Embedded Files
Painting
Painting
Acrylic paint: A fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints are water-soluble, but become water-resistant when dry.
Double-loaded brush: Two or more colors on a brush to create blended color in one stroke.
Fluid medium: A substance added to paint for variety of uses such as extending the volume of thin paint, reducing viscosity of heavier paints, etc.
Gel medium: A substance added to paint for variety of uses and techniques such as added body to thinner paint, added transparency, slow drying times, etc.
Gesso: A plaster-like material spread upon a surface to prepare it for painting.
Glaze : Transparent painting over a light under-painting.
Gloss: A shiny surface.
Heavy body: Refers to the viscosity or thickness of the paint. Heavy body paints works best for impasto and will hold a brush or knife stroke.
High flow acrylics: Paint with ink- like consistency that lends itself to a wide range of techniques such as staining, calligraphy and mixed media.
Impasto: Thick, opaque paint applied with a brush, knife or fingers, creating various textural features on the surface of the painting.
Matte: A dull surface.
Mixed-media: Refers to an artwork of which more than one medium has been used. For example, a work on canvas that combines paint, ink, and collage could be called "mixed media".
Palette knife: A shaped, metal spatula used for painting instead of a brush.
Palette: A rectangular or oval- shaped flat surface used for mixing colors. Also refers to the selection of colors used by an artist.
Pigment: Refers to color or hue. Prime: To make ready. The
preparatory coating.
Saturation: The greatest possible intensity of the color.
Scumbling: Dragging paint in a broken manner over a previously painted dry surface.
Sgraffito: Involves scratching through a layer of still-wet paint to reveal what’s underneath.
Soft body: Refers to the viscosity or thickness of the paint. Soft body paints work best for watercolor techniques, or when smooth coverage is desired.
Stretcher: The wooden frame on which canvas or paper is stretched.
Study: A comprehensive drawing or painting. Also refers to a detail that can be incorporated into a finished painting.
Tacky: Sticky, partly dried.
Tempera paint: A fast-drying paint consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder.
Transfers (acrylic transfer or gel medium transfer): A method where a photocopied image is transferred to another surface thought the aid of gel medium.
Underpainting: A monochromatic sketch put down on the canvas first, as an infrastructure, which will be completely covered up by the painting.
Viscosity: The thickness of a liquid.
Wash: The application of color in a thin, fluid manner. Also refers to diluted pigment.
Photography
Photography
Aperture - The opening in a lens through which light passes to expose the film
Exposure - The quantity of light allowed to act on a photographic material; the lens aperture controls intensity or amount of light, and the shutter speed (or the enlarger timer in printing) controls the time.
Shutter - Blades that controls the time during which light reaches the film
Temperature - is a numerical measure of hot or cold
Agitate - Keep a chemical moving
Developer - A Chemical bath which converts exposed silver halides to black metallic silver, so making the latent image on exposed films or photographic papers visible.
Fix - Chemical process which converts unused light-sensitive silver-halide crystals to a soluble silver complex in both negatives and prints, making the image stable and permanent.
Developing tank – Hold the film and spirals for developing
Spiral – Holds the film for developing
Latent - Exposed but still invisible image, not yet developed
Analyse – to examine in detail
Contact frame – holds the negatives to make a contact sheet
Enlarger – machine to produce and enlargement of a negative
Photographic paper - Is coated with a light-sensitive chemical formula, used for making photographic prints.
Focus finder – Used in the darkroom to find the grain on the image
Timer – used to calculate the exposure of photographic paper
Printing (masking) frame – holds the paper flat during exposure under the enlarger
Chemicals – Developer and fix
Composition - Arrangement of visual elements
Focal point - The most important, interesting part of something
Contrast – The difference between extremes of lighting /the difference between the color or shading of the printed material and the background on which it is printed
Reciprocal relationship - In photography a reciprocal value is used to explain the F/stop to Shutter Speed relationship.
Depth of field – Distance between nearest and furthest parts of a subject which can be imaged in acceptable sharp focus at one setting of the lens.
Shutter speed - the length of time a camera's shutter is open when taking a photograph.
Emulsion – The coating on film or paper. A mix of light-sensitive silver halides
Enlargement - A print larger than the negative used to produce it (blow up).
Test strip -Method of calculating exposure in photographic printing. A range of exposures are given to a strip of paper, from part of the image, this helps judge the correct exposure for the final print.
Under exposed - A condition in which too little light reaches the film or sensor, producing a thin negative, a dark positive image or a muddy-looking print.
Over exposed - A situation in which too much light reaches the film or sensor and produces a dense negative or a very light positive image.
Film Production
Film Production
ACCELERATED MONTAGE A sequence edited into progressively shorter shots to create a mood of tension and excitement.
ACTUAL SOUND Sound whose source is an object or person in the scene.
AERIAL SHOT A shot taken from a crane, plane, or helicopter. Not necessarily a moving shot.
AMBIENT LIGHT The natural light surrounding the subject, usually under- stood to be soft.
ANGLE OF VIEW The angle subtended by the lens. WIDE-ANGLE lenses have broad angles of view, TELEPHOTO lenses have very narrow angles of view. Not to be confused with CAMERA ANGLE.
ARC LIGHT Used both on the set and in projectors to provide high energy illumination. An electric current arcs across the gap between two pieces of carbon creating a very white, strong light with a COLOUR TEMPERATURE close to 6000K.
ART DIRECTOR The designer, in charge of sets and costumes. Sometimes a major contributor to a film, play, or media presentation.
ART FILM In the mid-fifties, a distinction grew up between the art film — often of foreign origin — with distinct aesthetic pretensions, and the com- mercial film of the Hollywood tradition. Art films were shown in ‘art houses’, usually small theatres catering to a discriminating clientele; commercial movies were shown in larger theatres. Although the range of film activity is at least as great today, the dichotomy between art and commercial film has largely died out.
ASPECT RATIO The ratio of the width to the height of the film or television image. The formerly standard ACADEMY APERTURE is 1.33:1.
WIDESCREEN ratios vary. In Europe 1.66:1 is most common, in the U.S., 1.85:1. AN- AMORPHIC processes such as CINEMASCOPE and PANAVISION are even wider. 2.00:1 to 2.55:1.
AVAILABLE-LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY No artificial light is used; the cine- matographer uses only natural light or PRACTICAL LIGHTING such as the sure and normal household lamps.
BACKLIGHTING The main source of light is behind the subject, silhouet- ting it, and directed toward the camera.
BIOPIC Film based on a real person’s life, but often relying heavily on spec- ulation and fantasy.
BIRD’S-EYE SHOT Same as OVERHEAD SHOT.
BLOCKBUSTER Jargon term for a film that either is highly successful com- mercially or has cost so much to make that it must be extraordinarily popu- lar in order to return a profit.
BLUE SCREEN A process of combining separate images using a TRAVEL- LING MATTE.
BOOM A travelling arm for suspending a microphone above the actors and outside the frame. See also CRANE.
BRIDGING SHOT A shot used to cover a jump in time or place or other dis- continual changes.
CAMEO (SHOT) Brief appearance or very small role in a film by a celebrity (e.g. Hitchcock in his own films, Robert De Niro in Brazil).
CAMERA ANGLE The angle at which the camera is pointed at the subject: low, high, or TILT. Examples of camera angle are: standard shot (camera at shoulder height of average human adult straight on to the subject), low an- gle (camera lower than standard, looking upwards), high angle (the oppo- site), extreme low, extreme high, etc. Another way of discussing camera angles is as POINT-OF-VIEW shots. Not to be confused with ANGLE OF VIEW.
CAMERA MOVEMENT Any motion of the camera during a shot, for exam- ple: [1] PANNING, TILTING, hand-held camera movement; [2] movement of the camera fixed on a moving vehicle such as a DOLLY, CRANE or car (as
Music and the Moving Image (IPM): Cinematographical Terms 3 in TRACKING or DRIVE-BY shots); [3] lens movement such as ZOOM SHOTS
or RACK FOCUS.
CHANGE-OVER CUE Small dot or other mark in the top right-hand corner of the frame, often in series, that signals the projectionist to switch from one projector to another.
CHIAROSCURO (kyaro-skooro). The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation, or the arrangement of light and dark elements. The Italian words for ‘clear’/ ‘light’ and ‘dark’.
CHIROMA KEY An electronic television technique similar to BLUE SCREEN TRAVELLING MATI’E, which allows the melding of separate images.
CINEMASCOPE Twentieth Century-Fox’s trade name for its ANAMORPHIC process; by extension, used to refer to anamorphic processes in general.
CINEMATOGRAPHY Motion picture photography.
CLAPPER BOARD A chalkboard, photographed at the beginning of a shot, upon which are written the pertinent data for the shot. A clapstick on top of the board is snapped shut and the resultant sound and image are used later to synchronise picture and sound.
CLOSEUP (CU) [1] Precisely, a shot of the subject’s face only. [2] General- ly, any close shot.
CONTINUITY The illusion of a real or logical sequence of events across cuts or other edits between different shots. The script supervisor is in charge of the continuity of a film production, making sure that details in one shot will match details in another, even though the shots may be filmed weeks or months apart. The script supervisor also keeps detailed records of TAKES.
CONTINUITY EDITING Technique whereby shots are arranged in se- quence to create the illusion of a credible chronological NARRATIVE. Often contrasted with MONTAGE editing.
CONTRAST Used to refer to both the quality of the lighting of a scene and a characteristic of the FILMSTOCK. High-contrast lighting shows a stark dif- ference between blacks and whites; low-contrast (or soft-contrast) lighting mainly emphasises the mid range of greys.
CRANE A mechanical arm-like trolley used to move a camera through space above the ground or to position it at a place in the air. A CRANE SHOT al- lows the camera to vary distance, angle and height during the shot (a.k.a. BOOM shot).
CREDITS The list of technical personnel, cast, and crew of a film or pro-
4 Music and the Moving Image (IPM): Cinematographical Terms gram.
CROSS-CUTTING Intermingling the shots of two or more scenes to sug- gest PARALLEL ACTION.
CUT [1] The most common method of connecting images — the physical act of splicing the end of one shot to the beginning of the next. A cut appears as an instantaneous transference from one shot to another. [2] In a com- pleted film, a cut is the particular type of editing which, unlike, for example, a FADE or WIPE, involves a direct change from one image to another. [3] A cut is also a particular version of a film that is different to the commercially released version, e.g. the Director’s Cut of Blade Runner (1983). [4] To cut means to eliminate footage or scenes from the final film. [5] ‘Cut!’ is the di- rector’s signal for stopping the camera during a take.
CUTAWAY A shot inserted in a scene to show action at another location, usually brief, and most often used to cover breaks in the main TAKE, as in television and documentary interviews. Also used to provide comment on the action, for example by cutting away from scenes of explicit sex or ex- treme violence.
DEEP FOCUS A technique favoured by REALISTS, in which objects very near the camera as well as those far away are in focus at the same time.
DEPTH OF FIELD The range of distances from the camera at which the sub- ject is acceptably sharp.
DETAIL SHOT Usually more magnified than a CLOSEUP. A shot of a hand, eye, mouth, or subject of similar detail.
DISSOLVE Transition of images in which one shot seems to FADE out as the next shot fades in over the first, eventually replacing it altogether. Dissolves are often used to change setting involving a longer lapse of time than usually implied by a straight CUT. Often used to start and end FLASHBACKs.
DOCUDRAMA Semi-fictionalised versions of actual events, docudramas became popular staples of American television in the early seventies.
DOCUMENTARY A term with a wide latitude of meaning, basically used to refer to any film or program not wholly fictional in nature. The term was first popularised by John Grierson.
DOLLY A platform on wheels for moving the camera and camera operator around smoothly. Mounted on rails, the dolly is used for TRACKING SHOTs. Music and the Moving Image (IPM): Cinematographical Terms 5 DOLLY SHOT A shot taken from a moving DOLLY. Almost synonymous in
general usage with TRACKING SHOT.
DRIVE-BY SHOT View of person, object or place from a camera located in/ on a moving vehicle as it passes by.
DUB [1] To rerecord dialogue in a language other than the original. [2] To record dialogue in a specially equipped studio after the film has been shot.
DUTCH ANGLE CAMERA ANGLE in which vertical and horizontal are tilted in relation to the main film frame, often to evoke a sense of disequilibrium, for example a character’s lack of mental balance.
EDITOR The cutter. The person who determines the narrative structure of a film, in charge of the work of splicing the shots of a film together into final form.
ESTABLISHING SHOT Generally a LONG SHOT that shows the audience the general location of the scene that follows, often providing essential in- formation, and orienting the viewer.
EXPOSURE A measure of the amount of light striking the surface of the film. Film can be intentionally overexposed to give a very light, washed out, dreamy quality to the print image, or it can be underexposed to make the image darker, muddy, and foreboding.
EXTREME CLOSEUP See DETAIL SHOT.
EXTREME LONG SHOT A panoramic view of an exterior location photo-
graphed from a considerable distance, often as far as a quarter-mile away.
FADE, FADE-IN, FADE-OUT Punctuation devices. 1. Image The gradual disclosure or obscuring of an image as the screen becomes progressively il- luminated (fade-in) or darkened (fade-out). Fade-ins are usually preceded by a moment of darkness, fade-outs followed by darkness. Fades, including cross-fades or DISSOLVEs, are often used to indicate the passage of time or change of location within a narrative, and as transition between scenes. They can also work as POV or subjective shots. See DISSOLVE, FOCUS OUT. 2. Sound/Music A gradual audible increase (fade-in) or decrease (fade-out) of volume.
FAST MOTION Also called accelerated motion. The film is shot at less than 24 frames per second so that when it is projected at the normal speed ac- tions appear to move much faster. The camera is UNDERCRANKED. Often useful for comic effect.
FILM NOIR Style of film depicting a dark world of urban crime. Term orig- inally applied by the French to denote US detective or gangster movies such as The Big Sleep (1946) and The Asphalt Jungle (1949). Noir protaganists are almost always male, anxious, alone, alienated and misunderstood. The genre often also features an archetypal femme fatale. Many critics believe that film noir reflects a crisis in masculinity caused by loss of social power.
FILTER [1] A plat of gelatin, or plastic placed in front of the lens to alter the quality of the light. [2] An electronic device that alters the quality of sound (EQ) or image. Image filters can change contrast and colour (e.g. blue filter for dystopias), create SOFT FOCUS (diffusion filter)
FINAL CUT The film in its final state, as opposed to ROUGH CUT. FISH-EYE LENS An extremely WIDE-ANGLE LENS that has an ANGLE OF
VIEW approaching 180 degrees. It greatly distorts the image.
FLASHBACK A SCENE or SEQUENCE (sometimes an entire film) that is in- serted into a scene in ‘present’ time and that deals with the past. The flash- back is the past tense of film.
FLASHFORWARD On the model of FLASHBACK, scenes or shots of future time; the future tense of film.
FLASH FRAME A shot of only a few frames duration, sometimes a single frame, which can just barely be perceived by the audience.
FOCAL LENGTH The length of the lens, a measurement (usually in milli- metres) of tile distance from the centre of the outside surface of the lens to the film plane. Long lenses are TELEPHOTO lenses, short lenses are WIDE- ANGLE lenses.
FOCUS The sharpness of the image. A range of distances from the camera will be acceptably sharp.
FOCUS IN, OUT A punctuation device. The image gradually comes into fo- cus or goes out of focus.
FOCUS PULL To PULL FOCUS during a shot in order to follow a subject as it moves away from or toward the camera.
FOLLOW FOCUS To PULL FOCUS during a shot in order to follow a subject as it moves away from or toward the camera.
FOLLOW SHOT A TRACKING SHOT or ZOOM, which follows the subject as it moves.
FRAME [1] Any single image on the film. [2] The size and shape of the im- age on the film, or on the screen when projected. [3] The compositional unit of film design.
FREEZE FRAME A freeze shot, which is achieved by printing a single frame many times in succession to give the illusion of a still photograph when pro- jected.
GAFFER Chief electrician, responsible to the director of photography, is re- sponsible for all major electrical installations on the set, including lighting and power.
GENRE A type of film. Certain archetypal patterns, such as the Western, the Gangster, the Science Fiction film, and the Detective Story.
GLASS SHOT A type of SPECIAL EFFECT in which part of the scene is paint- ed on a clear glass plate mounted in front of the camera.
GRAIN A quality of the EMULSION of a film. Grainy emulsions, which have poor powers of DEFINITION, are sometimes preferred for their ‘realistic’ connotations. The visibility of the grain varies inversely with the size of the FILM GAUGE and directly with the amount of OVERDEVELOPMENT.
GRIP On-set worker responsible for setting up equipment or scenery, laying DOLLY tracks, moving the dolly, etc.
HAND-HELD Since the development of lightweight portable cameras, hand-held shots have become much more common.
HIGHLIGHTING Sometimes pencil-thin beams of light are used to illumi- nate certain parts of the subject (most often the actress’s eyes).
INTERCUTTING Same as PARALLEL EDITING, i.e. the cutting between dif- ferent narrative strands of a film intended to be taken as happening simul- taneously.
IRIS A transitional shot showing the gradual appearance through an ex- panding circular mask (iris-in) or the gradual disappearance of the image through a contracting mask (iris-out). Common in silent film, irises today usually evoke nostalgia for the period when they were in vogue. See FADE.
JUMP CUT A cut that occurs within a scene rather than between scenes, to condense the shot. It can effectively eliminate dead periods, such as that be- tween the time a character enters a room and the time he reaches his des- tination on the other side of the room. When used according to certain rules, jump cuts are unobtrusive. But in Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard deliberately inserted jump cuts in shots where they would be quite obvious. Obvious, ob- trusive jump cuts are still uncommon, however. Not to be confused with MATCH CUT.
KEY LIGHT The main light on a subject. Usually placed at a 45° angle to the camera-subject axis.
KEY-LIGHTING, HIGH OR LOW In high key lighting, the key light pro- vides all or most of the light in the scene. In low key lighting, the key light provides much less of the total illumination.
LENS An optical lens bends light rays. in order to focus them; a magnetic lens bends electron beams so that they can be controlled for the purposes of SCANNING.
LONG SHOT (L.S.) A long shot includes at least the full figures of the sub- jects, usually more.
MACRO ZOOM LENS A lens developed by the Canon corporation that can focus from 1 mm to infinity and can zoom as well. It permits unusual effects.
MASTER SHOT A long TAKE of an entire scene, generally a relatively LONG SHOT that facilitates the assembly of component closer shots and DETAILS. The EDITOR can always fall back on the master shot: consequently it is also called a cover shot.
MATCH CUT A cut in which the two shots joined are linked by visual, aural, or metaphorical parallelism. Famous example: at the end of North by North- west, Cary Grant is pulling Eva Marie-Saint up the cliff of Mt. Rushmore; match cut to Grant pulling her up to a pullman bunk. Do not confuse with JUMP CUT.
MELODRAMA Originally, simply a drama with music; more precisely, the type of nineteenth-century drama that centred on the simplistic conflict be- tween heroes and villains. More recently, the word has come to signify any low-keyed drama, such as those dominating television.
MONTAGE [1] Simply, EDITING. [2] Eisenstein’s idea that adjacent shots should relate to each other in such a way that A and B combine to produce another meaning C, which is not actually recorded on the film. [3] ‘Dynamic Cutting’: a highly stylised form of editing, often with the purpose of provid- ing a lot of information in a short period of time.
NARRATION Spoken description or analysis of action. NARRATIVE Story; the linear, chronological structure of a story.
NEGATIVE A film that produces an inverse record of the light and dark ar- eas of the photographed scene.
OVERHEAD SHOT, a.k.a. BIRD’S-EYE SHOT Shot taken directly above the action, a camera position often used to imply fate or entrapment
PAN Movement of the camera from left to right or right to left around the imaginary vertical axis that runs through the camera. A panning shot is sometimes confused with a TRACKING SHOT, which is quite different. e.
POINT OF VIEW SHOT A shot which shows the scene from the point of view of a character. Often abbreviated ‘pov’ or ‘POV’.
POST-PRODUCTION The increasingly complex stage in the production of a film which takes place after shooting has been completed and involving ed- iting, the addition of titles, the creation of special effetcs and the final sound- track, including DUBBING and mixing.
POV See POINT OF VIEW SHOT.
PRE-PRODUCTION Phase of film production following the securing of fi- nancial backing but preceding shooting. It includes work on the script, cast- ing, hiring crews, finding locations, constructing sets, drawing up schedules, arranging catering, etc.
REACTION SHOT A shot that cuts away from the main scene or speaker in order to show a character’s reaction to it.
REVERSE MOTION or REVERSE ACTION Movement in reverse, opposite to the way it was shot. Often used for comic effect and in stunts (which can be better controlled by staging in reverse for playback in apparently forward motion).
ROUGH CUT The first assembly of a film, prepared by the editor from the selected TAKES, which are joined in the order planned in the script. Finer points of timing and montage are left to a later stage.
SCENARIO [1] An outline for a SCREENPLAY. [2] A complete screenplay.
SCENE A complete unit of film narration. A series of SHOTS (or a single shot) that take place in a single location and that deal with a single action. A relatively vague term.
SCREENPLAY The script of a film or television show, usually but not nec- essarily including rough descriptions of camera movements as well as dia- logue. Formerly ‘photoplay.’
SHOT A single piece of film, however long or short, without cuts, exposed continuously. A film may be composed of more than a thousand shots or it may seem to be a single shot.
SHOT-REVERSE SHOT Standard way of shooting two-way conversations in which shots from one participant’s POV, or over his/her shoulder, are in- tercut with those from the other’s.
SOFT FOCUS Filters, vaseline, or specially constructed lenses soften the de- lineation of lines and points, usually to create a romantic effect.
SOUND EFFECTS All those created sounds that are not dialogue or music. SOUND STAGE A specially constructed building in which SETS can be built for studio filming.
SPECIAL EFFECTS A broad term for a wide range of devices and processes, including some kinds of work performed by stunt men, model shots, opti- cals, in-camera effects, matte shots, rear projection, solarization, negative image and much more.
STORY BOARD A series of drawings and captions (sometimes resembling a comic strip) that shows the planned shot divisions and camera movements of the film-its DECOUPAGE.
SUBJECTIVE CAMERA A style that allows the viewer to observe events from the point of view of either a character or the PERSONA of the author.
SWISH PAN Also called flick pan, zip pan, whip pan. A PAN in which the in- tervening scene moves past too quickly to be observed. It approximates psychologically the action of the human eye as it moves from one subject to another .
SWEEP-IN Frame-by-frame revelation from blackout of complete image. SWEEP-OUT Opposite of SWEEP-IN
TELEPHOTO LENS A lens with a long FOCAL LENGTH that acts like a tele- scope to magnify distant objects. It has a very narrow ANGLE OF VIEW and flattens depth of perception.
TILT SHOT the camera tilts up or down, rotating around the axis that runs from left to right through the camera head.
TRACKING SHOT Generally, any shot in which the camera moves from one point to another either sideways, in, or out. The camera can be mounted on a set of wheels that move on TRACKS or on a rubber-tired DOLLY, or it can be HAND-HELD. Also called TRAVELLING SHOT.
TWO-SHOT A shot of two people. Likewise, three-shot.
WIDE-ANGLE LENS A lens with a very broad ANGLE OF VIEW, it increases
the illusion of depth and also exaggerates linear distortion.
WIDESCREEN Any one of a number of ASPECT RATIOS of 1.66:1 or great- er. Almost all theatrical films today are widescreen. Widescreen processes are not necessarily ANAMORPHIC; some processes simply mask the top and bottom of the aperture during shooting or projection in order to increase the aspect ratio. Techniscope utilises a two-hole PULL-DOWN MECHANISM (rather than the 35mm standard four-hole ‘fupp-down’) in order not to waste filmstock while shooting. The resulting negative is then printed in a standard four-hole format for projection. The most common nonanamorphic widescreen ratios in use today are 1.66:1 (European) and 1.85:1 (Ameri- can).
WIPE Transitional device and optical effect effect in which a geometrical fig- ure (can be just a vertical line) appears to ‘wipe off’ of one image and replace it with another.
ZOOM A shot using a lens whose FOCAL LENGTH is adjusted during the shot. The focal lengths of which the lens is capable range from WIDE ANGLE to TELEPHOTO. Zooms are sometimes used in place of TRACKING SHOTS, but the differences between the two are significant.
Advanced Media Arts
Advanced Media Arts
Blending Mode
Setting a blending mode controls how the image you are working on is affected by the paint or editing tool. The base color is the color in the original image. The color that you want to apply to your image is the blend color. Once a blend mode has been selected and the edit applied, this the known as the result color.
Brush Tool
One of Photoshop’s most beloved features it the ability to treat a photo as if it were a piece of artwork. The Brush tool is the closest digital equivalent to using a paintbrush. One of its major advantages over its physical siblings is the ability to change the tip shape, diameter, and hardness almost instantaneously.
Clone Stamp Tool
The Clone Stamp tool allows you to paint one part of your photo over another. This is most commonly used for duplicating or removing objects. It is very similar to the Healing Tool except that it copies the color and texture, rather than blending them.
Curves
The Curves command is probably one of the best ways to make tonal adjustments to your images. The Curves graph is based on the Histogram, and allows you to brighten, darken, add contrast, and even adjust colors all from one panel.
Dodge and Burn Tools
The Dodge and Burn tools are based on a traditional darkroom technique that photographers would use to regulate exposure on certain parts of the image. The Dodge tool allows you to lighten an area, while the Burn tool darkens. By specifying the exposure for mid-tones, shadows, or highlights you are then able to airbrush to apply the change or drag and select an area.
Eyedropper Tool
Photoshop uses foreground color to paint and fill areas, and background color to make gradient fills. The default foreground color is black, while the default background is white. You can change these to a color of your choosing using the Eyedropper tool. Select the Eyedropper, click on a color in the image and the automatic foreground color will be changed. If you Alt + Click in Windows, or Option + Click on Mac, then you can select the new background color.
Feather
Feathering is the term that Adobe uses for creating soft edges. Using feathering you can either adjust harsh edges, blend images, or make a specific object standout.
Histogram
A histogram is a graph which represents the tonal values in your photo or image. By interpreting the graph you can determine the amount of shadows, midtones, and highlights. The histogram doesn’t tell you where these tones are in the image as all it does it count the total number of pixels for each tone. Using the histogram you can quickly assess whether your image is properly exposed and has the appropriate level of contrast.
History Panel
One of the most important features of an image editor is the ability to undo what you just did. Whether you made a mistake or just wanted to try a different approach or technique, the history panel provides a chronological list of the edits you have made. Having an opportunity to undo edits you just made makes you more likely to experiment. It also saves hours of heartache if something goes wrong. The default number of states that you can make appear in the history panel is 20, although you can easily change that in the Photoshop menu.
Layers
When you open an image in Photoshop it is assigned as a background layer. You can then stack multiple transparent layers on top of the background layer. This allows you to make changes to the image without actually editing the image itself. You could use it to composite two images together, add text, or even add effects.
Layer Masks
Layers allow you to stack multiple effects, images, and adjustments on top of the original background layer. If you wanted to change the transparency of a layer you could easily do that using the Opacity option. However, that adjusts the transparency for the entire layer. If you wanted to composite two images you can use a layer mask which effectively allows you to hide portions of a layer.
Magic Wand Tool
The Magic Wand tool is a huge time saver when you want to remove a consistently colored area like a background. The Magic Wand automatically selects an area of the same color without you having to trace the outline. You can even specify the color range — known as tolerance — relative to the color that you selected.
Patch Tool
The Patch tool is one of the easiest ways to remove areas of your image without leaving a gaping hole. Using the Patch tool you simply select the area you want to remove. Then by dragging the selection over to a part of the image you want to replace it with. Photoshop then removes the original area and using high-quality feathering, seamlessly blends the new texture in.
PSD File
While image files come in a variety of formats, there very few formats for saving a work-in-progress image edit. Adobe realized this might be a problem as you may not want to overwrite the original with an unfinished edit. To solve this particular problem they created the Photoshop Document (PSD). Just as Microsoft’s file formats became the standard for all office documents, Adobe managed the same with the PSD. Fortunately, you don’t actually have to use Photoshop to open a PSD if you do happen to get sent one.
RAW
One common theme in nearly every photography article and guidebook is that you should be shooting your pictures in RAW. Despite most photos eventually appearing as JPEGs, shooting in the format means you lose most of the photos digital information. RAW contains the uncompressed, largely unedited image data that comes directly from your camera’s sensors. By shooting in RAW you don’t limit your options when it comes to image editing.
Saturation
The saturation refers to the intensity of the color in an image. A saturated image is one that has overly bright colors, whereas an unsaturated image is one where the colors are too dark. In Photoshop you can use the Hue/Saturation adjustments to change the saturation to a percentage of the original.
Comic Illustration
Comic Illustration
Writer – The writer writes the story and has the overall vision of how the story will go. They write the dialogue and how the story will progress.
Penciler – This person takes the script and draws the comic. They draw the comic in pencil which then gets inked and coloured later on.
Inker – The inker inks over the pencils that the penciler drew. Sometimes this is digitally but often it is with actual ink.
Colourist – This person gives the comic colour. This used to be done with coloured ink but now-a-days this is done digitally to allow for a variety of different styles.
Letterer – The letterer will take the script and place all the dialogue, word balloons, thought bubbles, sound effects etc into the comic in the intended places.
Editor – The editor makes sure that everything is good to publish in a comic. They will check for spelling mistakes, art problems and will also co-ordinate with other collaborators to make sure story elements will not interfere with other comic books.
Comic Book Formats
Comic Book Formats
Single Issue – This is the serial magazine style format of a comic. Generally 20-32 pages of story but sometimes can be more, with some being up to 100 pages. These are generally numbered in chronological order eg. Issue #5.
Prestige Edition – These are comics that are generally 48-64 pages long that have a thin spine.
Digital Comics – Editions of comics that can be viewed on computer screens, tablets or mobile phones.
Digital First – This is where a comic is released in a digital format first then later in print.
Collected Edition – This is where multiple single issues are collected to create a whole story or set of stories, often collecting 5-6 single issues.
Trade Paperback (TPB) – This is the most common kind of collected edition where it is usually collecting 5-8 single issues. It is in a paperback format and can be often referred to as a “trade”. Read here to find out if reading in trade paperback is for you.
Digest – These are collected editions that are smaller in height and length. The most popular comics in this format are All Ages comics and Manga.
Hardcover (HC) – Similar to a Trade Paperback but the cover has a very thick stock just like a hardcover novel. Sometimes these collected editions can collect more single issues than Trade Paperbacks, with 12 issues common.
Omnibus – These are very large hardcover collections. These collections can can be 25+ singles issues collected. Often these collect entire series or a creative run on a comic series.
Graphic Novel – Often a fancier term for collected edition but can also be used to describe an OGN. Essentially any comic that is bounded like a book. Some people use the term graphic novel to make the comic book medium sound more serious.
Original Graphic Novel (OGN) – This is a comic book that comes out in the trade paperback/hardcover format without being in the serial single issue format beforehand.
Variant Cover – A variant cover is an alternative cover of a single issue. Most of the time it includes the art of a different artist and are often fewer of these available. More information on variant covers.
Incentive Cover – A variant cover in which the retailer has to order x amount of a cover to redeem the variant cover. For example the retailer might need to or 10, 25, 50 or maybe even 100 of the regular cover to be eligible to order the variant.
Limited Series/Mini-series – This is a comic series that has a set number of issues. Most commonly it is 6 issues but it will often vary depending on the story. The series has a beginning, middle and an end.
Maxi-series – A maxi series is a longer mini-series generally 12 issues or longer but often each publisher has a different definition. Often mini-series of 12 issues duration have been referred to as maxi-series.
Annual – An over-sized special of a comic book that are released in edition to the regular comics in that series.
Webcomic – Comics that are made for viewing on the Internet This could be in a comic strip format or as an on-going narrative.
Mini-comic – A comic that is smaller than the conventional comic book size. Generally these comics are handmade with a DIY ethos and have small print runs.
Zine – Self-published and often handmade comic or magazine. I talk more about zines here.
Floppies – A slang term for the single issue comic. Called so as it is used with floppy paper.
Panel – A panel is one of the boxes on the page of a comic book.
Splash Page – When a panel consists of the entire page.
Two Page Spread – When the comic book art spills over into two pages.
Manga – Japanese comics. These comics are read right to left, opposed to left to right like western comics. Discover more about Manga.
Anthology – These are comics that contain multiple short stories from multiple creators. One of the most successful of the format is 2000AD.
Zero Issue – Usually an issue set before issue #1 that acts as a prelude to the main series.
Creator-Owned – This means the creator owns the work that they create. This also means that the publisher doesn’t own the rights to the characters or story but just the right to publish it. The most successful creator-owned comic at the moment is The Walking Dead.
Solicitations – A block or text, generally accompanied with cover images, which details upcoming comic book releases that has been supplied by the publisher. I go into greater detail on comic book solicitations here.
Indie – Generally referring to an independent publisher who publishes comics independently from a large corporate entity.
Continuity – This is where a comic book’s narrative has a past which might also be shared within a universe of a vast array of other comic books. The majority of Marvel and DC Comics‘ comics involve continuity in one way or another. This allows characters like Batman and Superman to exist in the same universe.
Event – This is a crossover story on a generally larger scale than normal. Often these events include many more comic book characters from a shared universe coming together. Also the outcome of the storyline often effects on-going titles for months and sometimes years to come.
One-shot – A story that is contained to a single issue.
Digital Graphics
Digital Graphics
Artboard
Printable portion of the work area, where illustrations can be finalized.
Attributes
properties of an object that change its appearance without changing its underlying structure
Bezier Curve
a mathematically generated curve that has two endpoints and control points to specify curve direction
Bitmap Images
Images created using a grid of small squares called pixels. Also called raster images or pixel images.
Bounding Box
A temporary frame around a selected object that shows the object's outer dimensions. Eight hollow white squares that show an object is selected
Brush Library
a collection of brushes related to a particular theme or type of brush that you can add to the default Brushes panel
CMYK
The color model used for printed output. Cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) and black (K) inks are combined to create the desired colors.
Color Mode
Determines the color model used to display and print the Illustrator file.
Constrain
To force an object to take a certain form. Use modifier keys to constrain objects.
Context Menu
A menu that displays when you right-click the screen, displaying commands that relate to your current task.
Corner Point
An anchor point where a path changes direction in an angle rather than smoothly.
dialog box
can change size width, height page orientation and unit of measure color
direct selection tool
selects individual anchor points or single paths of an object
Direction Line
line extending from anchor point that shows the direction of a curve
Distribute
Space objects evenly, either vertically or horizontally.
Dock
A location in the application window where a panel or panels are secured so they do not float
docking panels
allows you to arrange multiple panels or panel groups verticalluy
Drop Shadow
an object, filter, or effect that creates a shadow behind an image
ellipsis tool
the tool for drawing oval or circle shapes or paths
Embed
place a file or object in a file so that it becomes part of the file
Fill
Characteristics of the inner area of an object, such as the color, pattern, style, etc., inside an object.
Font
A design of type
Font Style
Appearance changes to a font such as bold or italic
grouping
objects allows you to move many objects as 1 to group go to object
Guides
Nonprinting lines that can be used to create boundries or guidelines in a drawing. They help you work with precision
hand tool
allows you to move art board
hold spacebar
allows you to move art board
Isolation Mode
a view mode that allows you to focus on a group or sublayer by locking and dimming other objects
Layer
a single level in the stacking order that can hold any number of objects
Marquee
Rectangle drawn around an object with a tool, to select an area
menu bar
includes all of the illustrator menus
outline view
shows the skeleton of your work lines and curves
panels
windows containing features for modifying and manipulation illustrator objects arranged in groups or A group of related commands and options
Parent Layer
layer in which one or more sublayers are stored
Path
The line that forms the shape of an object
Picas
Measurement system frequently used in graphic design. There are six picas to an inch and is usually 12 points
Pixel
Term that stands for picture element, a single point on a computer monitor screen
point
is 1/72 of a inch
Point of Origin
The point on which an object rotates or transforms. The point of origin may be within the object or outside it.
Points
Measurement system frequently used in graphic design. A point is 1/72nd of an inch.
Polygon
Any object with three or more straight sides
precision
is a key to good design can get better precision using points and picas
preferences
use to set units of measure in edit menu
preview
shows complete work ctrl Y toggle key
reflect tool
to flip an object over an imaginary axis
Resolution
The number of dots or pixels per linear unit of output. For example 72 dots per inch.
resolution dependent
pixels must be small enough to create an image with the illusion of continous tone
resolution independent
Regardless of how much the image is enlarged or reduced, the image definition and quality remain the same
RGB
The color model used for illustrations to be viewed on computer monitors. Red (R), green (G), and blue (B) values are combined to create the final color.
Scaling
resizing an object horizontally, vertiaclly, or proportionally in both directions to a percentage of its original size
scratch area
area outside the artboard where you can store objects before placing them on artboard will not print
smart guides
temporary guides that can be turned on and off in view menu and help you to align objects do not print
Smooth Point
An anchor point that connects path segments in a smooth curve.
Spiral
An open shape that consists of a number of winds around a central point.
status bar
contains a list arrow menu from which you can choose a status line with info about current tools
Stroke
Characteristics of the outline of an object, such as its weight, color, style, etc.
Sublayer
a layer within a layer that can have its own name and its own settings
tab key
hides and shows panels
Template
object that is dimmed and unavailable for modification but can be used as a guide for creating objects
Thumbnail
a small illustration in a dialog box or panel displayed to help you choose an option
Tile
an object containing a pattern that can be arranged to fill an object or applied to a brush path
tiny black triangle
indicates hidden tools behind that tool
title bar
contains the name of your document, magnification level and color mode
tools panel
contains tools that let you create, selct, and manipulate objects.
transform tools scale rotate and reflect tools are the fundamental
vector graphics Drawing created from mathematical equations to create lines and curvesthat are defined by vectors. Are often used to create logos or line art.
3D Production
3D Production
3D Printing Terms Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, otherwise known as ABS, is a thermoplastic commonly used as the build material or ‘filament’ in fused deposition modeling 3D printers. It’s fairly strong, but it’s also a bit tricky to work with (and gives off nasty odors when melted)
3D Printing Terms Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing is the process of building up a three-dimensional object, one thin layer at a time. 3D printing is only one category of additive manufacturing, though the two terms are frequently considered to mean the same thing.
3D Printing Terms Computer Aided Design (CAD)
Computer aided design, or CAD, is software that enables users to create models in either two or three dimensional formats. While CAD was initially developed for use in the architecture and manufacturing industries, consumer friendly applications are now readily available for little or no cost.
3D Printing Terms Filament
Filament is the base material that’s used to 3D print objects via fused deposition modeling. Filament is usually a thermoplastic — such as ABS or PLA — that’s fed to a print head as a solid, then heated to melting point for extrusion through a small nozzle. Filament is commonly available in spools of either 1.75mm and 3 mm diameter widths.
3D Printing Terms Functional Prototype
A functional prototype is a near-final model or representation of a product, created during the design process to evaluate the form, fit and function of an object and its constituent parts. Functional prototypes don’t necessarily have to be built from the same material as the final model (though it might help). For example, a platform jack may be 3D printed in plastic to test for fit and movement, before final production in metal.
3D Printing Terms Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
Fused deposition modeling, otherwise known as FDM, is a 3D printing process that extrudes heated thermoplastic material through a computer-controlled print-head nozzle to build parts up layers. FDM is actually a term that’s been trademarked by Stratasys. This led to the RepRap open-source community to coin the term “fused filament fabrication” (FFF) for a more generalized and legal way to describe the process.
3D Printing Terms G-code
G-code is the language used to instruct your 3D printer to perform operations. In common usage this is almost exclusively generated by software, and is not written by hand. G-codes control specific actions like motion, speed, rotation, depth, and other related switches and sensors used in the operation of a machine.
3D Printing Terms Polylactic Acid (PLA)
Polylactic Acid, otherwise known as PLA, is a biodegradeable plastic that’s used as the build material or ‘filament’ in fused deposition modeling 3D printers. This material is easier to work with than ABS, and the smell is not so unpleasant, but the trade-off is that PLA is structurally more brittle.
3D Printing Terms Rapid Prototyping
Rapid prototyping is a group of technologies used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part or component using three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data. Construction of the part or component is usually done via 3D printing or additive manufacturing technology. More recently, the term ‘real-time prototyping’ has become popular, but essentially it means the same thing.
3D Printing Terms RepRap
RepRap is shorthand for “replicating rapid prototypers”, machines which are open-source 3D printers utilizing the fused filament fabrication process. One of the defining characteristics of a RepRap machine is that it should be capable of printing out its own parts (but not necessarily all of them). Various RepRap designs and build instructions are freely downloadable from reprap.org, where they proudly describe their printers as “humanity’s first general-purpose self-replicating manufacturing machines”.
3D Printing Terms Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
Selective Laser Sintering, or SLS for short, is a technology commonly employed by 3D printing services for metallic objects. SLS is a powder bed fusion 3D printing technique that uses a laser to selectively fuse — or sinter — together the granules of successive layers of powder.
3D Printing Terms Slicer
As we’ve established, additive manufacturing works by building an object layer by layer. A slicer is the software package used to divide a 3D model into flat layers, which are then printed one at a time. The output of a slicer is G-code that controls the path, speed, and temperature of the printer. Slicer software packages are available in both open-source and proprietary programmes, and they’re an essential tool for successful 3D printing.
3D Printing Terms Stereolithographic Apparatus (SLA)
Stereolithography is a 3D printing technology that works via a process called vat photopolymerization. Objects are built in layers using a Stereolithographic Apparatus, or SLA for short. This works using a laser beam to trace out and solidify each successive layer of an object on the surface (or base) of a vat of liquid photopolymer.
3D Printing Terms STL
STL is the most popular file format for 3D printing. The STL file format represents a 3D object by describing the surface as a series of triangles. Strangely enough, information about what the letters STL actually stand for has been lost to the mists of time. Backronyms posited as an answer include ‘standard tessellation language’ and ‘standard triangle language’.
How to Write Artist Reflections
How to Write Artist Statements
Painting
Painting
Acrylic paint: A fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints are water-soluble, but become water-resistant when dry.
Double-loaded brush: Two or more colors on a brush to create blended color in one stroke.
Fluid medium: A substance added to paint for variety of uses such as extending the volume of thin paint, reducing viscosity of heavier paints, etc.
Gel medium: A substance added to paint for variety of uses and techniques such as added body to thinner paint, added transparency, slow drying times, etc.
Gesso: A plaster-like material spread upon a surface to prepare it for painting.
Glaze : Transparent painting over a light under-painting.
Gloss: A shiny surface.
Heavy body: Refers to the viscosity or thickness of the paint. Heavy body paints works best for impasto and will hold a brush or knife stroke.
High flow acrylics: Paint with ink- like consistency that lends itself to a wide range of techniques such as staining, calligraphy and mixed media.
Impasto: Thick, opaque paint applied with a brush, knife or fingers, creating various textural features on the surface of the painting.
Matte: A dull surface.
Mixed-media: Refers to an artwork of which more than one medium has been used. For example, a work on canvas that combines paint, ink, and collage could be called "mixed media".
Palette knife: A shaped, metal spatula used for painting instead of a brush.
Palette: A rectangular or oval- shaped flat surface used for mixing colors. Also refers to the selection of colors used by an artist.
Pigment: Refers to color or hue. Prime: To make ready. The
preparatory coating.
Saturation: The greatest possible intensity of the color.
Scumbling: Dragging paint in a broken manner over a previously painted dry surface.
Sgraffito: Involves scratching through a layer of still-wet paint to reveal what’s underneath.
Soft body: Refers to the viscosity or thickness of the paint. Soft body paints work best for watercolor techniques, or when smooth coverage is desired.
Stretcher: The wooden frame on which canvas or paper is stretched.
Study: A comprehensive drawing or painting. Also refers to a detail that can be incorporated into a finished painting.
Tacky: Sticky, partly dried.
Tempera paint: A fast-drying paint consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder.
Transfers (acrylic transfer or gel medium transfer): A method where a photocopied image is transferred to another surface thought the aid of gel medium.
Underpainting: A monochromatic sketch put down on the canvas first, as an infrastructure, which will be completely covered up by the painting.
Viscosity: The thickness of a liquid.
Wash: The application of color in a thin, fluid manner. Also refers to diluted pigment.
Photography
Photography
Aperture - The opening in a lens through which light passes to expose the film
Exposure - The quantity of light allowed to act on a photographic material; the lens aperture controls intensity or amount of light, and the shutter speed (or the enlarger timer in printing) controls the time.
Shutter - Blades that controls the time during which light reaches the film
Temperature - is a numerical measure of hot or cold
Agitate - Keep a chemical moving
Developer - A Chemical bath which converts exposed silver halides to black metallic silver, so making the latent image on exposed films or photographic papers visible.
Fix - Chemical process which converts unused light-sensitive silver-halide crystals to a soluble silver complex in both negatives and prints, making the image stable and permanent.
Developing tank – Hold the film and spirals for developing
Spiral – Holds the film for developing
Latent - Exposed but still invisible image, not yet developed
Analyse – to examine in detail
Contact frame – holds the negatives to make a contact sheet
Enlarger – machine to produce and enlargement of a negative
Photographic paper - Is coated with a light-sensitive chemical formula, used for making photographic prints.
Focus finder – Used in the darkroom to find the grain on the image
Timer – used to calculate the exposure of photographic paper
Printing (masking) frame – holds the paper flat during exposure under the enlarger
Chemicals – Developer and fix
Composition - Arrangement of visual elements
Focal point - The most important, interesting part of something
Contrast – The difference between extremes of lighting /the difference between the color or shading of the printed material and the background on which it is printed
Reciprocal relationship - In photography a reciprocal value is used to explain the F/stop to Shutter Speed relationship.
Depth of field – Distance between nearest and furthest parts of a subject which can be imaged in acceptable sharp focus at one setting of the lens.
Shutter speed - the length of time a camera's shutter is open when taking a photograph.
Emulsion – The coating on film or paper. A mix of light-sensitive silver halides
Enlargement - A print larger than the negative used to produce it (blow up).
Test strip -Method of calculating exposure in photographic printing. A range of exposures are given to a strip of paper, from part of the image, this helps judge the correct exposure for the final print.
Under exposed - A condition in which too little light reaches the film or sensor, producing a thin negative, a dark positive image or a muddy-looking print.
Over exposed - A situation in which too much light reaches the film or sensor and produces a dense negative or a very light positive image.
Film Production
Film Production
ACCELERATED MONTAGE A sequence edited into progressively shorter shots to create a mood of tension and excitement.
ACTUAL SOUND Sound whose source is an object or person in the scene.
AERIAL SHOT A shot taken from a crane, plane, or helicopter. Not necessarily a moving shot.
AMBIENT LIGHT The natural light surrounding the subject, usually under- stood to be soft.
ANGLE OF VIEW The angle subtended by the lens. WIDE-ANGLE lenses have broad angles of view, TELEPHOTO lenses have very narrow angles of view. Not to be confused with CAMERA ANGLE.
ARC LIGHT Used both on the set and in projectors to provide high energy illumination. An electric current arcs across the gap between two pieces of carbon creating a very white, strong light with a COLOUR TEMPERATURE close to 6000K.
ART DIRECTOR The designer, in charge of sets and costumes. Sometimes a major contributor to a film, play, or media presentation.
ART FILM In the mid-fifties, a distinction grew up between the art film — often of foreign origin — with distinct aesthetic pretensions, and the com- mercial film of the Hollywood tradition. Art films were shown in ‘art houses’, usually small theatres catering to a discriminating clientele; commercial movies were shown in larger theatres. Although the range of film activity is at least as great today, the dichotomy between art and commercial film has largely died out.
ASPECT RATIO The ratio of the width to the height of the film or television image. The formerly standard ACADEMY APERTURE is 1.33:1.
WIDESCREEN ratios vary. In Europe 1.66:1 is most common, in the U.S., 1.85:1. AN- AMORPHIC processes such as CINEMASCOPE and PANAVISION are even wider. 2.00:1 to 2.55:1.
AVAILABLE-LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY No artificial light is used; the cine- matographer uses only natural light or PRACTICAL LIGHTING such as the sure and normal household lamps.
BACKLIGHTING The main source of light is behind the subject, silhouet- ting it, and directed toward the camera.
BIOPIC Film based on a real person’s life, but often relying heavily on spec- ulation and fantasy.
BIRD’S-EYE SHOT Same as OVERHEAD SHOT.
BLOCKBUSTER Jargon term for a film that either is highly successful com- mercially or has cost so much to make that it must be extraordinarily popu- lar in order to return a profit.
BLUE SCREEN A process of combining separate images using a TRAVEL- LING MATTE.
BOOM A travelling arm for suspending a microphone above the actors and outside the frame. See also CRANE.
BRIDGING SHOT A shot used to cover a jump in time or place or other dis- continual changes.
CAMEO (SHOT) Brief appearance or very small role in a film by a celebrity (e.g. Hitchcock in his own films, Robert De Niro in Brazil).
CAMERA ANGLE The angle at which the camera is pointed at the subject: low, high, or TILT. Examples of camera angle are: standard shot (camera at shoulder height of average human adult straight on to the subject), low an- gle (camera lower than standard, looking upwards), high angle (the oppo- site), extreme low, extreme high, etc. Another way of discussing camera angles is as POINT-OF-VIEW shots. Not to be confused with ANGLE OF VIEW.
CAMERA MOVEMENT Any motion of the camera during a shot, for exam- ple: [1] PANNING, TILTING, hand-held camera movement; [2] movement of the camera fixed on a moving vehicle such as a DOLLY, CRANE or car (as
Music and the Moving Image (IPM): Cinematographical Terms 3 in TRACKING or DRIVE-BY shots); [3] lens movement such as ZOOM SHOTS
or RACK FOCUS.
CHANGE-OVER CUE Small dot or other mark in the top right-hand corner of the frame, often in series, that signals the projectionist to switch from one projector to another.
CHIAROSCURO (kyaro-skooro). The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation, or the arrangement of light and dark elements. The Italian words for ‘clear’/ ‘light’ and ‘dark’.
CHIROMA KEY An electronic television technique similar to BLUE SCREEN TRAVELLING MATI’E, which allows the melding of separate images.
CINEMASCOPE Twentieth Century-Fox’s trade name for its ANAMORPHIC process; by extension, used to refer to anamorphic processes in general.
CINEMATOGRAPHY Motion picture photography.
CLAPPER BOARD A chalkboard, photographed at the beginning of a shot, upon which are written the pertinent data for the shot. A clapstick on top of the board is snapped shut and the resultant sound and image are used later to synchronise picture and sound.
CLOSEUP (CU) [1] Precisely, a shot of the subject’s face only. [2] General- ly, any close shot.
CONTINUITY The illusion of a real or logical sequence of events across cuts or other edits between different shots. The script supervisor is in charge of the continuity of a film production, making sure that details in one shot will match details in another, even though the shots may be filmed weeks or months apart. The script supervisor also keeps detailed records of TAKES.
CONTINUITY EDITING Technique whereby shots are arranged in se- quence to create the illusion of a credible chronological NARRATIVE. Often contrasted with MONTAGE editing.
CONTRAST Used to refer to both the quality of the lighting of a scene and a characteristic of the FILMSTOCK. High-contrast lighting shows a stark dif- ference between blacks and whites; low-contrast (or soft-contrast) lighting mainly emphasises the mid range of greys.
CRANE A mechanical arm-like trolley used to move a camera through space above the ground or to position it at a place in the air. A CRANE SHOT al- lows the camera to vary distance, angle and height during the shot (a.k.a. BOOM shot).
CREDITS The list of technical personnel, cast, and crew of a film or pro-
4 Music and the Moving Image (IPM): Cinematographical Terms gram.
CROSS-CUTTING Intermingling the shots of two or more scenes to sug- gest PARALLEL ACTION.
CUT [1] The most common method of connecting images — the physical act of splicing the end of one shot to the beginning of the next. A cut appears as an instantaneous transference from one shot to another. [2] In a com- pleted film, a cut is the particular type of editing which, unlike, for example, a FADE or WIPE, involves a direct change from one image to another. [3] A cut is also a particular version of a film that is different to the commercially released version, e.g. the Director’s Cut of Blade Runner (1983). [4] To cut means to eliminate footage or scenes from the final film. [5] ‘Cut!’ is the di- rector’s signal for stopping the camera during a take.
CUTAWAY A shot inserted in a scene to show action at another location, usually brief, and most often used to cover breaks in the main TAKE, as in television and documentary interviews. Also used to provide comment on the action, for example by cutting away from scenes of explicit sex or ex- treme violence.
DEEP FOCUS A technique favoured by REALISTS, in which objects very near the camera as well as those far away are in focus at the same time.
DEPTH OF FIELD The range of distances from the camera at which the sub- ject is acceptably sharp.
DETAIL SHOT Usually more magnified than a CLOSEUP. A shot of a hand, eye, mouth, or subject of similar detail.
DISSOLVE Transition of images in which one shot seems to FADE out as the next shot fades in over the first, eventually replacing it altogether. Dissolves are often used to change setting involving a longer lapse of time than usually implied by a straight CUT. Often used to start and end FLASHBACKs.
DOCUDRAMA Semi-fictionalised versions of actual events, docudramas became popular staples of American television in the early seventies.
DOCUMENTARY A term with a wide latitude of meaning, basically used to refer to any film or program not wholly fictional in nature. The term was first popularised by John Grierson.
DOLLY A platform on wheels for moving the camera and camera operator around smoothly. Mounted on rails, the dolly is used for TRACKING SHOTs. Music and the Moving Image (IPM): Cinematographical Terms 5 DOLLY SHOT A shot taken from a moving DOLLY. Almost synonymous in
general usage with TRACKING SHOT.
DRIVE-BY SHOT View of person, object or place from a camera located in/ on a moving vehicle as it passes by.
DUB [1] To rerecord dialogue in a language other than the original. [2] To record dialogue in a specially equipped studio after the film has been shot.
DUTCH ANGLE CAMERA ANGLE in which vertical and horizontal are tilted in relation to the main film frame, often to evoke a sense of disequilibrium, for example a character’s lack of mental balance.
EDITOR The cutter. The person who determines the narrative structure of a film, in charge of the work of splicing the shots of a film together into final form.
ESTABLISHING SHOT Generally a LONG SHOT that shows the audience the general location of the scene that follows, often providing essential in- formation, and orienting the viewer.
EXPOSURE A measure of the amount of light striking the surface of the film. Film can be intentionally overexposed to give a very light, washed out, dreamy quality to the print image, or it can be underexposed to make the image darker, muddy, and foreboding.
EXTREME CLOSEUP See DETAIL SHOT.
EXTREME LONG SHOT A panoramic view of an exterior location photo-
graphed from a considerable distance, often as far as a quarter-mile away.
FADE, FADE-IN, FADE-OUT Punctuation devices. 1. Image The gradual disclosure or obscuring of an image as the screen becomes progressively il- luminated (fade-in) or darkened (fade-out). Fade-ins are usually preceded by a moment of darkness, fade-outs followed by darkness. Fades, including cross-fades or DISSOLVEs, are often used to indicate the passage of time or change of location within a narrative, and as transition between scenes. They can also work as POV or subjective shots. See DISSOLVE, FOCUS OUT. 2. Sound/Music A gradual audible increase (fade-in) or decrease (fade-out) of volume.
FAST MOTION Also called accelerated motion. The film is shot at less than 24 frames per second so that when it is projected at the normal speed ac- tions appear to move much faster. The camera is UNDERCRANKED. Often useful for comic effect.
FILM NOIR Style of film depicting a dark world of urban crime. Term orig- inally applied by the French to denote US detective or gangster movies such as The Big Sleep (1946) and The Asphalt Jungle (1949). Noir protaganists are almost always male, anxious, alone, alienated and misunderstood. The genre often also features an archetypal femme fatale. Many critics believe that film noir reflects a crisis in masculinity caused by loss of social power.
FILTER [1] A plat of gelatin, or plastic placed in front of the lens to alter the quality of the light. [2] An electronic device that alters the quality of sound (EQ) or image. Image filters can change contrast and colour (e.g. blue filter for dystopias), create SOFT FOCUS (diffusion filter)
FINAL CUT The film in its final state, as opposed to ROUGH CUT. FISH-EYE LENS An extremely WIDE-ANGLE LENS that has an ANGLE OF
VIEW approaching 180 degrees. It greatly distorts the image.
FLASHBACK A SCENE or SEQUENCE (sometimes an entire film) that is in- serted into a scene in ‘present’ time and that deals with the past. The flash- back is the past tense of film.
FLASHFORWARD On the model of FLASHBACK, scenes or shots of future time; the future tense of film.
FLASH FRAME A shot of only a few frames duration, sometimes a single frame, which can just barely be perceived by the audience.
FOCAL LENGTH The length of the lens, a measurement (usually in milli- metres) of tile distance from the centre of the outside surface of the lens to the film plane. Long lenses are TELEPHOTO lenses, short lenses are WIDE- ANGLE lenses.
FOCUS The sharpness of the image. A range of distances from the camera will be acceptably sharp.
FOCUS IN, OUT A punctuation device. The image gradually comes into fo- cus or goes out of focus.
FOCUS PULL To PULL FOCUS during a shot in order to follow a subject as it moves away from or toward the camera.
FOLLOW FOCUS To PULL FOCUS during a shot in order to follow a subject as it moves away from or toward the camera.
FOLLOW SHOT A TRACKING SHOT or ZOOM, which follows the subject as it moves.
FRAME [1] Any single image on the film. [2] The size and shape of the im- age on the film, or on the screen when projected. [3] The compositional unit of film design.
FREEZE FRAME A freeze shot, which is achieved by printing a single frame many times in succession to give the illusion of a still photograph when pro- jected.
GAFFER Chief electrician, responsible to the director of photography, is re- sponsible for all major electrical installations on the set, including lighting and power.
GENRE A type of film. Certain archetypal patterns, such as the Western, the Gangster, the Science Fiction film, and the Detective Story.
GLASS SHOT A type of SPECIAL EFFECT in which part of the scene is paint- ed on a clear glass plate mounted in front of the camera.
GRAIN A quality of the EMULSION of a film. Grainy emulsions, which have poor powers of DEFINITION, are sometimes preferred for their ‘realistic’ connotations. The visibility of the grain varies inversely with the size of the FILM GAUGE and directly with the amount of OVERDEVELOPMENT.
GRIP On-set worker responsible for setting up equipment or scenery, laying DOLLY tracks, moving the dolly, etc.
HAND-HELD Since the development of lightweight portable cameras, hand-held shots have become much more common.
HIGHLIGHTING Sometimes pencil-thin beams of light are used to illumi- nate certain parts of the subject (most often the actress’s eyes).
INTERCUTTING Same as PARALLEL EDITING, i.e. the cutting between dif- ferent narrative strands of a film intended to be taken as happening simul- taneously.
IRIS A transitional shot showing the gradual appearance through an ex- panding circular mask (iris-in) or the gradual disappearance of the image through a contracting mask (iris-out). Common in silent film, irises today usually evoke nostalgia for the period when they were in vogue. See FADE.
JUMP CUT A cut that occurs within a scene rather than between scenes, to condense the shot. It can effectively eliminate dead periods, such as that be- tween the time a character enters a room and the time he reaches his des- tination on the other side of the room. When used according to certain rules, jump cuts are unobtrusive. But in Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard deliberately inserted jump cuts in shots where they would be quite obvious. Obvious, ob- trusive jump cuts are still uncommon, however. Not to be confused with MATCH CUT.
KEY LIGHT The main light on a subject. Usually placed at a 45° angle to the camera-subject axis.
KEY-LIGHTING, HIGH OR LOW In high key lighting, the key light pro- vides all or most of the light in the scene. In low key lighting, the key light provides much less of the total illumination.
LENS An optical lens bends light rays. in order to focus them; a magnetic lens bends electron beams so that they can be controlled for the purposes of SCANNING.
LONG SHOT (L.S.) A long shot includes at least the full figures of the sub- jects, usually more.
MACRO ZOOM LENS A lens developed by the Canon corporation that can focus from 1 mm to infinity and can zoom as well. It permits unusual effects.
MASTER SHOT A long TAKE of an entire scene, generally a relatively LONG SHOT that facilitates the assembly of component closer shots and DETAILS. The EDITOR can always fall back on the master shot: consequently it is also called a cover shot.
MATCH CUT A cut in which the two shots joined are linked by visual, aural, or metaphorical parallelism. Famous example: at the end of North by North- west, Cary Grant is pulling Eva Marie-Saint up the cliff of Mt. Rushmore; match cut to Grant pulling her up to a pullman bunk. Do not confuse with JUMP CUT.
MELODRAMA Originally, simply a drama with music; more precisely, the type of nineteenth-century drama that centred on the simplistic conflict be- tween heroes and villains. More recently, the word has come to signify any low-keyed drama, such as those dominating television.
MONTAGE [1] Simply, EDITING. [2] Eisenstein’s idea that adjacent shots should relate to each other in such a way that A and B combine to produce another meaning C, which is not actually recorded on the film. [3] ‘Dynamic Cutting’: a highly stylised form of editing, often with the purpose of provid- ing a lot of information in a short period of time.
NARRATION Spoken description or analysis of action. NARRATIVE Story; the linear, chronological structure of a story.
NEGATIVE A film that produces an inverse record of the light and dark ar- eas of the photographed scene.
OVERHEAD SHOT, a.k.a. BIRD’S-EYE SHOT Shot taken directly above the action, a camera position often used to imply fate or entrapment
PAN Movement of the camera from left to right or right to left around the imaginary vertical axis that runs through the camera. A panning shot is sometimes confused with a TRACKING SHOT, which is quite different. e.
POINT OF VIEW SHOT A shot which shows the scene from the point of view of a character. Often abbreviated ‘pov’ or ‘POV’.
POST-PRODUCTION The increasingly complex stage in the production of a film which takes place after shooting has been completed and involving ed- iting, the addition of titles, the creation of special effetcs and the final sound- track, including DUBBING and mixing.
POV See POINT OF VIEW SHOT.
PRE-PRODUCTION Phase of film production following the securing of fi- nancial backing but preceding shooting. It includes work on the script, cast- ing, hiring crews, finding locations, constructing sets, drawing up schedules, arranging catering, etc.
REACTION SHOT A shot that cuts away from the main scene or speaker in order to show a character’s reaction to it.
REVERSE MOTION or REVERSE ACTION Movement in reverse, opposite to the way it was shot. Often used for comic effect and in stunts (which can be better controlled by staging in reverse for playback in apparently forward motion).
ROUGH CUT The first assembly of a film, prepared by the editor from the selected TAKES, which are joined in the order planned in the script. Finer points of timing and montage are left to a later stage.
SCENARIO [1] An outline for a SCREENPLAY. [2] A complete screenplay.
SCENE A complete unit of film narration. A series of SHOTS (or a single shot) that take place in a single location and that deal with a single action. A relatively vague term.
SCREENPLAY The script of a film or television show, usually but not nec- essarily including rough descriptions of camera movements as well as dia- logue. Formerly ‘photoplay.’
SHOT A single piece of film, however long or short, without cuts, exposed continuously. A film may be composed of more than a thousand shots or it may seem to be a single shot.
SHOT-REVERSE SHOT Standard way of shooting two-way conversations in which shots from one participant’s POV, or over his/her shoulder, are in- tercut with those from the other’s.
SOFT FOCUS Filters, vaseline, or specially constructed lenses soften the de- lineation of lines and points, usually to create a romantic effect.
SOUND EFFECTS All those created sounds that are not dialogue or music. SOUND STAGE A specially constructed building in which SETS can be built for studio filming.
SPECIAL EFFECTS A broad term for a wide range of devices and processes, including some kinds of work performed by stunt men, model shots, opti- cals, in-camera effects, matte shots, rear projection, solarization, negative image and much more.
STORY BOARD A series of drawings and captions (sometimes resembling a comic strip) that shows the planned shot divisions and camera movements of the film-its DECOUPAGE.
SUBJECTIVE CAMERA A style that allows the viewer to observe events from the point of view of either a character or the PERSONA of the author.
SWISH PAN Also called flick pan, zip pan, whip pan. A PAN in which the in- tervening scene moves past too quickly to be observed. It approximates psychologically the action of the human eye as it moves from one subject to another .
SWEEP-IN Frame-by-frame revelation from blackout of complete image. SWEEP-OUT Opposite of SWEEP-IN
TELEPHOTO LENS A lens with a long FOCAL LENGTH that acts like a tele- scope to magnify distant objects. It has a very narrow ANGLE OF VIEW and flattens depth of perception.
TILT SHOT the camera tilts up or down, rotating around the axis that runs from left to right through the camera head.
TRACKING SHOT Generally, any shot in which the camera moves from one point to another either sideways, in, or out. The camera can be mounted on a set of wheels that move on TRACKS or on a rubber-tired DOLLY, or it can be HAND-HELD. Also called TRAVELLING SHOT.
TWO-SHOT A shot of two people. Likewise, three-shot.
WIDE-ANGLE LENS A lens with a very broad ANGLE OF VIEW, it increases
the illusion of depth and also exaggerates linear distortion.
WIDESCREEN Any one of a number of ASPECT RATIOS of 1.66:1 or great- er. Almost all theatrical films today are widescreen. Widescreen processes are not necessarily ANAMORPHIC; some processes simply mask the top and bottom of the aperture during shooting or projection in order to increase the aspect ratio. Techniscope utilises a two-hole PULL-DOWN MECHANISM (rather than the 35mm standard four-hole ‘fupp-down’) in order not to waste filmstock while shooting. The resulting negative is then printed in a standard four-hole format for projection. The most common nonanamorphic widescreen ratios in use today are 1.66:1 (European) and 1.85:1 (Ameri- can).
WIPE Transitional device and optical effect effect in which a geometrical fig- ure (can be just a vertical line) appears to ‘wipe off’ of one image and replace it with another.
ZOOM A shot using a lens whose FOCAL LENGTH is adjusted during the shot. The focal lengths of which the lens is capable range from WIDE ANGLE to TELEPHOTO. Zooms are sometimes used in place of TRACKING SHOTS, but the differences between the two are significant.
Advanced Media Arts
Blending Mode
Setting a blending mode controls how the image you are working on is affected by the paint or editing tool. The base color is the color in the original image. The color that you want to apply to your image is the blend color. Once a blend mode has been selected and the edit applied, this the known as the result color.
Brush Tool
One of Photoshop’s most beloved features it the ability to treat a photo as if it were a piece of artwork. The Brush tool is the closest digital equivalent to using a paintbrush. One of its major advantages over its physical siblings is the ability to change the tip shape, diameter, and hardness almost instantaneously.
Clone Stamp Tool
The Clone Stamp tool allows you to paint one part of your photo over another. This is most commonly used for duplicating or removing objects. It is very similar to the Healing Tool except that it copies the color and texture, rather than blending them.
Curves
The Curves command is probably one of the best ways to make tonal adjustments to your images. The Curves graph is based on the Histogram, and allows you to brighten, darken, add contrast, and even adjust colors all from one panel.
Dodge and Burn Tools
The Dodge and Burn tools are based on a traditional darkroom technique that photographers would use to regulate exposure on certain parts of the image. The Dodge tool allows you to lighten an area, while the Burn tool darkens. By specifying the exposure for mid-tones, shadows, or highlights you are then able to airbrush to apply the change or drag and select an area.
Eyedropper Tool
Photoshop uses foreground color to paint and fill areas, and background color to make gradient fills. The default foreground color is black, while the default background is white. You can change these to a color of your choosing using the Eyedropper tool. Select the Eyedropper, click on a color in the image and the automatic foreground color will be changed. If you Alt + Click in Windows, or Option + Click on Mac, then you can select the new background color.
Feather
Feathering is the term that Adobe uses for creating soft edges. Using feathering you can either adjust harsh edges, blend images, or make a specific object standout.
Histogram
A histogram is a graph which represents the tonal values in your photo or image. By interpreting the graph you can determine the amount of shadows, midtones, and highlights. The histogram doesn’t tell you where these tones are in the image as all it does it count the total number of pixels for each tone. Using the histogram you can quickly assess whether your image is properly exposed and has the appropriate level of contrast.
History Panel
One of the most important features of an image editor is the ability to undo what you just did. Whether you made a mistake or just wanted to try a different approach or technique, the history panel provides a chronological list of the edits you have made. Having an opportunity to undo edits you just made makes you more likely to experiment. It also saves hours of heartache if something goes wrong. The default number of states that you can make appear in the history panel is 20, although you can easily change that in the Photoshop menu.
Layers
When you open an image in Photoshop it is assigned as a background layer. You can then stack multiple transparent layers on top of the background layer. This allows you to make changes to the image without actually editing the image itself. You could use it to composite two images together, add text, or even add effects.
Layer Masks
Layers allow you to stack multiple effects, images, and adjustments on top of the original background layer. If you wanted to change the transparency of a layer you could easily do that using the Opacity option. However, that adjusts the transparency for the entire layer. If you wanted to composite two images you can use a layer mask which effectively allows you to hide portions of a layer.
Magic Wand Tool
The Magic Wand tool is a huge time saver when you want to remove a consistently colored area like a background. The Magic Wand automatically selects an area of the same color without you having to trace the outline. You can even specify the color range — known as tolerance — relative to the color that you selected.
Patch Tool
The Patch tool is one of the easiest ways to remove areas of your image without leaving a gaping hole. Using the Patch tool you simply select the area you want to remove. Then by dragging the selection over to a part of the image you want to replace it with. Photoshop then removes the original area and using high-quality feathering, seamlessly blends the new texture in.
3 Techniques for Using Eye Manipulation Effects in Photoshop 3 Techniques for Using Eye Manipulation Effects in Photoshop One of the most difficult aspects of a picture, both to capture in a photograph and to correct little blemishes, are the eyes. Below are three relatively simple ways to touch up the eyes of... Read More
15. PSD File
While image files come in a variety of formats, there very few formats for saving a work-in-progress image edit. Adobe realized this might be a problem as you may not want to overwrite the original with an unfinished edit. To solve this particular problem they created the Photoshop Document (PSD). Just as Microsoft’s file formats became the standard for all office documents, Adobe managed the same with the PSD. Fortunately, you don’t actually have to use Photoshop to open a PSD if you do happen to get sent one.
The Best Ways to Open a PSD File Without Photoshop The Best Ways to Open a PSD File Without Photoshop While PNGs, JPGs, and BMPs can be opened in nearly every image editor, PSD needs special support. If you don't want to pay for a Creative Cloud subscription plan, there are free options available. Read More
RAW
One common theme in nearly every photography article and guidebook is that you should be shooting your pictures in RAW. Despite most photos eventually appearing as JPEGs, shooting in the format means you lose most of the photos digital information. RAW contains the uncompressed, largely unedited image data that comes directly from your camera’s sensors. By shooting in RAW you don’t limit your options when it comes to image editing.
Saturation
The saturation refers to the intensity of the color in an image. A saturated image is one that has overly bright colors, whereas an unsaturated image is one where the colors are too dark. In Photoshop you can use the Hue/Saturation adjustments to change the saturation to a percentage of the original.
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