Time-Based Media Concepts

Key Terms

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Timeline 0

Misc. Notations + Terms 0

Aki Sasamoto | Bortolami Gallery 0

Sound-Derived Terms (can be used for directing movement) 0

Movements and Styles 0

Transitions 0

Info on Writing Transitions 0

Transition Screenwriting Notations 0

Misc. Writing + Editing Vernacular 0

Shooting Vocabulary 0

Sampling Music 0

Time-Based Media

Time-based Media artworks are characterized by having a durational element, such as sound, performance, light, or movement, that unfolds to the viewer over time via slide, film, video, software, or the internet.

Many time-based media artworks are allographic by nature; rather than being composed of a unique original, they exist only when they are installed, so every iteration can be considered a different representation of the artwork.

Timeline

Ann Hamilton, the event of a thread, installation view at Armory’s drill hall (2012)

1400 - 1870 Modern Art Movements TIMELINE ▸

Avant-Garde Art - Started: 1825
1863 ▸ Salon des Refuses, Paris, Exhibition of Rejected Art
1896 ▸ Avant Garde Theatre

1870 - 1940 See TIMELINE ▸

1909 - 1944 ▸ Futurism

1913-14 ▸ Futurism expands into sculpture, architecture + music.
1913 ▸ Luigi Russolo’s The Art of Noises (Futurist manifesto)

1917 ▸ Marcel Duchamp, “Fountain”
1919 ▸ Hannah Höch, “Cut with a Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany”
1928 - 1950 ▸ Surrealist Film

1940- 1980 See TIMELINE ▸

1950s ▸ Postmodern Art
1952 - 1970 ▸ Neo-Dada
1954 - 1972 ▸ The Gutai Group
1958 - Early 1970s ▸ Happenings
Early 1960s - 1971 ▸ Viennese Actionism
1961 - 1980 ▸ Body Art
1965 - present (2020s) ▸ Video Art

Julie Sabau, Art In Movement: Women Pioneers Of Video Art “In The School Curriculum,” AWARE: Archives of Women Artists, 26.06.2020

1965 - present (2020s) ▸ Digital Art
1959 ▸ 1978 ▸ Fluxus
(Origins in 1910s) - Mid-1960s - present (2020s) ▸ Conceptual Art
(Origins in 1910s) - 1960s - present (2020s) ▸ Performance Art

1970 ▸ Bas Jan Ader, Fall Series

(Origins in 1910s) - 1960s - present (2020s) ▸ Feminist Art

1970s Feminist art dominated by the embodied female experience
1980s Feminist artists focused more on psychoanalysis and Postmodern theory, which examined the body in a more intellectually removed manner

(Origins 1920s) - 1970s - present (2020s) ▸ Sound art

1974 - 1984 ▸ The Pictures Generation
1900s - present (2020s) Social Practice Art
1999 ▸ Arthur Jafa leaves cinema for art industry

Bas Jan Ader, Fall I, Los Angeles: Ader slowly rolls down the roof of his house into some bushes (1970) Photograph: Courtesy of Simon Lee Gallery

Misc. Notations + Terms

SUPER = Superimposed Text Over Image (names, locations, etc. - but not film titles)
TITLE OVER = film title as super
OVER BLACK = when black screen with no image or visual representation of the film is behind sound, music, voice-over, or text.
BEGIN TITLES or BEGIN OPENING TITLES followed by END TITLES or OVER OPENING CREDITS followed by END OPENING CREDITS
VO vs. OC vs. OS

VO = speaker is not physically at the current scene location
OC = speaker is off camera but was or will be on it later in the scene
OS = speaker who will not be on camera at all in the scene

BROLL = Shots taken with the secondary “B” cam which usually don’t contain the main characters.

Generic BROLL = Evergreen B-roll shots that can be used anywhere.
Location BROLL = Identifiable characteristics of a town or an EXT shot of a building.

EG = Ever Green means this content is always green grass it can grow anywhere.
INTV = Interview, usually sit down after the Reality Vérité.
OTF = On The Fly interview usually shot on location off to the side of Reality Vérité.
ITM = In The Moment interview, usually during Reality Vérité where a character explains what is happening in that moment.

The character often breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the camera in scene.

MUSIC CUE: [Artist Name]’s [Song Title]

End MUSIC CUE. = when you plan on ending your song

VFX (visual effects) = digital and created in post-production (monsters, etc)

SFX = special effects are created on a set during production.

SFX (sound effects) = special sound (FOOTSTEPS, BANG, FLASH, etc.).
RCv1 = Rough Cut version 1 is the first Fine Cut shown to Producers.
FCv1 = Final Cut version 1 is the first Final Cut of many.
Panning: The person holding the camera remains stationary, but follows the subject. If you look at the person from a top-down view, he is essentially swinging the camera in an arc.
Tracking: Think of film sets where the camera is tracked, like a train moves on tracks. The camera moves along with the subject

Aki Sasamoto, Squirrel Ways, 2021. Installation view, Calder Now, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2021. Photo by Thijs Wolzak. (from bortolamigallery.com)

Sound-Derived Terms (can be used for directing movement)

Rest (in music) = moment of complete silence / the absence of a sound

= an interval of time that a player is not sounding a note on their instrument
11 types of rests (i.e. quarter, half and whole rest)

Caesura = often a sudden stop in the performance with an equally sudden resumption of sound

Shown by itself (in sheet music) indicates a short silence. This mark interrupts the normal tempo of a composition.

Rests with a fermata: If you see a rest with a fermata symbol over it, this means the exact length of the rest is up to your discretion. You can play it exactly as notated, or you can extend the rest for effect. Fermatas almost always come at the end of measures, right before a double barline.

Fermata (music)(aka “Stop”)

also known as a hold, pause (but when the composer chooses the duration / it doesn’t fall under a durational category such as a Quarter Rest)
colloquially a birdseye or cyclops eye, or as a grand pause when placed on a note or a rest) is a symbol of musical notation indicating that the note should be prolonged beyond the normal duration its note value would indicate

G.P. = Grand Pause, General Pause; indicates to the performers that the entire ensemble has a rest of indeterminate length, often as a dramatic effect during a loud section

Break (or Cut)(in music) = a short break which may include a:

Drop (or Beat Drop) in music = when the percussion/beat suddenly resumes/drops back in after the pause in a “Break”

= a point in a music track where a sudden change of rhythm or bass line.
= the reintroduction of the full bass line and drums, which is sometimes accented by a “rest” / cutting off of everything, even the percussion right before the full music is dropped back in.

Re rest / cutting off everything in a break:

Not all breaks have a silent pause / not all drops are kicked off by a rest
Vocals can be cut off too or a vocal solo can play (a capella / over silence)

How it manifests in various genres (+ example at 01:32)

The climactic point in a Drum n bass (DNB) song where everything slams in at once. It is usually preceded by an emotionally rising buildup, and usually contains the drums, the bass, and a lead synth (possibly). If you still don't understand, let me know.
DNB structure example for reference:

Intro--> Buildup--> Drop--> Breakdown--> Buildup--> Drop--> Outro
Intro--> Buildup--> Drop--> Breakdown--> Buildup--> Drop--> Outro|STOP|DROP --> MASSIVE BREAKDOWN --> buildup --> DROP - - - - - - > crazy stuff --> outro

Typically: after a very tense build-up, usually, there will be a pause with no sound for a second and then a heavy bass or drum kicks in (that’s the drop).
Usually, a drop is followed by a dynamic piece with a fun flow that can make the crowd go crazy.
The drop is usually also created in a unique pattern and recognizable features such as repetitive vocals, fast-paced hi-hat patterns, and melody as the main identity of the song.

Conversations with Noise, John Akomfrah, 2021

Breakdown = Usually follows the drop, and can be easily explained as a funky, minimal chill session. It's the "break" in between the drops.

Usually refers to the part in the middle of a track where the percussion is dropped (in this case does “dropped” mean dropped in or does it mean silenced??) and the melody usually plays while the producer builds tension

Staggered (in music) = When instruments enter one at a time, their entrances are described as "staggered”
Soliloquy = an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play.
Dub = the structure of the music is about things dropping out and coming back in

Arthur Jafa on dub structure + more on (dub structure as metaphor here)

Drone = “in music, a sustained tone, usually rather low in pitch, providing a sonorous foundation for a melody or melodies sounding at a higher pitch level. The term also describes an instrumental string or pipe sustaining such a tone—e.g., the drone strings of a hurdy-gurdy or the three drone pipes of some bagpipes. A drone may be continuous or intermittent, and an interval, usually the fifth, may replace the single-pitch drone.”

More info + example audio.

Movements and Styles

Modernist Film is related to the art and philosophy of modernism. Modernist film came to maturity in the eras between WWI and WWII with characteristics such as montage, symbolic imagery, expressionism and surrealism (featured in the works of Luis Buñuel, Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock). The auteur theory and idea of an author producing a work from his singular vision guided the concerns of modernist film.
Postmodernist Film is a classification for works that articulate the themes and ideas of postmodernism through the medium of cinema. Some of the goals of postmodernist film are to subvert the mainstream conventions of narrative structure and characterization, and to test the audience's suspension of disbelief. Typically, such films also break down the cultural divide between high and low art and often upend typical portrayals of gender, race, class, genre, and time with the goal of creating something that does not abide by traditional narrative expression. Postmodernist film – similar to postmodernism as a whole – is a reaction to the modernist works of its field, and to their tendencies (such as nostalgia and angst). (more from source)

Modernist Film vs. Postmodernist Film: "To investigate the transparency of the image is modernist but to undermine its reference to reality is to engage with the aesthetics of postmodernism." The modernist film has more faith in the author, the individual, and the accessibility of reality itself (and more sincere in tone) than the postmodernist film. (more from source)

Cinematic realism = academic term for a category of film which is part of the realism in art movement. This cinematic realism can also be called “slice of life cinema” as its style is meant to recreate all of the small and intimate sights, sounds, and feelings of everyday life — but on the big screen. (more from source).

Cinematic realism can vary depending on the era and the genre in which the film is based. Every new version has learned from the last and adapted in line with social changes. From the golden era in the 30s to more modern offshoots, each category tries to accurately mimic real life in film. (more from source)

Italian Neo-Realism: One of the earliest versions of cinematic realism is Italian neo-realism. This is also described as the golden era and was most popular in the 40s and 50s. The category features mainly stories from the working class. They are filmed almost entirely on location rather than in studios. Real locations add to the film’s believability. (more info from source)
Modern Realism started in the 70s and continues to the 2020’s. Focussing on the struggles of everyday people, affected by politics and poverty. The whole aim of this type of cinema is to mimic the nature of real life. (more from source)
Psychological Realism: This type of realism focuses on a character’s worldview. The film usually plays out through the lens of an unusual protagonist. Aligning an audience with their unique outlook. As with magical realism, it’s the character’s actions that sell the film. It’s seen as a subcategory as it doesn’t have all the standard aspects of realism in film. Instead, it focuses on a different version of reality. If a character has mental health issues or is being gaslit by others, their view of the world is warped.

Naturalism: a film movement that has been popular at different types during the history of cinema. It was based on a philosophy that promoted all things simple and real.

In general, naturalism refers to the way that films attempt to imitate the way that people and other living beings act in real life.
Naturalists believed, as their name suggests, that people should be filmed in a natural environment, meaning they would not add props or change their behavior in any way just to make it interesting for the camera.
Instead of creating an artificial light source, they would use the light from sunlight or lamps.
They also avoided using fancy costumes or sets and instead focused on realism. Naturalists wanted to capture everyday life as realistically as possible on screen.
They encouraged improvisation and experimentation that would give the film a “truthful” quality. (more from source)
Filmmakers eschew formula, conventional narratives to capture reel life. More from source (includes audio version of the article).

Formalism: This theory is often thought of as the antithesis to cinematic realism and the goals of classic realists filmmakers. It's less about realism and reality and more about fictional events and various kinds of movies (and other forms of content) which are meant to be enjoyed. From a basic definition standpoint, formalism is considered the polar opposite to realism. It’s focused on the “formal” or technical elements of film and the opportunities they present to tell more commercial and fun-to-watch films and videos.

It's considered the classic Hollywood style.
It's focus is on creating entertaining films which audiences can enjoy.
Shots are more subjective and meant to add effects and meaning.
Camera can be framed up with different angles, levels, and lengths to add variety.
Shots usually incorporate movement to make them more active and enjoyable.
Lighting and composition is meant to draw the viewer into the action.
Locations are often on controlled sets which aid in production.
Focus of editing is on story and entertainment, not necessarily continuity.
Music and audio can be non-diegetic to make the film more exciting.
(source)

See also: Realism vs Formalism in Film >
Intertextuality: Intertextuality is the shaping of an artwork (or text’s) meaning by another [artwork or text], either through deliberate compositional strategies such as quotation, allusion, calque, plagiarism, translation, pastiche or parody, or by interconnections between similar or related works perceived by an audience or reader of the text. These references are sometimes made deliberately and depend on a reader's prior knowledge and understanding of the referent, but the effect of intertextuality is not always intentional and is sometimes inadvertent. (more from source)
Self-Reflexivity: A reflexive film is a film that makes the audience aware of the filmmaking process. Reflexivity is defined by such devices as looking into the camera, taking advantage of two-dimensionality of the screen, or simply making a film about making a film. In other words: A reflexive film is a film with self-awareness. (more from source)

Self-reflexive (adj) marked by or making reference to its own artificiality or contrivance (Merriam Webster).

Transitions

Info on Writing Transitions

Transition Screenwriting Notations

CUT TO = (same as a jump cut) Acts as a jarring quick cut to another scene.
BACK TO = After cutting to another scene/location. This is an indication that we are back in the previous scene/location. Called a cutaway.
PRE-LAP = A sound transition is used when the dialogue of the scene starts before the next scene starts.

To do the opposite of Pre-lap: Their dialog continues over + (VO or OS or OC)

Misc. Writing + Editing Vernacular

Episodic (Closed-Ended)

Every episode is a mini arc

Serialized (Open Arc)

Serialized elements carry over
Ongoing relationships
Things that come up in episode two to continue in episode seven, for example

Frankenbiting = piecing together

words to compress, change or create a sentence

cutting out pauses, etc.

Shots to compress, change or create a storyline

Cutting out longer moments in time

Rashomon-Style story: when the same event is recounted by several characters, and the stories differ in ways that are impossible to reconcile. It shows that two or more people can view the same event quite differently.
Evergreen: Ever-relevant “long-lasting” stories or content not dependent upon a time period. In news this might mean human interest segments or a “timeless” feature story. “Evergreen [narrative] television shows are ideal for reruns. Seinfeld, for example, has been one of the most successful sitcoms in off-network syndication for over two decades, as its observational comedy did not rely on pop culture references that could become dated.” more info here.
“Make a meal out of it.” Or, alternately, “make it a moment,” or “make it land.”

Used by unscripted TV editors get these notes from story producers, showrunners, and executives at both the production company and the network:

any important moment in the story—an individual line
a brief exchange of dialogue
a sudden realization
or the split-second before a physical fight breaks out—and it invariably means the same thing:

stretch out the moment + squeeze out every oz of suspense + drama
or in a comic scene, squeeze out every oz of comedy

Sometimes this note will simply require accentuating a moment that is very dramatic (or comedic) already
But at other times, you may be asked to highlight an important revelation that should be “landing”

like an anvil, but instead is simply floating almost invisibly past the viewer, like a feather in the breeze.

Misc. Techniques: Unscripted TV Story Prod + Editing

Shooting Vocabulary

Over the line / 180 Degree Rule / 180 Degree Line : The 180-degree rule states that two characters (or more) in a scene should always have the same left/right relationship with each other. The rule dictates that you draw an imaginary line between these two characters (or subjects) and try to keep your camera(s) on the same side of this 180-degree line.

StudioBinder video with visuals • Info above from Vimeo bog post
Solution/bending/breaking the rule: cutaway to a neutral shot (03:29 in video)

Aerial Shot

An aerial shot is a broad geographic, map-like shot usually taken from a crane, plane or helicopter. Not necessarily a moving shot, but sometimes used an extreme long shot and/or establishing shot to establish a city or region where content will emerge.

Birds Eye View

A scene shot from a bird’s perspective. Similar to an aerial shot or a “god’s eye” view, insinuating a point of view (see extreme long shot).

Bridging Shot

A shot used to cover a jump in time or place or other discontinuity.

Camera Angle

The angle at which the camera is pointed at the subject: low, high or tilt (Dutch Angle), or birds eye (aerial view).

Close-Up/Extreme Close-Up (CU/ECU) The subject framed by the camera fills the screen. Connotation can be of intimacy, or of having access to the mind or thought processes (including the subconscious) of the character. Enlarged view of the subject. Also known as a tight shot. Details often captured this close to reveal emotion.

Still from UN CHIEN ANDALOU, Directed by Luis Buñuel, France, 1929.

Dolly Shot

A dolly shot is taken from a moving dolly (a set of wheels and a platform upon which the camera can be mounted). A dolly shot is nearly synonymous with a tracking shot or follow shot.

Dutch Angle Shot: Dutch Angle is an extremely low angle with a tilt, creating a series of diagonals within the grid of a shot. Often associated with film noir in combination with high contrast scenes that create tension.

Extreme Long Shot (ELS): The subject or characters are very much in the background of the shot. It may be a panoramic view of an exterior location photographed from a considerable distance, often as far as a quarter-mile away. Surroundings now have perhaps more importance, especially if the shot is from a high angle. As the camera moves further away from the main subject, the visual field lends itself to an increasingly more complex reading. An ELS that is shot at a high angle suggests the presence of someone looking, thus the shot is implicitly a point of view shot. It may also serve as the establishing shot.

Eyeline Matching: A term used to point to the continuity editing practice ensuring the logic of the look or gaze. In other words, eyeline matching is when a character looks into off screen space the spectator expects to see what he or she is looking at. Thus there will be a cut to show what is being looked at: object, view or another character

Focus: Focus refers to the sharpness of an image. Generally, if a shot, or a portion of a shot is not in focus, it needs to be discarded.

Follow Shot: A tracking shot or zoom shot which follows the subject as it moves.

Framing: The way in which subjects and objects are framed within a shot produces specific readings. Camera angles, size and volume within the frame speak as much as dialogue. A high-angle extreme long shot (god-like view) may point to a character's vulnerability. Low angle shots in medium close-up on a person can point to their power or their ridicule (because of the distortion).

Insert Shot: Any shot that’s sole purpose is to focus the viewer’s attention to a specific detail within a scene. These shots are often placed from the point of view of a character, suggesting that we see what the character sees during a moment of concentration. These shots often use a close-up or extreme close-up size so that a viewer may read text or perceive a small detail.

Long Shot (LS): Subjects or characters are at some distance from the camera; they are seen in full within their surrounding environment.

Match on Action: A term used to point to the continuity of a gesture or action. It is a logical moment when a point of action is seen from two or more distinct camera angles.

Master/Parent Shot: A long take of an entire scene, generally a relatively long shot that facilitates the assembly of parallel closer shots and details. The editor can always fall back on the master shot: consequently, it is also called a cover shot.

Medium Shot (MS): A medium shot is a shot intermediate between a close-up and a full shot. Generally, this frames a character from the waist, hips or knees up. The camera is sufficiently distanced from the body for the character to be seen in relation to her or his surroundings. Shows subject from waist up, connection with a subject with allowance for gestures, most commonly used shot in mainstream media.

Still from Lions Love ( ... and Lies)(Dir: Agnès Varda, 1969)

Medium Close-Up (MCU): A Medium Close-Up is a close-up of one or two (sometimes three) characters, generally framing the shoulders or chest and the head. The term can also be used when the camera frames the character(s) from the waist. Shows part of a subject, details viewable.

Still from Throne of Blood (Kumonosu-jô) 1957 (Dri: Akira Kurosawa)

Medium Long Shot (MLS) (Medium Wide): Halfway between a long and a medium shot. If this shot frames a character then the whole body will be in view towards the middle ground of the shot. Showing considerably more of the surroundings in the relation to the character/s. Shows most of the body/space and allows room for movement and for other people to enter the shot.

Still from Until The Quiet Comes (Flying Lotus)

Multiple Focal Lengths: One shot where the focus is manually altered in order to create a focal point from subject-to-subject at two different distances.

Pan: Pan stands for panorama and is the movement of the camera from left to right or right to left. A Pan Shot is sometimes confused with a tracking shot but a pan doesn’t necessarily following an object or character within the frame.

Point of View (POV): A POV is the point of view of a character, but may also be the filmmaker.

Reverse angle shot. A reverse angle is a shot from the opposite side of a subject. In a dialogue scene, it is a shot of the second participant.

Shot: In terms of the camera’s distance to the subject, there are 7 basic types of static shots: extreme close-up; close-up; medium close-up; medium shot; medium long shot; long shot; extreme long shot (or distance shot). More complex types of shots used in combination with these 7 include a variety of angles, motion and continuity.

Steadicam: A consumer camera system permits hand held shooting with an image steadiness somewhat comparable to tracking shots.

Take: A take is one of several potential versions of the same shot.

Tilt Shot: The camera tilts up or down, rotating around the axis that runs from left to right through the camera head.

Tracking Shot, Traveling Shot or Dollying: These are terms used for a shot when the camera is being moved by any means of wheels such as: a dolly, car, train or bicycle. Tracking shots often follow a character/s or an object. The fastness or slowness of this shot will offer different connotations. A slow tracking shot may connote a dream or trance if excessively slow; a faster shot may connote bewildering and frightening if excessively frenetic.

Voice-Over: The narrator’s voice when the narrator is not seen. A voiceover is sometimes an empathetic voice, but more often a voice of authority, or objectivity, especially in news or a documentary.

Wide Shot:

Shows whole body + space (interior or landscape)
Often: Establishes scene/setting
Composition captures progression of subjects’ action/movement

Still from Do the Right Thing (Dir: Spike Lee, 1989)

Zoom Shot

A zoom shot uses a lens where the focal length is adjusted during the shot. A zoom shot generally picks out and isolates an object or person, a zoom out places that object or person in a wider context. This differs perceptually from a tracking shot that follows a subject or object.

Sampling Music

When do you have to pay to sample a song?