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Terms for subject Cinematography (689 entries)
1st AC first assistant camera Ershik
1st assistant camera first assistant camera
First to Throw Up FTU
flashback A scene that breaks the chronological continuity of the main narrative by depicting events which happened in the past. Contrast with flashforward.
Flashforward A scene that breaks the chronological continuity of the main narrative by depicting events which happen in the future. Contrast with flashback.
foam technician A person responsible for creating foam latex prosthetic appliances from a sculpture created by a makeup artist.
focus The sharpness of an image, or the adjustments made on a camera necessary to achieve this. See also focus puller.
focus group A group of approximately ten to twelve members of the public unrelated to a movie's production who attend a sneak preview. A single focus group is usually composed of a selection of people within the boundaries of a movie's intended audience. The group is extensively questioned by the filmmakers following the screening, and their opinions are incorporated into any further editing that may occur before the premiere.
focus puller A member of the camera crew who adjusts the focus of the camera during filming. See also assistant cameraman.
foley The art of recreating incidental sound effects (such as footsteps) in synchronization with the visual component of a movie. Named after early practitioner Jack Foley, foley artists sometimes use bizarre objects and methods to achieve sound effects, e.g. snapping celery to mimic bones being broken. The sounds are often exaggerated for extra effect - fight sequences are almost always accompanied by loud foley added thuds and slaps.
foley artist A person who creates foley sound effects; named after early practitioner Jack Foley.
foley editor Edits the sounds created by a foley artist.
foley mixer A sound mixer who works with a foley artist to record sound effects.
forced perspective A technique used to create a sense of great distance or to make a space seem much bigger than it is, forced perspective is created by using objects that are vary in size, and placing them specific distances from one another, to create the effect of objects fading into the distance.
f.g. foreground Common­_Ground
frame An individual picture image which eventually appears on a print.
frame rate Movies are created by taking a rapid sequence of pictures (frames) of action. By displaying these frames at the same rate at which they were recorded, the illusion of motion can be created. "Frame Rate" is the number of frames captured or projected per second. The human optical system is only capable of capturing about 20 images per second; hence to give a realistic illusion of motion a frame rate greater than this is required. Most modern motion pictures are filmed and displayed at 24 fps. Earlier films used lower frame rates, and hence when played back on modern equipment, fast motion occurs due to undercranking. See also: slow motion, fast motion, undercranking, overcranking, judder, motion artifact.
freeze frame An optical printing effect whereby a single frame is repeated to give the illusion that all action has stopped. Often used by Martin Scorsese. Contrast with stop motion.
fullscreen Fullscreen is a term used to describe the shape of the picture a movie is displayed in order for it to fill a regular (as of 1998) TV screen. At the time of writing, most TVs are squarer than the newer widescreen TVs on the market. With these older sets, for every 4 inches/cm of horizontal screen size there are 3 inches/cm of vertical size, hence a 4:3 aspect ratio. Widescreen TVs have 5 and 1/3 inches/cm horizontal size for each 3 of vertical. Rather than write that as 5.333:3, we use 16:9. So fullscreen=4:3, widescreen=16:9. When a movie is played in fullscreen format for a 4:3 TV, the movie is almost always adjusted to fit. You may be familiar with the phrase "this movie has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your TV." What that almost always means is that much of the original picture has been thrown away, i.e. the pan and scan procedure has been used to pick the most appropriate pieces of the picture to keep because the old TV screen is the wrong shape to show the whole picture. In terms of home cinema, fullscreen is inferior to widescreen and is often considered to be an unacceptable format. The 4:3 shape TV is expected to become obsolete over the next decade as TV moves to digital and HDTV formats, which are widescreen based. DVDs often offer both fullscreen and widescreen formats, however many are already only available in widescreen and anamorphic format, so as to cater for the growing audience of home cinema enthusiasts who have already abandoned fullscreen.
G A certificate issued by the MPAA indicating that a film is suitable for all ages. See also PG.