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Film Vocab

Subjects : performing-arts, film
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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  • 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 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






2. 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






3. 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






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






5. Film productions shot outside the U.S. for economic reasons






6. An alternative to continuity editing - this style of editing was developed in silent Soviet cinema - based on the theory that editing should exploit the difference between shots to generate intellectual and emotional responses in the audience






7. A painting used on the set as a portion of the background






8. Individuals who were prevented from working in the film industry because of their suspected involvement with Communist interests






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






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






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






12. A model of industrial organization in the film industry from about 1915 to 1946 - characterized by the development of major and minor studios that produced - distributed - and exhibited films - and held film actors - directors - art directors - and o






13. A consistent style - theme - and subject matter developed over the course of a director's body of work






14. 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






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






16. An actor whose career rests on playing minor or secondary quirky characters rather than leading roles






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






18. 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






19. Lighting design that provides an even illumination of the subject - with many facial details washed out. High-key lighting tends to create a hopeful mood - in contrast to low-key lighting






20. A picture element - a measure of image density. There are approximately 18 million pixels in a frame of 35mm film and 300000-400000 in a video image






21. A technique in which the audience temporarily shares the visual perspective of a character or a group of characters. The camera points in the directions the character looks - simulating the character's field of vision






22. Materials intentionally released by studios to attract public attention to films and their stars. Promotion differs from publicity - which is information that is not (or does not appear to be) intentionally disseminated by studios






23. A platform on wheels - used for mobile camera shots






24. 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






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






26. 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






27. 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






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






29. A post-studio era Hollywood film designed to appeal to the broadest possible audience by fusing a simple story line with major movie stars and mounting a lavish marketing campaign






30. 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






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






32. 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






33. A narrative moment that signals an important shift of some kind in character or situation






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






35. An effect created when more light is required to produce an image strakes the film stock - so that the resulting image exhibits high contrast - glaring light - and washed out shadows. This effect ma or may not be intentional on the filmmaker's part






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






37. 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






38. 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






39. The individual arrangement of lighting and camera placement used for each shot






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






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






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






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






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






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






46. 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






47. 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






48. An optical effect whereby the human eye fills in gaps between closely spaced objects - so that two light bulbs flashing on and off are understood as one light moving back and forth






49. A musical film in which each song and dance number is narratively motivated by a plot that situates characters in performance contexts






50. The plotline that surrounds an embedded tale. The frame narration may or may not be as fully developed as the embedded tale







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