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. A technician responsible for splicing and assembling the film negative to the editor's specifications






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






3. Experimental film; Underground cinema;






4. The length in minutes for a film to play in its entirety (for example - 120 minutes). Also referred to as 'screen time.'






5. A style of stage acting developed from the teachings of Constantin Stanislavsky - which trains actors to get into character through the use of emotional memory






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






7. The period of time before principal photography during which actors are signed - sets and costumes designed - and locations scouted






8. A shot transition that involves the gradual disappearance of the image at the same time that a new image gradually comes into view






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






10. The falling or unraveling action after the climax of a narrative that leads to resolution






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






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






13. Also called 'full screen -' the technique of re-shooting a widescreen film in order to convert it to the original television aspect ration of 1.33 to 1. Rather than reproduce the original aspect ratio - as a letterboxed version does - a panned and sc






14. The measurement of how forgiving a film stock is. It determines whether an acceptable image will be produced when the film stock is exposed to too little or too much light






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






16. 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






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






18. 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






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






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






21. 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






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






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






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






25. Also called 'rushes.' Footage exposed and developed quickly so that the director can assess the day's work






26. 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






27. A shot taken when the camera is so close to a subject that it fills the frame. It is most commonly used for a shot that isolates and encompasses a single actor's face - to emphasize the expression of emotion






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






29. Early films that documented everyday events - such as workers leaving a factory






30. 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






31. A technique of depicting two layered images simultaneously. Images from one frame or several frames of film are added to pre-existing images - using an optical printer - to produce the same effect as a double exposure






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






33. A term applied to film stock that is relatively insensitive to light. This stock will not yield acceptable images unless the amount of light can be carefully controlled






34. 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






35. A technique used to join live action with a pre-recorded background image. A projector is placed behind a screen and projects an image onto it. Actors stand in front of the screen and the camera records them in front of the projected background






36. The rules of character - setting - and narrative that films that belong to a genre - such as Westerns - horror films - and screwball comedies - generally obey.






37. Recording images at a slower speed than the speed of projection (24 frames per second). Before cameras were motorized - this was called undercranking. Fewer frames are exposed in one minute - so - when projected at 24 f.p.s. - that action takes less






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






39. The conclusion of the film wraps up - all loose ends in a form of resolution - though not necessarily with a happy ending.






40. Muted - washed out color that contains more white than a saturated color






41. 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






42. A process of transferring film to video tapes or DVDs so that the original aspect ratio of the film is preserved






43. The measure of intensity or purity of a color. Saturated color is purer than desaturated color - which has more white in it and thus offers a washed-out - less intense version of a color






44. A device that projects photographs or footage onto glass so that images can be traced by hand to create animated images






45. 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






46. Also called 'rushes.' Footage exposed and developed quickly so that the director can assess the day's work






47. Natural light; The process of suing sunlight rather than artificial studio lights when filming






48. An optical effect whereby the eye continues to register a visual stimulus in the brain for a brief period after that stimulus has been removed






49. 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






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