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






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






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






4. 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






5. A type of short film that blends elements of documentary and avant-garde film to document and often to celebrate the wonder of the modern city






6. A cinematography technique that produces an image with many planes of depth in focus. It can be accomplished by using a small aperture - a large distance between camera and subject - and/or a lens of short focal length






7. Dutch angle; a shot resulting from a static camera that is tilted to the right or left - so that the subject in the frame appears at a diagonal






8. A videotape system that records images onto magnetic tape - using electronic signals






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






10. Projecting a series of frames of film with the same image - which appears to stop the action






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






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






13. The imagined world of the story






14. 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






15. A shot taken from a camera position below the subject






16. A shot that interrupts a scene's master shot and may include character reactions






17. A shot taken by a camera that is held manually rather than supported by a tripod - crane or Steadicam. Generally - such shots are shaky - owing to the motion of the camera operator






18. An optical technique that divides the screen into two or more frames






19. A technique of shifting the camera angle - height - or distance to take into account the motion of actors or objects within the frame






20. A shot that includes a human figure from the shoulders up






21. A shot taken from a vantage point so close that only a part of the subject is visible. On an actor - it might show only an eye or a portion of the face






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






23. The shape of the image onscreen as determined by the width of the frame relative to its height






24. Literary narration from a viewpoint beyond that of any one individual character






25. The classical model of narrative form. The first act introduces characters and conflicts; the second act offers complication leading to a climax; the third act contains the danouement and resolution






26. A filter that creates points of light that streak outward from a light source






27. A measure of a film stock's sensitivity to light. 'Fast' refers to sensitive film stock - while slow film is relatively insensitive






28. A brief chronological description of the basic events and characters in a film. It does not include interpretive or evaluative claims






29. 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






30. An animation technique that uses a computer program to interpolate frames to produce the effect of an object or creature changing gradually into something different. The program calculates the way the image must change in order for the first image to






31. 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






32. 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






33. A shot combining two kinds of movement: the camera tracks in toward the subject wile the lens zooms out






34. A film style that emerged in the 1910s in Germany. It was heavily indebted to the Expressionist art movement of the time and influenced subsequent horror films and film noir






35. A story narrated by one of the characters within the story - using the 'I' voice






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






37. An uncredited actor - usually hired for crowd scenes






38. 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






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






40. Optical illusions created during production - including the use of matte paintings - glass shots - models - and prosthesis






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






42. A similarity established between two characters or situations that invites the audience to compare the two. It may involve visual - narrative - and/or sound elements






43. 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






44. A group of films within a given genre that share their own specific set of conventions that differentiate them from other films in the genre. For example - the slasher film is a subgenre of the horror genre






45. 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






46. A lens with a shorter focal length than a normal or telephoto lens (usually between 15-35mm). The subject appears smaller as a result - but the angle of vision is wider and an illusion is created of greater depth in the frame






47. A flexible celluloid strip that - along with the emulsion layer - comprises 35mm film stock






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






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






50. A film style that emerged in the 1910s in Germany. It was heavily indebted to the Expressionist art movement of the time and influenced subsequent horror films and film noir