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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 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






2. The first shot in a standard shot sequence. Its purpose is to provide a clear representation of the location of the action






3. 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






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






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






6. Devices that attach to actors' faces and/or bodies to change their appearance






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






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






9. A format that uses a larger film stock than standard 35mm. IMAX - Omnimax - and Showscan are shot on 70mm film






10. 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






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






12. 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






13. Dutch angle; a shot resulting from a static camera that is tilted to the right or left - so that the subject in the frame appears at a diagonal






14. 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






15. A system initially developed for marketing films by creating and promoting stars as objects of admiration. The promotion of stars has now become an end in itself






16. 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






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






18. A person responsible for putting a film together from a mass of developed footage - making decisions regarding pace - shot transitions - and which scenes and shots will be used






19. A style associated with Hollywood filmmaking of the studio and post-studio era - in which efficient storytelling - rather than gritty realism or aesthetic innovation - is of paramount importance






20. Creating an image by combining several elements created separately using computer graphics rather than photographic means






21. A technique of shooting a scene at a very high speed (96 frames per second) - then adding and subtracting frames in post-production - 'fanning out' the action through the overlapping images






22. A part of the story world implied by visual or sound techniques rather than being revealed by the camera






23. The arrangement of images to depict a unified storyline






24. A short screen appearance by a celebrity - playing himself or herself






25. Devices that attach to actors' faces and/or bodies to change their appearance






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






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






28. The use of editing techniques - such as a fade or dissolve - to indicate the end of one scene and the beginning of another






29. Author; A term popularized by French film critics and refers to film directors with their own distinctive style






30. The practice of Hollywood studios contracting out post-production work to individuals or firms outside the U.S.






31. A property of older television monitors - where each frame was scanned as two fields: One consisting of all the odd numbered lines - the other all the even lines. If slowed down - the television image would appear to sweep down the screen one line at






32. 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






33. 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






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






35. 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






36. 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






37. A technique of moving the camera - on a specially built track. Such shots often trace character movement laterally across the frame or in and out of the depth of the frame






38. The arrangement of actors on screen as a compositional element that suggests themes - character development - emotional content - and visual motifs






39. 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






40. 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






41. The non-chronological insertion of scenes of events yet to happen into the present day of the story world






42. A machine that converts film prints to videotape format






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






44. A camera shot taken at a large distance from the subject. Using the human body as the subject - a long shot captures the entire human form






45. A shot combining two kinds of movement: the camera tracks in toward the subject wile the lens zooms out






46. 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






47. A vertical - up-and-down - motion of an otherwise stationary camera






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






49. The term for a film's spoken dialogue - as opposed to the underlying meaning contained in the subtext






50. Glass filters whose surface is etched with spots that refract light - so they create the appearance of water droplets in the air