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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 picture element - a measure of image density. There are approximately 18 million pixels in a frame of 35mm film and 300000-400000 in a video image






2. 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






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






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






5. A property of older television monitors - where each frame was scanned as two fields: One consisting of all the odd numbered lines - the other all the even lines. If slowed down - the television image would appear to sweep down the screen one line at






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






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






8. 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






9. The selection and ordering of narrative events presented in a film






10. Assists the gaffer in managing lighting crews






11. 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






12. Because film stock is sensitive to the color of light - directors work with film labs in post-production to monitor the color scheme of each scene in a film - making adjustments for consistency and aesthetic effect






13. 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






14. A fiction film (often a comedy) that uses documentary conventions on fictional rather than real-world subject matter






15. 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






16. An early color process that replaced silver halide grains with colored salts






17. Glass filters whose surface is etched with spots that refract light - so they create the appearance of water droplets in the air






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






19. 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






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






21. 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.






22. 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






23. 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






24. (Automatic dialogue replacement) recording synchronized dialogue in post-production - cutting several identical lengths of developed film and having actors record the dialogue repeatedly






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






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






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






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






29. 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.'






30. 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






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






32. A relatively long - uninterrupted sot - generally of a minute or more






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






34. A shot taken from a camera position above the subject - looking down at it






35. Experimental film; Underground cinema;






36. A rule in continuity editing - which dictates that if a cut occurs while a character is in the midst of an action - the subsequent shot must begin so that audiences see the completion of that action






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






38. A device worn by a camera operator that holds the motion picture camera - allowing it glide smoothly through spaces unreachable by camera mounted on a crane or other apparatus






39. Assists the gaffer in managing lighting crews






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






41. A model of industrial organization in the film industry from about 1915 to 1946 - characterized by the development of major and minor studios that produced - distributed - and exhibited films - and held film actors - directors - art directors - and o






42. A technique of moving a zoom lens from a wide-angle position to a telephoto position - which results in a magnification of the subject within the frame - and keeps the subject in focus






43. 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






44. 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






45. An early color process - involving bathing lengths of processed film in dye one scene at a time






46. 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






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






48. A story; a chain of events linked by cause-and-effect logic






49. 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






50. The arrangement of images to depict a unified storyline