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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 short documentary on current events - show in movie theaters along with cartoons and feature films beginning in the 1930s






2. A contemporary modification of the standard three-act structure that identifies a critical turning point at the halfway mark of most narrative films






3. 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






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






5. Assists the gaffer in managing lighting crews






6. 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






7. 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






8. 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






9. A technique of exposing film frames - then rewinding the film and exposing it again - which results in an image that combines two shots in a single frame






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






11. A term for film stock used in early cinema that was insensitive to red hues






12. A non-standard narrative organization that assumes 'day in the life' quality rather than the highly structured three-act or four part narrative - and that features loose or indirect cause-effect relationships






13. 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






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






15. 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






16. Invisible editing; a system devised to minimize the audience's awareness of shot transitions - especially cuts - in order to improve the flow of the story and avoid interrupting the viewer's immersion it in






17. The artful use of light and dark areas in the composition in black and white filmmaking






18. 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






19. A shot that depicts a human body from the feet up






20. Drawing attention to the process of representation (including narrative and characterization) to break the theatrical illusion and elicit a distanced - intellectual response in the audience






21. An effect created when too little light strikes the film during shooting. As a result the image will contain dark areas that appear very dense and dark (including shadows) and the overall contrast will be less than with a properly exposed image






22. A description of film stock that is highly sensitive to light






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






24. 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






25. An unstated meaning that underlies and is implied by spoken dialogue






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






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






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






29. 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






30. 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






31. The reverse of Iris in: an iris expands outward until the next shot takes up the entire screen






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






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






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






35. 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






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






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






38. A non-standard narrative organization that assumes 'day in the life' quality rather than the highly structured three-act or four part narrative - and that features loose or indirect cause-effect relationships






39. 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






40. Secondary footage that is interspersed with master shots - sometimes in the form of footage shot for another production or archival footage






41. 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






42. 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






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






44. A specialist who monitors the processing of color on the se and in the film lab






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






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






47. 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






48. 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






49. A machine that converts film prints to videotape format






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