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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. Thin - flexible material comprised of base and emulsion layers - onto which light rays are focused and which is processed in chemicals to produce film images






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






3. 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






4. 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






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






6. Secondary footage that is interspersed with master shots - sometimes in the form of footage shot for another production or archival footage






7. A lens with a focal length greater than 50 mm (usually between 80mm and 20mm) - which provides a larger image of the subject than a normal or wide-angle lens but which narrows the angle of vision and flattens the depth of the image relative to normal






8. 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






9. A series of related scene joined through elliptical editing that indicates the passage of time






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






11. An effect created when too little light strikes the film during shooting. As a result the image will contain dark areas that appear very dense and dark (including shadows) and the overall contrast will be less than with a properly exposed image






12. A shot that contains two characters within the frame






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






14. A shot taken from a camera mounted on a crane that moves three-dimensionally in a space






15. A style of Japanese animation - distinguished primarily by the fact that it is not all geared for young audiences






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






17. 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






18. A shot in a sequence that is taken from the reverse angle of the shot previous to it






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






20. The reverse of Iris in: an iris expands outward until the next shot takes up the entire screen






21. Light emitted from a relatively small source positioned close to the subject. It tends to be unflattering because it creates deep shadows and emphasizes surface imperfections






22. 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






23. Thin - flexible material comprised of base and emulsion layers - onto which light rays are focused and which is processed in chemicals to produce film images






24. A shot that interrupts a scene's master shot and may include character reactions






25. A film that fuses the conventions of two or more genres






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






27. Louis Althusser's term for the way in which a society creates its subjects/citizens through ideological (as opposed to repressive) state apparatuses - which include education - media - religion - and the family






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






30. Experimental film; Underground cinema;






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






32. A type of documentary film whose purpose is to present the way of life of a culture or subculture






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






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






35. Literary narration from a viewpoint beyond that of any one individual character






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






37. 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






38. 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






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






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






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






42. Wheeled platform with wheels that rotate - so the dolly can change direction






43. A cinematography technique that produces an image with many planes of depth in focus. It can be accomplished by using a small aperture - a large distance between camera and subject - and/or a lens of short focal length






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






45. 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






46. 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






47. The plotline that surrounds an embedded tale. The frame narration may or may not be as fully developed as the embedded tale






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






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






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