Test your basic knowledge |

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. Individuals who were prevented from working in the film industry because of their suspected involvement with Communist interests






2. 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






3. 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






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






5. An uncredited actor - usually hired for crowd scenes






6. 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






7. 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






8. Optical illusions created during post-production






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






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






11. A shot taken fro a position directly above the action - also called a 'birds' eye shot'






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






13. 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






14. A film that fuses the conventions of two or more genres






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






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






17. The first shot in a standard shot sequence. Its purpose is to provide a clear representation of the location of the action






18. 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






19. A series of related scene joined through elliptical editing that indicates the passage of time






20. The non-chronological insertion of events from the past into the present day of the story world






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






22. 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






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






24. The person in charge of planning the style and look of the film with the production designer and director of photography - working with actors during principal photography - and collaborating with the editor on the final version






25. A continuity editing technique that preserves spatial continuity by using a character's line of vision as motivation for a cut






26. 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






27. Live action is filmed in front of a blue screen and a matte. It's then joined with the background footage






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






29. 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






30. A musical film in which each song and dance number is narratively motivated by a plot that situates characters in performance contexts






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






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






33. Devices that attach to actors' faces and/or bodies to change their appearance






34. A technique of underdeveloping exposed film stock (leaving it in a chemical batch a shorter amount of time than usual) in order to achieve the visual effect of reducing contrast






35. The aspect ratio of 1.33:1 - standardized by the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences until the development of widescreen formats in the 1950s






36. A narrative moment that signals an important shift of some kind in character or situation






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






38. The distance that appears in focus in front of and behind the subject. It is determined by the aperture - distance and focal length of lens






39. A measure of the visual and sound quality of a film. Low-budget films tend to have lower production values because they lack the resources to devote to expensive pre- and post-production activities






40. Squeezes the image at a ratio of 2:1 horizontally onto a standard film frame. On the projector - it unsqueezes the image - creating a widescreen aspect ratio during presentation






41. 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






42. 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






43. A shot that contains two characters within the frame






44. 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






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






46. Thin - flexible material comprised of base and emulsion layers - onto which light rays are focused and which is processed in chemicals to produce film images






47. Reels of film that are shipped to movie theaters for exhibition. Digital cinema - which can be distributed via satellite - broadband - or on media such as DVDs - may soon replace film prints because the latter are expensive to create - copy - and dis






48. Lighting design where the key light is somewhat more intense than the fill light - so the fill does not eliminate every shadow. The effect is generally less cheerful than high-key lighting - but not as gloomy as low-key lighting






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






50. A type of film stock that is sensitive to (in other words - registers) all tones in the color spectrum