C2 · 50 words
Film technique in Spanish
Camera, light, cutting and mixing — the words a crew uses about the work, not about the film.
Our « take » lives on a film set and nowhere else. Spanish la toma starts there — el número de toma, buena la tres — and then goes everywhere: la toma de decisiones is decision-making, la toma de corriente is the wall socket, la toma de tierra is the earth wire, and la toma de la ciudad is a city being captured. The thread through all of them is tomar, to take hold of something. So the film sense is one branch of a large tree, while English has only the branch.
The words
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Phrase (42)
el plano cinematográficothe shot, forty seconds long with no cut in itPhraseC2
El plano cinematográfico dura cuarenta segundos sin corte.The shot lasts forty seconds without a cut.
el número de tomathe number of the attempt, called out before the clapperPhraseC2
El número de toma se canta antes de la claqueta.The take number is called out before the clapper.
el plano americanothe framing that cuts a person at the thighPhraseC2
El plano americano corta a la altura del muslo.The American shot cuts at thigh height.
el plano generalthe wide framing that puts the action in a valleyPhraseC2
El plano general sitúa la acción en el valle.The wide shot places the action in the valley.
el primer planothe close framing that leaves the background softPhraseC2
El primer plano deja el fondo fuera de foco.The close-up leaves the background out of focus.
el plano contrapicadothe framing from below, which enlarges whoever gives ordersPhraseC2
El plano contrapicado agranda a quien manda.The low-angle shot enlarges whoever is in command.
el plano cenitalthe framing from straight above, showing the whole tablePhraseC2
El plano cenital muestra la mesa entera.The overhead shot shows the whole table.
el aire de miradathe space left in front of where somebody is lookingPhraseC2
El aire de mirada se deja hacia donde mira el actor.Looking room is left towards where the actor is looking.
el salto de ejethe crossing of the line, which turns the audience aroundPhraseC2
El salto de eje desorienta al espectador.Crossing the line disorients the viewer.
el eje de acciónthe line between two people, not crossed without a reasonPhraseC2
El eje de acción no se cruza sin motivo.The line of action is not crossed without a reason.
la continuidad de rodajethe keeping of that record, noting every detail on the floorPhraseC2
La continuidad de rodaje anota cada detalle del plató.Shooting continuity notes every detail on the floor.
el objetivo angularthe wide lens, which makes a distance look longerPhraseC2
El objetivo angular exagera la distancia.The wide-angle lens exaggerates the distance.
la óptica anamórficathe lens that stretches the reflections sidewaysPhraseC2
La óptica anamórfica alarga los reflejos en horizontal.Anamorphic glass stretches the reflections horizontally.
el formato de proyecciónthe shape of the frame as it will be shownPhraseC2
El formato de proyección es de dos coma treinta y nueve.The projection format is two point three nine.
el cambio de focothe moving of sharpness from one actor to the secondPhraseC2
El cambio de foco lleva la atención al segundo actor.The focus pull takes the attention to the second actor.
el visor de direcciónthe finder that lets one choose a framing without rigging upPhraseC2
El visor de dirección permite elegir el plano sin montar la cámara.The director's finder allows a shot to be chosen without rigging the camera.
la grúa de cámarathe arm that lifts the camera eight metresPhraseC2
La grúa de cámara sube ocho metros.The camera crane rises eight metres.
la cámara en manothe camera carried, which makes a scene restlessPhraseC2
La cámara en mano da inquietud a la escena.The handheld camera gives the scene unease.
el estabilizador de cámarathe rig that takes the operator's footsteps outPhraseC2
El estabilizador de cámara elimina el paso del operador.The stabiliser removes the operator's footsteps.
la frecuencia de imagenthe number of pictures per second, ordinarily twenty-fourPhraseC2
La frecuencia de imagen es de veinticuatro por segundo.The frame rate is twenty-four per second.
el rodaje a alta velocidadthe shooting at many more of them, so that it plays back slowPhraseC2
El rodaje a alta velocidad se hace a cien imágenes.High-speed shooting is done at a hundred frames.
el rango dinámico de la imagenthe range from the darkest to the brightest the picture holdsPhraseC2
El rango dinámico de la imagen salva la ventana quemada.The dynamic range of the picture saves the blown window.
la luz principalthe light that decides where the shadows fallPhraseC2
La luz principal viene de la izquierda.The key light comes from the left.
la luz de rellenothe light that softens the shadow rather than casting onePhraseC2
La luz de relleno suaviza la sombra de la nariz.The fill light softens the shadow of the nose.
el claroscuro cinematográficothe lighting that leaves half a face in the darkPhraseC2
El claroscuro cinematográfico deja media cara en sombra.Cinematic chiaroscuro leaves half a face in shadow.
la bandera de luzthe black panel that takes a reflection out of the glassPhraseC2
La bandera de luz quita el reflejo del cristal.The flag takes the reflection out of the glass.
la localización de rodajethe real place, closed to traffic for the dayPhraseC2
La localización de rodaje se cerró al tráfico.The location was closed to traffic.
el plan de rodajethe schedule, which groups the scenes by where they happenPhraseC2
El plan de rodaje agrupa las escenas por decorado.The shooting schedule groups the scenes by set.
la lista de planosthe list of shots, short enough to fit on one sheetPhraseC2
La lista de planos cabe en una hoja.The shot list fits on one sheet.
el storyboard dibujadothe drawn plan of the shots, which saves arguing on the floorPhraseC2
El storyboard dibujado ahorra discusiones en el plató.The drawn storyboard saves arguments on the floor.
el montaje cinematográficothe cutting of the film, here by twenty minutesPhraseC2
El montaje cinematográfico redujo la película en veinte minutos.The edit shortened the film by twenty minutes.
el corte directothe plain cut, which can go from day to nightPhraseC2
El corte directo pasa del día a la noche.The straight cut goes from day to night.
el fundido a negrothe going dark that ends a chapterPhraseC2
El fundido a negro cierra el capítulo.The fade to black closes the chapter.
el montaje paralelothe cutting between two things happening at oncePhraseC2
El montaje paralelo alterna dos huidas.Parallel cutting alternates two escapes.
el sonido directothe sound recorded as it happened, on a boomPhraseC2
El sonido directo se grabó con pértiga.The location sound was recorded with a boom.
la pértiga de sonidothe pole that holds the microphone and gets into framePhraseC2
La pértiga de sonido entra en el encuadre.The boom comes into the frame.
el doblaje de diálogothe line recorded afterwards, to replace one the wind tookPhraseC2
El doblaje de diálogo repara una frase tapada por el viento.Dialogue replacement repairs a line covered by the wind.
los efectos de salathe footsteps and rustles rebuilt in a studioPhraseC2
Los efectos de sala reconstruyen cada paso.Foley rebuilds every footstep.
la mezcla de sonidothe mixing that ranks voice, atmosphere and musicPhraseC2
La mezcla de sonido ordena voz, ambiente y música.The sound mix ranks voice, atmosphere and music.
la banda sonora originalthe music written for the film, played by an orchestraPhraseC2
La banda sonora original se grabó con orquesta.The original score was recorded with an orchestra.
la copia de trabajothe version with the watermarks on itPhraseC2
La copia de trabajo lleva marcas de agua.The working copy carries watermarks.
la copia finalthe finished version, delivered two days before openingPhraseC2
La copia final se entregó dos días antes del estreno.The final copy was delivered two days before the opening.
Noun (m) (7)
el raccordthe matching from shot to shot, which the half-full glass testsNoun (m)C2
El raccord falla: el vaso cambia de mano.Continuity fails: the glass changes hands.
el foquistathe assistant who keeps an actor sharp without looking throughNoun (m)C2
El foquista sigue al actor sin verlo por el visor.The focus puller follows the actor without watching through the finder.
el travellingthe moving of the camera along with somebodyNoun (m)C2
El travelling acompaña al personaje por el pasillo.The tracking shot goes with the character along the corridor.
el difusorthe sheet that softens the edge of a shadowNoun (m)C2
El difusor ablanda el borde de la sombra.The diffuser softens the edge of the shadow.
el platóthe built set, put up inside a hallNoun (m)C2
El plató se levantó en una nave industrial.The set was built inside an industrial hall.
el encadenadothe one picture melting into the next, for years passingNoun (m)C2
El encadenado marca el paso de los años.The dissolve marks the passing of the years.
el etalonajethe grading that makes one sequence match itselfNoun (m)C2
El etalonaje unifica el tono de toda la secuencia.Colour grading unifies the tone of the whole sequence.
Noun (f) (1)
la panorámicathe turning of the camera on its standNoun (f)C2
La panorámica descubre el segundo coche.The pan uncovers the second car.
This list belongs to Art and culture — 29 lists and 1450 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.