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Film Vocab

Subjects : performing-arts, film
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A device attached to the film camera that records videotape of what has been filmed - allowing the director immediate access to video footage






2. A compositing method that allows cinematographers to combine live action and settings that are filmed or created separately. Actors are filmed against a green or blue background. During post-production - this background is filled in with an image thr






3. The period of time before principal photography during which actors are signed - sets and costumes designed - and locations scouted






4. An outlawed studio era practice - where studios forced exhibitors to book groups of films at once - thus ensuring a market for their failures along with their successes






5. A part of the story world implied by visual or sound techniques rather than being revealed by the camera






6. A camera shot taken at a large distance from the subject. Using the human body as the subject - a long shot captures the entire human form






7. The camera does not move across an imagined line drawn between two characters






8. A style associated with Hollywood filmmaking of the studio and post-studio era - in which efficient storytelling - rather than gritty realism or aesthetic innovation - is of paramount importance






9. A non-standard narrative organization that assumes 'day in the life' quality rather than the highly structured three-act or four part narrative - and that features loose or indirect cause-effect relationships






10. Also called 'rushes.' Footage exposed and developed quickly so that the director can assess the day's work






11. A transparent sheet on which animation artists draw images.






12. A shot taken from a camera position below the subject






13. A digital technique developed by Industrial Light and Magic - which builds movement sequences from single frames of film






14. A group of films within a given genre that share their own specific set of conventions that differentiate them from other films in the genre. For example - the slasher film is a subgenre of the horror genre






15. An animation technique that uses a computer program to interpolate frames to produce the effect of an object or creature changing gradually into something different. The program calculates the way the image must change in order for the first image to






16. A shot transition that involves the gradual disappearance of the image at the same time that a new image gradually comes into view






17. Color. The strength of a hue is measured by its saturation or desaturation






18. A visual effect achieved through the use of photography and digital techniques that appears to stop time and allow the viewer to travel around the subject and view it from a multitude of vantage points






19. The way an actor delivers a line of dialogue - including pauses - inflection - and emotion






20. A system of constructing and arranging buildings and objects on the set so that they diminish in size dramatically from foreground to background - which creates the illusion of depth






21. A story narrated by one of the characters within the story - using the 'I' voice






22. The building block of a scene; an uninterrupted sequence of frames that viewers experience as they watch a film - ending with a cut - fade - dissolve - etc. See also Take






23. The film medium's technological apparatus is inherently ideological






24. The practice of Hollywood studios contracting out post-production work to individuals or firms outside the U.S.






25. Any narrative - visual - or sound element that is repeated and thereby acquires and reflects its significance to the story - characters - or themes of the film.






26. The measurement of how forgiving a film stock is. It determines whether an acceptable image will be produced when the film stock is exposed to too little or too much light






27. A single take that contains an entire scene






28. The details of a character's past that emerge as the film unfolds - and which often play a role in character motivation






29. A shot in a sequence that is taken from the reverse angle of the shot previous to it






30. Sound design that blends the speech of several characters talking simultaneously - used to create spontaneity - although it may also confuse the audience






31. A type of filter that absorbs certain wavelength but leave others unaffected. On black and white film - color filters lighten or darken tones. On color film - they can produce a range of effects






32. A documentary or occasionally - a narrative film that presents only one side of an argument or one approach to a subject






33. Wheeled platform with wheels that rotate - so the dolly can change direction






34. An alternative to classical and realist styles - formalism is a self-consciously interventionist approach that explores ideas - abstraction - and aesthetics rather than focusing on storytelling (as in classical films) or everyday life (as in realist






35. Assists the editor with various tasks - including taking footage to the lab - checking the condition of the negative - cataloguing footage - and supervising optical effects - often produced by an outside company






36. Recording images at a slower speed than the speed of projection (24 frames per second). Before cameras were motorized - this was called undercranking. Fewer frames are exposed in one minute - so - when projected at 24 f.p.s. - that action takes less






37. A technique of overdeveloping exposed film stock (leaving it in the chemical bath longer than indicated) in order to increase density and contrast in the image






38. A character who in some way opposes the protagonist - leading to protracted conflict






39. A film style that - in contrast to the classical and formalist styles - focuses characters - place - and the spontaneity and digressiveness of life - rather than on highly structured stories or aesthetic abstraction






40. Assists the gaffer in managing lighting crews






41. The length in minutes for a film to play in its entirety (for example - 120 minutes). Also referred to as 'screen time.'






42. The use of editing techniques - such as a fade or dissolve - to indicate the end of one scene and the beginning of another






43. Cinema verite; a documentary style in which the filmmaker attempts to remain as unobtrusive as possible - recording without obvious editorial comment






44. The chronological accounting of all events presented and suggested






45. Lighting design in which the greater intensity of the key light makes it impossible for the fill to eliminate shadows - producing a high-contrast image (with many grades of light and dark) - a number of shadows - and a somber mood






46. A camera device that opens and closes to regulate the length of time the film is exposed to light






47. A neutral account of the basic plot and style of a film - a part of a film - or a group of films






48. Muted - washed out color that contains more white than a saturated color






49. Early films that documented everyday events - such as workers leaving a factory






50. Fish-eye lens; With a focal length of 15mm or less - this lens presents an extremely distorted image - where objects in the center of the frame appear to bulge toward the camera