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






2. 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






3. 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






4. 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






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






6. 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






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






8. The distance that appears in focus in front of and behind the subject. It is determined by the aperture - distance and focal length of lens






9. Color. The strength of a hue is measured by its saturation or desaturation






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






11. The measurement of how forgiving a film stock is. It determines whether an acceptable image will be produced when the film stock is exposed to too little or too much light






12. 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






13. The annotated script - containing information about set-ups used during shooting






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






15. 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






16. An outlawed studio era practice - where studios forced exhibitors to book groups of films at once - thus ensuring a market for their failures along with their successes






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 system for recording images on magnetic tape using a digital signal - that is - an electronic signal comprised of 0s and 1s






19. Images that originate from computer graphics technology - rather than photography






20. Dialogue that restates What is already obvious from images or action






21. Standard shot pattern: A sequence of shots designed to maintain spatial continuity. Scene begin with an establishing shot - then move to a series of individual shots depicting characters and action - before reestablishing shots re-orient viewers to t






22. The width of the film stock - measured across the frame. Typical sizes are 8mm - 16mm - 35mm - and 70mm






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






24. 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






25. 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






26. A large-budget film whose strategy is to swamp the competition through market saturation






27. (Automatic dialogue replacement) recording synchronized dialogue in post-production - cutting several identical lengths of developed film and having actors record the dialogue repeatedly






28. A series of individual drawings that provides a blueprint for the shooting of a scene






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






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






31. The narrative path of the main or supporting characters - also called a plotline. Complex films may have several lines of action






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






33. A form of shot transition - generally concluding a scene - where a circular mask constricts around the image until the entire frame is black






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






35. A digital technique developed by Industrial Light and Magic - which builds movement sequences from single frames of film






36. A production term referring to coordinating actors' movements with lines of dialogue






37. A glass element on a camera that focuses light rays so that the image of the object appears on the surface of the film






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






39. A film's main characters - one whose conflicts and motives drive the story forward






40. A technique of filming at a speed faster than projection - the projecting the footage at normal speed of 24 frames per second. Because fewer frames were recorded per second - the action appears to be speeded up






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






42. Light emitted from a larger source that is scattered over a bigger area or reflected off a surface before it strikes the subject. Soft light minimizes facial details - including wrinkles






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






44. 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






45. A rule in continuity editing - which dictates that if a cut occurs while a character is in the midst of an action - the subsequent shot must begin so that audiences see the completion of that action






46. Assists the gaffer in managing lighting crews






47. 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






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






49. 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






50. 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







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