Studying The Beauty Of Cinematography

As mentioned before, cinematographers are very skilled in taking beautiful pictures that can be projected onto a screen for people to watch. But how do you pronounce their profession? There are two main ways to say it depending on which country you’re from!

Some say it like “kim-MAT-soooo” with kahm as the -toss and mat as the -y, while others say it like “KIM-ma-TOSS sooooo” with no sound difference between MAT and Y.

Neither is right or wrong, but here we will go over the correct way to say it!

I would recommend saying it like the second one (no sounds change) because this is what most native speakers use when talking about the career field of cinema photography. Plus, using the phonetic form helps make it more authentic!

So let’s dive into the right way to say it! Keep reading below for all the details.

2) how-to-pronounce

Technically, camera lens is not a lenth! They come in different sizes but what people refer to as the “lens” is actually the focal length of the lens! The longer the lens, the wider your field of view will be with the subject. A long telephoto lens will give you very tight, close up shots so that nothing gets cut off.

The term for this is ultra wide angle which gives us beautiful landscapes and lots of vistas. A short or normal lens will let you get some nice depth of field where things are slightly out of focus. This creates a blurry effect that makes it seem like there are more parts of the picture.

A standard lens is somewhere in between with a shorter focal length. These have bigger apertures (the size of the hole through the lens that lets light into it) than longer lenses, making them more durable and able to capture more light.

There are three types of aperture: full frame, APS sized, and cropped sensor! Full frame has the same amount of space around it as the back of the camera, while APS sensors and crop sensors only have room for enough space for either a smaller or larger sensor, respectively.

3) camera

The term “camera” is usually not very specific, so most people assume that when someone says they are using the “film” or the “digital” camera, that what they mean is their general use of equipment - a device with which they take still pictures.

However, this isn’t the case!

The word camera actually refers to only one piece of photography equipment - the tool used to capture moving images. This element of filming is typically referred to as cinematographic filming, cinematic shooting, movie making, or film production.

Some may also refer to it as filmmaking, but remember, those who call themselves filmmakers do not necessarily have formal training in cinema (the art of filming). It is important to be aware of this distinction.

A good way to recall the difference between these terms is to think about how professionals apply each one.

4) cinematography

The word “cinema” comes from the Greek word kino, which means “the art of showing things.” So really, cinema is just another way to describe filming or storytelling.

The term was first used in 1894 by the French author and journalist Henri de Bourgogne. He coined it when he described an exhibition that featured short films as a sort of movie-making.

He also noted how some people pronounced it ki-mo-la-je, with a silent t at the end. But today we usually drop this final sound because it isn’t needed!

Since then, many languages have adopted the English pronunciation of the word, including French, Italian, and Spanish. And even though there are sometimes slight differences, they all use the same stressed syllable - KI. (Just like the word camera!)

Incidentally, one of the most famous uses of the word cinema came not from France or England but instead Korea! In 1908, Shin Jiso wrote a letter to the editor of the Korean newspaper Changchun Chunbo where he referred to his own small collection of filmed stories and events as cémĂ­ Âge. (That last -e looks like the long i in film.)

This gave rise to the now well-known adjective for such recordings - cinematic.

5) lingo

The language of cinematography is very specific, so there’s no way to be a beginner without knowing this vocabulary. Knowing these terms will give you an in depth understanding of what makes up your favorite movies!

Some of the most common words include gaffer (or boom operator), key light, fill card, B-card, window treatment, softbox, umbrella, backlight, etc. There are even specializations within each term like how to use a white balance tool correctly or why using natural sunlight is better than direct sun.

But don’t worry, this article isn’t going to make you look like a master.

6) low-light

Before digital cameras, filming in very light or dark environments required using expensive lights with large batteries to power them. Now that we have fully automated systems for capturing photos and videos, this is no longer necessary!

With every camera coming equipped with its own built-in lighting system, all you need to do is turn it on and start shooting! This is called automatic exposure (AE), because the technology automatically adjusts the intensity of the light being used to achieve the best possible exposure.

This includes allowing you to use much less powerful natural sunlight as illumination, or easily replacing the current source of strong light with an additional LED flashlight.

In low-light conditions, the AE system will also reduce the shutter speed to let more light into the frame, creating beautiful slow motion effects.

7) long-take

A long take is simply when the camera stays in one place for an extended amount of time. This is typically done to create a sense of intimacy, emphasize a specific element such as scenery or someone’s expression, or just because it looks cool.

A good example of this is what we mentioned earlier: the boat scene from Psycho. Although that movie was considered very disturbing at the time, many now consider it artistic.

Another famous example is The Graduate, where after Mrs. Robinson exits the car, she walks up the stairs and then back down them before exiting the house completely. It creates a nice flow of action, which helps tell the story.

There are two main types of long takes - shooting static scenes with moving vehicles or people, and reverse shots. With a reverse shot, the subject is normally walking away from the camera, so the lens is looking towards them while they walk off into the distance.

Reverse shots can look strange depending on how the person being filmed moves their body, so only use ones that you have to do! Other than that though, there isn't much anyone has to say about them.

Static long takes are easier to accomplish since you don’t need to worry about getting out of position, but people usually feel more comfortable working on sets so that may be why most cinematographers prefer them.

8) editing

Editing is another important part of filming, but it is typically not considered part of cinematography as such. However, editing is very integral to creating effective cinematic stories.

Editing can be done in many different ways depending on the genre of film being made. For example, a documentary filmmaker might edit by cutting away background material before bringing in new content. A narrative feature movie could be broken up into several shorter segments that are linked together later.

The most well-known type of editing is probably cutaways. Cutaway shots occur when something interesting or significant happens off screen and someone else’s attention is drawn to it. This other person then focuses their attention on this newly revealed information, making them feel connected to what happened earlier.

Cutaways often work because they create sense of continuity for the viewer. They also give the audience time to process what just occurred and how it related to previous events. These types of edits are usually done without music, leaving a silence to emphasize the importance of what has transpired.

9) light

When talking about lights, how do you say it? There is no standard way to pronounce this term! Some say the -e at the end, while others drop the -e and just sound out the words as they mean them.

Some say the -l at the end like in “light”, but that isn’t quite right because when you add the -g to make it plural, it doesn’t work like that word.

We usually say light-house or lens, but those aren’t correct either. The proper way to say it is really tricky.

I will tell you what we call it here at Strayder. We say lahss-ayntsahn which seems hard to say, I know! But once you get used to it, you will definitely recognize it when you hear it.