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






2. 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






3. A shot that contains two characters within the frame






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






5. Wheeled platform with wheels that rotate - so the dolly can change direction






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






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






8. 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






9. 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






10. A film composed entirely of footage from other films.






11. Sound recorded on a set - on location - or - for documentary film - at an actual real-world event - as opposed to dubbed in post-production through ADR or looping






12. A device used to manipulate the amount and/or color of light entering the lens






13. 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






14. The chip in a video camera that converts the incoming light to an electronic signal






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






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






17. 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






18. A complete narrative unit within a film - with its own beginning - middle - and end. Often scenes are unified - and distinguished from one another - by time and setting






19. 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






20. A term that refers to the organization of an industry wherein one type of corporation also owns corporations in allied industries - for example - film production and video games






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






22. 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






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






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






25. 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






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






27. These filters bend the light coming into lens - softening and blurring the image






28. A scene transition in which the first frame of the incoming scene appears to push the last frame of the previous scene off the screen horizontally






29. 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






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






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






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






33. 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






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






35. A computer-generated actor that some speculate will replace flesh and blood actors in the not so distant future






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






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






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






39. 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






40. 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






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






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






43. A technique of manipulating focus to direct the viewer's attention






44. 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






45. 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






46. An attribute of newer television monitors - where each frame is scanned by the electron beam as a single field. If slowed down - each frame would appear on the monitor in its entirety on the screen - rather than line by line - as is the case with int






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






48. The central cause(s) behind a character's actions






49. 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






50. A crew member whose job is to maintain consistency in visual details from one shot to the next