取景 (qǔ jǐng) — to frame a shot, to select a scene (for photography, painting, or film)

Definition

Film/photography term for selecting where to shoot and how to frame a scene. Pairs with 拍摄 ('shoot, film'); location scouting in the production sense is 选景.

verb
to frame a shotto select a scene (for photography, painting, or film)

Examples

  • 取景，。
    Wǒ men qù jiāo wài qǔ jǐng ba, nà lǐ de fēng jǐng hěn hǎo.
    Let's go to the suburbs to find a scene — the scenery there is beautiful.
  • ，。
    Shè yǐng shī qǔ le sān cì jǐng, cái zhǎo dào zuì jiā jiǎo dù.
    The photographer framed the scene three times before finding the best angle.
  • 取景。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng de qǔ jǐng gōng zuò quán bù zài yún nán wán chéng.
    All the location scouting for this film was done in Yunnan.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

取qǔtake
景jǐngscene

取 supplies selecting, 景 supplies the scene, so it means to choose a scene for a shot.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

取 pairs 又 (hand) with 耳 (ear), showing a hand taking an ear, as in taking the ear of fallen prey.

Open 取 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
京
京jīng景jǐng
Same sound today

景 has 日 (sun) with 京, which gives its sound; it originally meant sunlight.

Open 景 →

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