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






2. 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






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






4. A lens with a variable focal length that allows changes of focal length while keeping the subject in focus






5. Smaller corporations that did not own distribution and/or exhibition companies in the studio era - including Universal - Columbia - and United Artists






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






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






8. An alternative to classical and realist styles - formalism is a self-consciously interventionist approach that explores ideas - abstraction - and aesthetics rather than focusing on storytelling (as in classical films) or everyday life (as in realist






9. A short segment of film used to promote an upcoming release






10. A technique of running the motion picture camera at a speed slower than projection speed (24 frames per second) - in order to produce at a fast motion sequence when projected at normal speed. The term derives from early film cameras - which were cran






11. The horizontal turning movement of an otherwise immobile camera across a scene from left to right or vice versa






12. A shot taken from a level camera located approximately 5' to 6' from the ground - simulating the perspective of a person standing before the action presented






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






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






15. 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






16. 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






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






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






19. 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






20. An agreement made between filmmakers and those who license the use of commercial products to feature those products in films - generally as props used by characters






21. The first print made from a film negative






22. A musical accompaniment written specifically for a film






23. 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






24. 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






25. A system for recording images on magnetic tape using a digital signal - that is - an electronic signal comprised of 0s and 1s






26. A production term denoting a single uninterrupted series of frames exposed by a motion picture or video camera between the time it is turned on and the time it is turned off. Filmmakers shoot several takes of any scene and the film editor selects the






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






28. 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






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






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






31. A shot that focuses audience attention on precise details that may or may not be the focus of characters






32. The building block of a scene; an uninterrupted sequence of frames that viewers experience as they watch a film - ending with a cut - fade - dissolve - etc. See also Take






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






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. A change of focus from one plane of depth to another. As the in-focus subject goes out of focus - another object - which has been blurry - comes into focus in either the background or the foreground






36. An alternative to classical and realist styles - formalism is a self-consciously interventionist approach that explores ideas - abstraction - and aesthetics rather than focusing on storytelling (as in classical films) or everyday life (as in realist






37. 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






38. A technique of intentionally adding scratches in a film's emulsion layer for aesthetic purposes - such as to simulate home movie footage






39. A technique of 'pushing' the film (overdeveloping it) to correct problems of underexposure (resulting from insufficient light during shooting) by increasing image contrast






40. 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






41. 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






42. 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






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






44. 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






45. 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






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






47. 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






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






49. A large-budget film whose strategy is to swamp the competition through market saturation






50. The term for a film's spoken dialogue - as opposed to the underlying meaning contained in the subtext