Joseph's Glossary of Film Terms


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
INDEX


F

fade
a sound or visual effect in which the sound or the screen image gradually changes from silence to sound or from black to image (fade in) or the reverse (fade out).
fast motion (sometimes referred to as accelerated motion)
an action scene filmed at a rate less than the standard projection rate of 24 fps and then projected  at the standard rate, thereby creating the effect of faster than normal motion.
fast stock, fast film
film which has a high sensitivity to light and, therefore, is used to film scenes which are poorly lit.
film noir
French phrase meaning "black film"; refers to a genre of film whose subject matter bleak, usually an urban theme of corruption (e.g., Orson Wells' Touch of Evil(1958), Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) and  L.A. Confidential (1998))
filters
devices used to change the natural quality of sound, light or colour in filming a scene
final cut also release print
the edited film which is released to the movie theatres
fine cut
a completed edited workprint.
first cut also known as rough cut
see rough cut.
first-person point of view
viewing the scene from the point of view of one of the characters in the film
flashback
a shot or sequence of shots showing action which took place prior to the present time of the film
flash-forward
a shot or sequence of shots showing action which takes place a future time the the present time of the film
focus
the adjusting of the clarity or sharpness of an image by adjusting the lens or light source
footage
a sequence of shots taken by the camera and transferred to the rolling film
formalist, formalism
a critical approach to film making which stresses form over content premised on the assumption that meaning has to do with how the content is presented rather than the content in-and-of itself (e.g., Louis Bunuel's Un Chien andalou (1928) and David Linch's Blue Velvet(1986))
frame
a single individual picture captured by the camera on the film
framing
composing a shot
frames per second or fps
speed at which the frames past before the recording camera lens or projector lens. 
freeze frame
creating the illusion of  freezing a single frame of a film by repeating the same image over several frames in the film strip
f-stop
indicates the shutter opening in a camera's lens which gauges the amount of light entering the camera and striking the film
full shot (F.S.)
full length shot of a person or persons, a shot which includes the entire person or persons

Top