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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. The technique of telling the story from an all-knowing character. Films that use restricted narration limit the audience's perception to what one particular character knows - but may insert moments of omniscience






2. A style of stage acting developed from the teachings of Constantin Stanislavsky - which trains actors to get into character through the use of emotional memory






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






4. A technique of depicting two layered images simultaneously. Images from one frame or several frames of film are added to pre-existing images - using an optical printer - to produce the same effect as a double exposure






5. 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






6. The chronological accounting of all events presented and suggested






7. The arrangement of actors on screen as a compositional element that suggests themes - character development - emotional content - and visual motifs






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






9. Lighting design that provides an even illumination of the subject - with many facial details washed out. High-key lighting tends to create a hopeful mood - in contrast to low-key lighting






10. The non-chronological insertion of scenes of events yet to happen into the present day of the story world






11. Also called 'd-cinema.' Not to be confused with digital cinematography (shooting movies on digital video) - this term refers to using digital technologies for exhibition






12. Author; A term popularized by French film critics and refers to film directors with their own distinctive style






13. A brief chronological description of the basic events and characters in a film. It does not include interpretive or evaluative claims






14. The written blueprint for a film - composed of three elements: dialogue - sluglines (setting the place and time of each scene) - and description. Feature-length screenplays typically run 90-130 pages






15. 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






16. A shot that depicts a human body from the feet up






17. A technique of cutting back and forth between action occurring in two different locations - which often creates the illusion that they are happening simultaneously. Also called 'cross cutting.'






18. An alternative to continuity editing - this style of editing was developed in silent Soviet cinema - based on the theory that editing should exploit the difference between shots to generate intellectual and emotional responses in the audience






19. A technique of filming at a speed faster than projection - the projecting the footage at normal speed of 24 frames per second. Because fewer frames were recorded per second - the action appears to be speeded up






20. 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






21. A shot taken from a level camera located approximately 5' to 6' from the ground - simulating the perspective of a person standing before the action presented






22. An abrupt shot transition that occurs when Shot A is instantaneously replaced by Shot B.






23. The distance in millimeters from the optical center of a lens to the lane where the sharpest image is formed while focusing on a distant object






24. Materials intentionally released by studios to attract public attention to films and their stars. Promotion differs from publicity - which is information that is not (or does not appear to be) intentionally disseminated by studios






25. Also called 'full screen -' the technique of re-shooting a widescreen film in order to convert it to the original television aspect ration of 1.33 to 1. Rather than reproduce the original aspect ratio - as a letterboxed version does - a panned and sc






26. The practice or repeatedly casting actors in similar roles across different films






27. 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






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






29. An actor whose career rests on playing minor or secondary quirky characters rather than leading roles






30. A technique of filming at a speed faster than projection - the projecting the footage at normal speed of 24 frames per second. Because fewer frames were recorded per second - the action appears to be speeded up






31. The five vertically integrated corporations that exerted the greatest control over film production in the studio era: MGM - Warner Brothers - RKO - Twentieth Century Fox - and Paramount






32. The artful use of light and dark areas in the composition in black and white filmmaking






33. Light emitted from a relatively small source positioned close to the subject. It tends to be unflattering because it creates deep shadows and emphasizes surface imperfections






34. A shot depicting the human body from the waist up






35. A technique of arranging the actors on the set to take advantage of deep focus cinematography - which allows for many planes of depth in the film frame to remain in focus






36. Suspended particles of silver in the film's emulsion - Which may become visible in the final image as dots






37. An optical effect whereby the eye continues to register a visual stimulus in the brain for a brief period after that stimulus has been removed






38. A scene filmed and processed but not selected to appear in the final version of the film






39. Louis Althusser's term for the way in which a society creates its subjects/citizens through ideological (as opposed to repressive) state apparatuses - which include education - media - religion - and the family






40. The rules of character - setting - and narrative that films that belong to a genre - such as Westerns - horror films - and screwball comedies - generally obey.






41. 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






42. A mental phenomenon by which viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation






43. A film process that uses 35mm film stock but changes the orientation of the film so that the film moves through the camera horizontally instead of vertically. The larger image is of higher quality than standard 35mm processes






44. Non-diegetic; any element in the film that is not part of the imagined story world






45. The period after principal photography during which editing and looping take place - and special visual effects are added to the film






46. Exposed and developed film stock from which the master positive is struck. If projected - the negative would produce a reverse of the image - with dark areas appearing white and vice versa or - if color film - areas of color appearing as their comple






47. A filter that simply reduces the amount of light entering the lens - without affecting the color characteristics






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






49. A change of focus from one plane of depth to another. As the in-focus subject goes out of focus - another object - which has been blurry - comes into focus in either the background or the foreground






50. A pan executed so quickly that it produces a blurred image - indicated rapid activity or - sometimes - the passage of time