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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. Public identity created by marketing a film actor's performances - press coverage - and 'personal' information to fans as the star's personality






2. 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






3. A long shot in which the film frame resembles the proscenium arch of the stage - distancing the audience






4. A scene transition wherein sound from one scene bleeds over into the ext scene - often resulting in a contrast between sound image






5. 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






6. A widescreen process that uses three cameras - three projectors - and a wide - curved screen






7. Experimental film; Underground cinema;






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






9. The individual arrangement of lighting and camera placement used for each shot






10. A technique used to join live action with pre-recorded background images. A projector is aimed at a half-silvered mirror that reflects the background - which the camera records as being located behind the actors






11. Everything audiences hear when they watch a sound film. The soundtrack is the composite of all three elements of film sound: dialogue - music - and sound effects






12. 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






13. The camera should move at least 30 degrees any time there is a cut within a scene






14. Any lens with a focal length approximately equal to the diagonal of the frame. For 35mm filmmaking - a 35-50 mm lens does not distort the angle of vision or depth






15. A screenplay written and submitted to a studio or production company without a prior contract or agreement






16. 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






17. 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






18. The conclusion of the film wraps up - all loose ends in a form of resolution - though not necessarily with a happy ending.






19. An effect created when too little light strikes the film during shooting. As a result the image will contain dark areas that appear very dense and dark (including shadows) and the overall contrast will be less than with a properly exposed image






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






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






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






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






24. 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






25. A film's main characters - one whose conflicts and motives drive the story forward






26. A technique of leaving empty space around the subject in the frame - in order to covey openness and continuity of visible space and to imply offscreen space






27. Drawing attention to the process of representation (including narrative and characterization) to break the theatrical illusion and elicit a distanced - intellectual response in the audience






28. 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






29. Then Hollywood writers and directors cited for Contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the House Committee on Un-American Activities' attempts to root out Communists in the film industry






30. A description of film stock that is highly sensitive to light






31. 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






32. Dense accumulation of detail conveyed in the opening moments of a film






33. 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






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






35. A glass element on a camera that focuses light rays so that the image of the object appears on the surface of the film






36. A sound editing technique that links several scenes through parallel and overlapping sounds. Each sound is associated with one scene - unlike a sound bridge - where a sound from one scene bleeds into that of another






37. A machine used to create optical effects such as fades - dissolves - and superimpositions. Most are now created digitally






38. A business model adopted by the major studios during the Hollywood studio era - in which studios controlled all aspects of the film business - from production to distribution and exhibition






39. 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






40. 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






41. A term used for any narrative sound - or visual element not contained in the story world. Also called 'extradiegetic'






42. The first print made from a film negative






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






44. A standard shot pattern that dictates that a shot of one character will be followed by a shot of another character - taken from the reverse angle of the first shot






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






46. A system for combining two separately filmed images in the same frame that involves create a matte (a black mask that covers a portion of the image) for a live action sequence and using it to block out a portion of the frame when filming the backgrou






47. An effect created when more light is required to produce an image strakes the film stock - so that the resulting image exhibits high contrast - glaring light - and washed out shadows. This effect ma or may not be intentional on the filmmaker's part






48. A series of individual drawings that provides a blueprint for the shooting of a scene






49. The chronological accounting of all events presented and suggested






50. A consistent style - theme - and subject matter developed over the course of a director's body of work