Key Vocabulary for TV Drama

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition

• Shots: Establishing shot, Master shot, Close-up; a certain feature or the subject that takes up the hole frame. Mid-shot; showing some of the subject in detail, but giving an impression of the whole subject Long shot; shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to it's surrounding. Wide shot; the subject takes up the full frame, or as much as possible. Two-shot; shot of two characters engaged in conversation, establishing a relationship. Aerial shot; taken from an overhead position. Point of view shot; showing something from the subject's perspective. Over the shoulder shot; looking from behind a person looking at the subject.  and variations of these.

• Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle.

•  Movement: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom.

• Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing

Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.

• Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.

• Other transitions: dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.

Sound

• Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; added to the clip during post-production. sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.

• Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

Mise-en-Scène

• Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.

• Lighting; colour design.

Areas of representation

• Gender

• Age

• Ethnicity

• Sexuality

• Class and status

• Physical ability/disability

• Regional identity