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 shot that focuses audience attention on precise details that may or may not be the focus of characters






2. 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






3. A technique of recording very few images over a long period of time - say - one frame per minute or per day






4. 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






5. A device used to manipulate the amount and/or color of light entering the lens






6. 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






7. A shot taken from a camera mounted on a crane that moves three-dimensionally in a space






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






9. 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






10. 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






11. The written blueprint for a film - composed of three elements: dialogue - sluglines (setting the place and time of each scene) - and description. Feature-length screenplays typically run 90-130 pages






12. A business model adopted by the major studios during the Hollywood studio era - in which studios controlled all aspects of the film business - from production to distribution and exhibition






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






14. Any noticeable but unintended discrepancy from one shot to the next in costume - props - hairstyle - posture - etc.






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






16. 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






17. Lighting design where the key light is somewhat more intense than the fill light - so the fill does not eliminate every shadow. The effect is generally less cheerful than high-key lighting - but not as gloomy as low-key lighting






18. A genre film that radically modifies accepted genre conventions for dramatic effect






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






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






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






22. The visual arrangement of objects - actors - and space within the frame






23. 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






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






25. The person in charge of planning the style and look of the film with the production designer and director of photography - working with actors during principal photography - and collaborating with the editor on the final version






26. 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






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






28. 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






29. A marketing strategy of screening a blockbuster prior to general release only in premier theaters






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






31. A shot taken from a level camera located approximately 5' to 6' from the ground - simulating the perspective of a person standing before the action presented






32. Live action is filmed in front of a blue screen and a matte. It's then joined with the background footage






33. The chip in a video camera that converts the incoming light to an electronic signal






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






35. 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






36. 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






37. 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






38. The first step in the process of creating CGI. The wireframe is a three-dimensional computer model of an object - which is then rendered (producing the finished image) and animated (using simulated camera movement frame by frame)






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






40. An efficient system developed for film lighting. In a standard lighting set-up - the key light illuminates the subject - the fill light eliminates shadows cast by the key light - and the back light separates the subject from the background






41. A standard shot pattern that dictates that a shot of one character will be followed by a shot of another character - taken from the reverse angle of the first shot






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






43. Light striking the emulsion layer of the film - activating light-sensitive grains






44. A type of filter that absorbs certain wavelength but leave others unaffected. On black and white film - color filters lighten or darken tones. On color film - they can produce a range of effects






45. A shot taken from a camera mounted on a crane that moves three-dimensionally in a space






46. Non-diegetic; any element in the film that is not part of the imagined story world






47. 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






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






49. 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






50. 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