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






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






3. 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






4. The arrangement of images to depict a unified storyline






5. 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






6. 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






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






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






9. 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






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






11. A scene transition wherein sound from one scene bleeds over into the ext scene - often resulting in a contrast between sound image






12. 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






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






14. 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






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






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






17. A long shot in which the film frame resembles the proscenium arch of the stage - distancing the audience






18. Prefogging; a cinematographic technique that exposes raw film stock to light before - during - or after shooting - resulting in an image with reduced contrast. This effect can also be created using digital post-production techniques






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






20. 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






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






22. 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






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






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






25. A shot filmed from an airplane or helicopter






26. 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






27. The imagined world of the story






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






29. 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






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






31. Public identity created by marketing a film actor's performances - press coverage - and 'personal' information to fans as the star's personality






32. 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






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






34. 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






35. A device attached to the film camera that records videotape of what has been filmed - allowing the director immediate access to video footage






36. An abrupt - inexplicable shift in time and place of an action not signaled by an appropriate shot transition






37. 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






38. Creating the appearance of movement by drawing a series of frames that are projected sequentially - rather than photographing a series of still images






39. Leaving the silver grains in the emulsion rather than bleaching them out - which produces desaturated color






40. A shot taken fro a position directly above the action - also called a 'birds' eye shot'






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






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






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






44. A black masking device used to black out a portion of the frame - usually for the insertion of other images






45. 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






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






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






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






49. 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






50. 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