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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. 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.






2. Cinema verite; a documentary style in which the filmmaker attempts to remain as unobtrusive as possible - recording without obvious editorial comment






3. A post-studio era Hollywood film designed to appeal to the broadest possible audience by fusing a simple story line with major movie stars and mounting a lavish marketing campaign






4. 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






5. The camera does not move across an imagined line drawn between two characters






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






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






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






9. 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






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






11. 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






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






13. 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






14. The classical model of narrative form. The first act introduces characters and conflicts; the second act offers complication leading to a climax; the third act contains the danouement and resolution






15. 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






16. A shot that includes a human figure from the shoulders up






17. Any lens with a focal length approximately equal to the diagonal of the frame. For 35mm filmmaking - a 35-50 mm lens does not distort the angle of vision or depth






18. A shot depicting the human body from the waist up






19. A crew member whose job is to measure the distance between the subject and the camera lens - marking the ring on the camera lens - and ensuring the ring is turned precisely so that the image is in focus






20. A camera device that opens and closes to regulate the length of time the film is exposed to light






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






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






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






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






25. Optical illusions created during post-production






26. 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






27. An attribute of newer television monitors - where each frame is scanned by the electron beam as a single field. If slowed down - each frame would appear on the monitor in its entirety on the screen - rather than line by line - as is the case with int






28. The space between the camera and subject it is filming.






29. The aspect ratio of 1.33:1 - standardized by the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences until the development of widescreen formats in the 1950s






30. A post-studio era Hollywood film designed to appeal to the broadest possible audience by fusing a simple story line with major movie stars and mounting a lavish marketing campaign






31. A shot that appears during or near the end of a scene and reorients viewers to the setting






32. A filter that simply reduces the amount of light entering the lens - without affecting the color characteristics






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






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






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






36. A narrative moment that signals an important shift of some kind in character or situation






37. Fish-eye lens; With a focal length of 15mm or less - this lens presents an extremely distorted image - where objects in the center of the frame appear to bulge toward the camera






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






39. 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






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






41. 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






42. 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






43. The camera should move at least 30 degrees any time there is a cut within a scene






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






45. 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)






46. A technique of moving from the telephoto position to the wide-angle position of a zoom lens - which results in the subject appearing to become smaller within the frame - while remaining in focus






47. 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






48. A scene transition wherein sound from one scene bleeds over into the ext scene - often resulting in a contrast between sound image






49. A device that projects photographs or footage onto glass so that images can be traced by hand to create animated images






50. 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