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 crew member responsible for logging the details of each take on the set so as to ensure continuity






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






3. The first print made from a film negative






4. The non-chronological insertion of events from the past into the present day of the story world






5. 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






6. A pan executed so quickly that it produces a blurred image - indicated rapid activity or - sometimes - the passage of time






7. 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






8. The period after principal photography during which editing and looping take place - and special visual effects are added to the film






9. A transparent sheet on which animation artists draw images.






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






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






12. 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






13. Dense accumulation of detail conveyed in the opening moments of a film






14. A film composed entirely of footage from other films.






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






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






17. 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






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






19. Public identity created by marketing a film actor's performances - press coverage - and 'personal' information to fans as the star's personality






20. The chronological accounting of all events presented and suggested






21. 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






22. 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






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






24. The arrangement of images to depict a unified storyline






25. The practice of shooting during the day but using filters and underexposure to create the illusion of nighttime






26. Public identity created by marketing a film actor's performances - press coverage - and 'personal' information to fans as the star's personality






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






28. Recording images at a slower speed than the speed of projection (24 frames per second). Before cameras were motorized - this was called undercranking. Fewer frames are exposed in one minute - so - when projected at 24 f.p.s. - that action takes less






29. A measure of a film stock's sensitivity to light. 'Fast' refers to sensitive film stock - while slow film is relatively insensitive






30. A scene filmed and processed but not selected to appear in the final version of the film






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






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






33. The average length in seconds of a series of shots - covering a portion of a film or an entire film; a measure of pace within a scene or in the film as a whole.






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






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






36. 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






37. 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






38. A lens with a variable focal length that allows changes of focal length while keeping the subject in focus






39. A crew member who reports to the Director of Photography (DP) and is in charge of tasks involving lighting and electrical needs






40. A character who in some way opposes the protagonist - leading to protracted conflict






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






42. A crew member who works in post-production in a specially equipped studio to create the sounds of the story world - such as the shuffling of shoes on various surfaces for footsteps






43. 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






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






45. The way an actor delivers a line of dialogue - including pauses - inflection - and emotion






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






47. A story narrated by one of the characters within the story - using the 'I' voice






48. A machine that converts film prints to videotape format






49. 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






50. A device attached to the film camera that records videotape of what has been filmed - allowing the director immediate access to video footage