Screen Language / Syntax /
Grammar
Articulation
Frame Ð single, still image. The frame of TV (4:3 640x480)
in-frame, out-of-frame
Shot Ð Uninterrupted segment of footage that can depict
an action or object over a continuous period of time. A shot has no internal
cuts or edits. (The 2002 film Russian Ark, shot in
the Hermitage, a former palace in St. Petersburg thatÕs now a museum. The
entire 90-minute film was done as a single, continuous steadicam shot that
followed the main character as he walked from one room to the next.)
Autonomous
Shot (single shot)
Single-Shot
Sequence (complete unto itself)
Inserts
(differentiated from shot context)
á
Non-diegetic
insert
A single
shot which presents objects exterior to the story world
á
Displaced
diegetic insert
Diegetic
images temporally and/or spatially out of context
á
Subjective
insert
Memories,
fears, dreams, etc. of character
á
Explanatory
insert
Single shots which clarify diegetic events
Transitions Ð ways of moving from one scene to the
next (cuts, dissolves, fades, wipes, graphic transitions)
Continuous
Discontinuous
Measurable
time ellipsisÉ
Indefinite
time ellipsis
Measurable
time reversal
Indefinite
time reversal
Continuous
Discontinuous
Proximal
Radically discontinuous
Scene Ð general term to describe a section of
media or a series of shots. Usually organized around a temporal or spatial
category (time or location).
Sequence Ð general term to describe a sequence of
scenes or shots that make up a grammatical unit in a program.
Episode Ð a complete unit of production such as
an ad, a TV show, etc.
Program Ð a complete series of production such as an advertisement
campaign, a film trilogy, a TV series, a set of documentaries , etc. The term
is attached to single episodes if there is only one.
Genre Ð particular narrative form or convention.
Culturally defined conventions such as reality,
documentary, testimonial, interview, news, abstract, thriller, mystery,
romance, detective, gangster, promotional, produce specific expectations with
audiences.
Culture Ð the milieu in which a production
exists, which includes the political, economic, and social conditions
surrounding a production.