradle-hold the camera like a baby or football, and flip open the viewfinder, thus removing your eye from the eyepiece and dramatically reducing camera shake.
 * Camera Angles:**

If you happen to have a built-in LCD monitor on your camcorder--even better. If your viewfinder can't flip open, stand with your legs planted firmly apart. To keep the fatigue factor low, don't lock your knees. But why use your body when you can use a parked car or newspaper stand? You'd be amazed at the variety of camera supports that surround you. Stop reading and look around the place you're in. See any potential places on or against which to rest a camera? Trees, benches, trash cans, walls, fences--all are great supports. Stationary moves, includes zoom, tilt, pan, and boom (which is also called pedestal).


 * Zoom** - Zooming in appears to bring the subject closer to the viewer. Zooming out does the opposite. For example, imagine a camera lens zoomed in on the face of a man snoring loudly while opera music plays in the background. Then zoom out to reveal a tuxedo and a gown-clad audience staring at him with contempt. As this example shows, it's often better to zoom out to reveal context than to zoom in.


 * Tilt** - As it's name implies, tilts the camera to make it look up or down. This move often appears in establishing shots--shots that say, "Our story begins here." It's equally effective for interior and exterior shots, such as the tilt down from a large skyscraper to the entrance or the tilt up from a sleeping face to the moon through a window.


 * Pan** - moves the camera right to left, or vice versa. The pan can give you a nice revealing shot. It's perfect for revealing the entire scope (or panorama) of a scene (like the Grand Canyon) that's otherwise too wide to capture with a wide-angle lens.  The last stationary-position camera move is the boom or pedestal. It raises or lowers the height of the camera. Boom or pedestal shots are wonderful for revealing information. For example, imagine a shot that begins with a shot of a broken Ming vase on the floor next to a ratty sneaker. Boom up slowly past dirty jeans and a jelly-smudged T-shirt to reveal a small boy's face--in shock. Not a word spoken, but plenty of information to tell you something about the boy and the kind of situation he's gotten himself into. Shots with movement


 * Tracking Shot or Truck move** - the camera travels some distance sideways (left or right) with respect to the subject. You often see this in a scene where someone walks down the street and the camera follows from across the street, catching him in profile. Truck moves are great to capture busy scenery such as crowds and traffic jams.


 * Dolly Shot** - moves the camera toward or away from an object. You often see it used in front of two people walking down a street talking.


 * The Arc** - The camera moves in an arc around the subject while maintaining distance and focal length. To execute a truck shot with a hand-held camera, you will have to practice walking sideways at a slow, even pace. It helps to keep your legs slightly bent to prevent the natural up and down bobbing humans tend to do when they walk.

The same applies to the hand-held dolly shot--only this time, you're moving forward or backward. As for a hand-held arc, try it a few times; you might just decide that it will work better as a pan. The key thing to remember when executing hand-held traveling shots is to begin and end slowly. This keeps the camera from jarring, which will make a sudden movement of two inches seem like two feet on the TV screen. With any camera move, stationary or traveling, practice can only come after you've planned the shot. Use a wheeled chair as a stabilizing device?

Taken from @http://www.angelfire.com/movies/nobudgetsfx/cameraanglesbasic.html