Scriptwriting
This scriptwriting tool is used to separate scenes, orient the reader. It is always CAPITALIZED. (Two answers acceptable)
Slugline or scene heading
A CLOSEUP of an OBJECT.
INSERT
The arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play or film.
All things in the frame. Visual storytelling.
mise en scène
The crew position responsible for capturing and mixing all audio on set during filming, including dialogue, sound effects.
Sound mixer
He is known as the first Black film Director. He wrote and directed The Homesteader, in 1919 (in response to Birth of a Nation) and produced over 40 films.
Oscar Micheaux
The content of an idea or feeling that is not highlighted explicitly by the characters but is implicit or becomes understood by the viewer as the story unfolds.
Subtext
A tilt or oblique angle, creates psychological unease in viewers by tilting the camera on its x-axis.
Dutch angle
An artistic movement that seeks to express the unconscious mind and challenge conventional reality.
Surrealism
The "silence" or ambient noise recorded at a filming or recording location when no dialogue is spoken. It captures the unique acoustic signature of a space—including HVAC hums, distant traffic, or subtle surface reflections
Room tone
This director is famous for his groundbreaking debut Boyz n the Hood, becoming the youngest person and first African American nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director.
John Singleton
A UNIT OF THE STORY. A SHIFT IN THE CHARACTER’S EMOTION. A CHANGE IN A CHARACTER’S OBJECTIVE OR SHIFT IN OVERAL TONE. PROPELS THE STORY FORWARD.
Beat
An artistic composition technique used by dividing your frame into a tick tack toe board and positioning your key subjects along these lines or, ideally, at the points where the lines intersect.
Rule of thirds
An artistic approach aiming to represent everyday life, ordinary people, and social realities, rather than sensationalized or fantastical narratives.
Realism
Sound that exists within the world of the film (dialogue, action).
Diegetic Sound
The first Black woman to have her film nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Ava Duvernay (Selma, 2014)
This concept occurs when the actual outcome of a situation is the opposite of what was expected or intended, creating a surprising twist, absurdity, or contrast. (FBI agent gets advice from a serial killer to catch another serial killer)
situational irony
A photography technique where only a small, narrow portion of the image is in sharp focus, while the foreground and background are blurred.
Shallow depth of field
The French word for “author.” Most often refers to a director with a distinct or signature style.
Auteur
Light sources that are visible within the frame of a film or video scene, such as lamps, candles, or natural light from a window, used to add realism and depth to the environment.
Practicals
Julie Dash
A short instruction placed in parentheses between a character's name and their dialogue to describe how a line is delivered, indicate a subtle action, or express emotion. (Most often adverbs)
Parenthetical
This kind of lens creates a NATURAL FIELD OF VIEW SIMILAR TO THE HUMAN EYE, IDEAL FOR EVERYDAY PHOTOGRAPHY AND PORTRAITS. NEUTRAL. (Focal length or type of lens)
STANDARD (MID-RANGE FOCAL LENGTH, E.G., 40MM-60MM).
A critical theory concept coined by bell hooks in 1992 that describes a resistant, questioning way of watching media. It empowers marginalized viewers—particularly Black women—to challenge and reject racist or sexist stereotypes in film, rather than accepting dominant, often oppressive, narratives.
Oppositional gaze
This lighting is a style uses bright, even illumination to minimize shadows and reduce contrast, creating an upbeat, clean look. Common in comedies, sitcoms, and beauty commercials.
High-key
Before directing, he worked as a counselor at a juvenile detention center, a job that deeply influenced his storytelling.
Ryan Coogler