拍外景 (pāi wài jǐng) — to shoot on location, to film exteriors | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

拍外景 means shooting a film outdoors on real locations, as opposed to filming in a studio. It is a fixed film-industry term; 外景 itself refers to the outdoor scene/location, not just any scenery.

verb

to shoot on locationto film exteriors

Examples

拍外景。
Zhè bù diàn yǐng dà bù fen chǎng jǐng dōu shì pāi wài jǐng wán chéng de.
Most scenes of this film were done on location.
。
Dǎo yǎn shuō tā men pāi le yí gè yuè de wài jǐng.
The director said they shot exteriors for a month.
拍外景。
Zhè cì pāi wài jǐng xū yào zhǎo yí chù yǒu shān yǒu shuǐ de dì fāng.
This time we need to find a place with mountains and water for shooting on location.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

外景exterior scene

外wàioutside景jǐngscene

偏正Modifier + head

拍 means shoot and 外景 means outdoor scene, so 拍外景 is to shoot an outdoor scene.

Characters in this word

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

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

白

白bái拍pāi

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拍 puts 手 (hand) beside 白, which gives the pronunciation.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

月

月yuè外wài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

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

日京景

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.

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