Screenwriting
& Story
& Story
A unit of the story, pause and or change in a character’s objective or shift in overall tone. Closely linked to character’s objective. Propels the story forward.
Beat
The chief lighting technician of a film crew
Gaffer
A close-up of an object.
Insert
The crew position responsible for capturing and mixing all audio on set during filming, including dialogue, sound effects.
Sound mixer
A shot at the head of a scene that clearly shows us the location of the action.
Establishing
The essential background information of your story—character backstory, setting details, and plot context—needed for the audience to understand the story.
Exposition
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
Name the composition tool: divide your frame into a tick tack toe board- position your key subjects along these lines or, at the points where the lines intersect.
Rule of Thirds
A long, highly directional microphone designed to capture audio from a specific target in front of it while rejecting unwanted ambient noise from the sides and rear. (Most often used for dialogue)
Shotgun mic
This type of shot is taken from the vantage point of a character in the film, and can also be known as the first person camera.
POV shot
The specific, tangible moment within the narrative where the protagonist is forced to act, disrupting their normal life and starting the main conflict, serving as a point of no return.
Inciting incident
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.
Practical lights
The opening of a camera lens that controls the amount of light allowed to pass through and actually contact the film.
Custom sound effects created in a studio to match the actions on screen, such as footsteps, rustling clothing, or door creaks.
Foley
A sequential series of sketches or stills that show what will happen in the film, providing both a rough synopsis and an outline of what shots and angles the camera lens will be filming.
Storyboard
A literary device used in screenwriting when the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what was expected or intended, creating a surprising twist.
EG: The world’s greatest cybersecurity expert’s computer gets hacked.
Situational Irony
An Italian art term ("light-dark") referring to the dramatic contrast between light and shadow to create volume, modeling, and deep emotion in art.
Chiaroscuro
A photography and cinematography technique where only a small, specific portion of an image is in sharp focus, while the foreground and background are blurred.
Shallow depth of field.
(Extra points if you name a lens that would achieve this effect).
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
A schedule given to crew members over the course of the film’s production. It lets every department member know when they are to arrive on set.
Call sheet
The French word for “author.” Most often refers to a director with a distinct or signature style.
Auteur
A classic portrait photography and cinematography technique characterized by a small, inverted triangle of light on the shadowed cheek, opposite the key light.
Rembrandt lighting
The distance between the internal center of the lens and the camera sensor. (eg- a 17mm lens, what does 17mm measure)
The focal length
Any sounds, such as underscored music on the soundtrack, that is not part of the world of the film’s narrative. In other words, the characters in the story do not hear it, and only the audience can.
Non-Diegetic sound
This fundamental filmmaking guideline maintains consistent spatial relationships and screen direction by keeping the camera on one side of an imaginary line drawn between two subjects. Adhering to this "line of action" ensures characters remain on the same side of the screen, preventing audience disorientation.
The 180-degree rule