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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. Light emitted from a larger source that is scattered over a bigger area or reflected off a surface before it strikes the subject. Soft light minimizes facial details - including wrinkles






2. Creating the appearance of movement by drawing a series of frames that are projected sequentially - rather than photographing a series of still images






3. A technique in which the audience temporarily shares the visual perspective of a character or a group of characters. The camera points in the directions the character looks - simulating the character's field of vision






4. 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






5. A crew member who reports to the Director of Photography (DP) and is in charge of tasks involving lighting and electrical needs






6. A production term referring to coordinating actors' movements with lines of dialogue






7. A visual effect created when the subject in the frame is restricted by the objects or the physical properties of the set






8. A crew member whose job is to measure the distance between the subject and the camera lens - marking the ring on the camera lens - and ensuring the ring is turned precisely so that the image is in focus






9. A shot taken from a camera mounted on a crane that moves three-dimensionally in a space






10. A crew member responsible for logging the details of each take on the set so as to ensure continuity






11. A shot transition where shot A slowly disappears as the screen becomes black before shot B appears. A fade-in is the reverse of this process






12. A shot filmed from an airplane or helicopter






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






14. A short documentary on current events - show in movie theaters along with cartoons and feature films beginning in the 1930s






15. A production crew responsible not for shooting the primary footage but - instead - for remote location shooting and B-roll. See also B-roll






16. 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






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






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. A person responsible for putting a film together from a mass of developed footage - making decisions regarding pace - shot transitions - and which scenes and shots will be used






20. A shot that makes the human subject very small in relation to his or her environment. The entire figure from head to toe is onscreen and dwarfed by the surroundings






21. Creating images during post-production by joining together photographic or CGI material shot or created at different times and places






22. 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






23. A technique of shooting a scene at a very high speed (96 frames per second) - then adding and subtracting frames in post-production - 'fanning out' the action through the overlapping images






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






25. Film productions shot outside the U.S. for economic reasons






26. A direct vocal address to the audience - Which may emanate from a character or from a narrative voice apparently unrelated to the diegesis






27. A small - variable opening on a camera lens that regulates the amount of light entering the camera and striking the surface of the film






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






29. A technician responsible for splicing and assembling the film negative to the editor's specifications






30. 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






31. A type of short film that blends elements of documentary and avant-garde film to document and often to celebrate the wonder of the modern city






32. A statement that presents an argument about a film's meaning and significance






33. A shot taken from a camera mounted on a crane that moves three-dimensionally in a space






34. An action film cycle of the late 1960s and early 1970s that featured bold - rebellious African American characters






35. Invisible editing; a system devised to minimize the audience's awareness of shot transitions - especially cuts - in order to improve the flow of the story and avoid interrupting the viewer's immersion it in






36. The annotated script - containing information about set-ups used during shooting






37. Processes such as Cinemascope and Cinerama - developed during the 1950s to enhance film's size advantage over the smaller television image






38. A shot transition that emphasizes the visual similarities between two consecutive shots






39. 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






40. 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






41. A shot that contains two characters within the frame






42. A narrative - visual - or sound element that refers viewers to other films or works of art






43. A lens with a focal length greater than 50 mm (usually between 80mm and 20mm) - which provides a larger image of the subject than a normal or wide-angle lens but which narrows the angle of vision and flattens the depth of the image relative to normal






44. A type of matte shot - created by positioning a pane of optically flawless glass with a painting on it between the camera and the scene to be photographed. This combines the painting on the glass with the set or location - seen through the glass - be






45. 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






46. Optical illusions created during post-production






47. 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






48. Using computer graphics to 'build' structures connected to the actual architecture on set or location






49. 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






50. The practice of shooting during the day but using filters and underexposure to create the illusion of nighttime