ABSTRACT
The visual language of cinema is a language of story structure whose grammar is made up of “the shot.” The storyboard is a series of illustrated shots. To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, “a shot is a shot is a shot.” Like Stein's poetry, the shot has its own simplicity and its own complexities, its hard realities and its emotional side. The director has to figure out exactly what he or she wants the shot to say to the audience. By way of introduction to the variables and components of the shot and why it is the visual heart of the movie-making process, let's go back to the audience itself. The audience's attention must be grabbed by the shot or a succession of shots that make up the storyline.
