Position of the camera in relation to the subject.

LOW ANGLE - makes the subject loom larger than it actually is. Shot suggests power or dominance.

HIGH ANGLE - Submission. Makes the subject look smaller.

What the camera sees. Outside the scene.

What the character sees. POV

TIGHT - Feeling of oppression. The subject appears confined within the horizontal and vertical borders of the frame so that there is not even a hint of off-screen space.

ASYMMETRICAL - Whatever is to be emphasized should occupy a position of prominence but not in the center of the frame. If the image were dead center, a sense of depth would be lost because the subject would seem to be stamped on the frame. Loss of depth.

VERTICAL - Imply action.

HORIZONTAL - Denote solidarity.

DIAGONALS - denote tension.

GEOMETRIC - compositions can be symbolic as well as visually interesting. In Jungian psychology, the circle is a symbol of wholeness, suggesting unity and commonality. Three characters situated in a triangle can say something about their relationship.

FOCUS - Depth of field. How much or how little is seen within the frame. In and out - hallucinating.

MASKING - Wipes. Character looking through binoculars. Doorway, frame within a frame. Doorways/arches - have a dramatic effect.

LONG TAKE - lasting more than a minute. Average shot lasts between :03-:20. Camera must be constantly moving to achieve any effect.

MOVING SHOT - Pans and tilts are not technically moving. Cranes, trucks/trucking, dolling. The moving camera can draw viewers physically into the action and can even lure them into a character's consciousness.

ZOOMS AND FREEZES - Not technically moving. Camera doesn't move. Useful: to single out someone in a Edgard, to pinpoint the subject of your shot, to capture a facial expression without the person's being aware of the camera's presence. Bad: zooming flattens the image and creates an unreal sense of depth.

Freeze - deceptive motion. All movement suddenly halts. Both can call attention to details more dramatically than other devices. Most misused devises by inexperienced production people.

LINEAR - One action links up with another creating a miniature dram with a beginning, middle and end.

ASSOCIATIVE - Scenes are linked together by an object or a series of objects. Bottle in 3 scenes/bottle dominates action.

MONTAGE - the shots are arranged to follow each other in rapid succession

CUT - five kinds. Straight, contrasts, parallel (cross), jump, and form.

Straight - one image instantaneously replaces another.

Contrast - the images replacing each other are dissimilar in nature. Chained feet of a slave to the galloping horses (free vs slaved).

Parallel or cross cut - Two actions occurring simultaneously.

Jump - a break in continuity that leaves a gap in the action.

Form - a cut between two objects that are similarly shaped.

CUT - no bridge between shots.

FADE - the light increases and the screen goes light/or dark.

DISSOLVE - end of a narrative sequence.

WIPE - more fluid than a wipe or dissolve. good for presenting a series of events in quick succession. Used in news.

When using abrupt cuts it works better if the adjoining scenes are made on the action. Make the scene appear to fit together.

BEACH SCENE - A person runs into the surf; someone throws a beach ball; CU of a girl turning her head; a man in a striped long-johns jogs down the beach; a child comes down a slide; a couple on a blanket are kissing (passive in an active sequence); a person walks out of the surf.

Person runs into the surf taped from the side so the action cross the screen from right to left; the beach ball is thrown from right to left, the child comes down the slide from right to left; PASSIVE (top of build of action) Non directional shot of the couple on the blanket kissing; the girl turns her head from left to right; then a man jogs down the beach, left to right; finally, the person comes out of the surf, left to right.

We ascend and then descend.