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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. Exposed and developed film stock from which the master positive is struck. If projected - the negative would produce a reverse of the image - with dark areas appearing white and vice versa or - if color film - areas of color appearing as their comple






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






3. A change of focus from one plane of depth to another. As the in-focus subject goes out of focus - another object - which has been blurry - comes into focus in either the background or the foreground






4. A single take that contains an entire scene






5. Filters that increase color saturation and contrast in outdoor shots






6. 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






7. A group of films within a given genre that share their own specific set of conventions that differentiate them from other films in the genre. For example - the slasher film is a subgenre of the horror genre






8. A similarity established between two characters or situations that invites the audience to compare the two. It may involve visual - narrative - and/or sound elements






9. 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






10. Sound design that blends the speech of several characters talking simultaneously - used to create spontaneity - although it may also confuse the audience






11. A compositing method that allows cinematographers to combine live action and settings that are filmed or created separately. Actors are filmed against a green or blue background. During post-production - this background is filled in with an image thr






12. Also called 'stop motion photography.' A technique of photographing a scene one frame at a time and moving the model between each shot






13. 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






14. 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)






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






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






17. 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






18. An action film cycle of the late 1960s and early 1970s that featured bold - rebellious African American characters






19. 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






20. A technique of intentionally adding scratches in a film's emulsion layer for aesthetic purposes - such as to simulate home movie footage






21. A technique of moving a zoom lens from a wide-angle position to a telephoto position - which results in a magnification of the subject within the frame - and keeps the subject in focus






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






23. An early color process - involving bathing lengths of processed film in dye one scene at a time






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






25. 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






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






27. A short segment of film used to promote an upcoming release






28. The details of a character's past that emerge as the film unfolds - and which often play a role in character motivation






29. A shot taken from a vantage point so close that only a part of the subject is visible. On an actor - it might show only an eye or a portion of the face






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






31. 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






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






33. 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






34. Suspended particles of silver in the film's emulsion - Which may become visible in the final image as dots






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






36. 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






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






38. Also called 'full screen -' the technique of re-shooting a widescreen film in order to convert it to the original television aspect ration of 1.33 to 1. Rather than reproduce the original aspect ratio - as a letterboxed version does - a panned and sc






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






40. A fiction film (often a comedy) that uses documentary conventions on fictional rather than real-world subject matter






41. The horizontal turning movement of an otherwise immobile camera across a scene from left to right or vice versa






42. 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






43. 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






44. Sound recorded on a set - on location - or - for documentary film - at an actual real-world event - as opposed to dubbed in post-production through ADR or looping






45. 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






46. Also called 'full screen -' the technique of re-shooting a widescreen film in order to convert it to the original television aspect ration of 1.33 to 1. Rather than reproduce the original aspect ratio - as a letterboxed version does - a panned and sc






47. A computer-generated actor that some speculate will replace flesh and blood actors in the not so distant future






48. 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






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






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