cinematography
Americannoun
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the art or technique of video photography, traditionally used in movies, but also in the production of TV shows and other video content.
The agency is hiring award-winning film directors to elevate these television commercials with classic cinematography and state-of-the-art special effects.
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the artistic vision, tone, look, and feel of a video production.
The film’s warm cinematography and romantic musical score immerse the audience immediately in a sweet and nostalgic world.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cinematography
First recorded in 1895–1900; see origin at cinematograph, -graphy
Explanation
The art of filming a movie is cinematography. The cinematography in your first documentary might not be amazing — next time, get a real movie camera instead of filming on your smartphone. Every year, one film wins an Academy Award for cinematography — this usually goes to a movie with gorgeous, sweeping camera shots. There's a lot that goes into cinematography, beyond simply filming the action with a camera: cinematographers carefully plan out shots, including how they're lit, the camera angles, focus, and depth of field. Cinematography comes from the now-obsolete cinematograph, "device for projecting a series of photographs in rapid succession so as to produce the illusion of movement."
Vocabulary lists containing cinematography
Academy Awards, List 3
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Unit 4, Whole-Class Learning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The cinematography, by Mr. Aitken and Chris Hadland, is striking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
It wasn’t only the breathtaking cinematography or the immediate fantasy of booking a flight to Modena and a table at Osteria Francescana.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Like him, the film is quiet and meditative, bathed in the cool blues and verdant greens of the setting, captured in Maya Bankovic’s saturated cinematography.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
"The surprise of Michael is how well it plays, and what an engrossing middle-of-the-road biopic it is," he said, praising its performances and cinematography.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
Or it might have been my father’s cinematography.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
