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






2. A measure of the visual and sound quality of a film. Low-budget films tend to have lower production values because they lack the resources to devote to expensive pre- and post-production activities






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






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






5. Lighting design in which the greater intensity of the key light makes it impossible for the fill to eliminate shadows - producing a high-contrast image (with many grades of light and dark) - a number of shadows - and a somber mood






6. The chronological accounting of all events presented and suggested






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






8. Assists the gaffer in managing lighting crews






9. A type of short film that blends elements of documentary and avant-garde film to document and often to celebrate the wonder of the modern city






10. Natural light; The process of suing sunlight rather than artificial studio lights when filming






11. 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






12. A scene transition in which the first frame of the incoming scene appears to push the last frame of the previous scene off the screen horizontally






13. Experimental film; Underground cinema;






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






15. A film style that emerged in the 1910s in Germany. It was heavily indebted to the Expressionist art movement of the time and influenced subsequent horror films and film noir






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






17. 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






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






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






20. Processes such as Cinemascope and Cinerama - developed during the 1950s to enhance film's size advantage over the smaller television image






21. 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






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






23. The practice or repeatedly casting actors in similar roles across different films






24. Creating images during post-production by joining together photographic or CGI material shot or created at different times and places






25. 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






26. 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






27. 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






28. 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






29. The conclusion of the film wraps up - all loose ends in a form of resolution - though not necessarily with a happy ending.






30. The distance in millimeters from the optical center of a lens to the lane where the sharpest image is formed while focusing on a distant object






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






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






33. Creating an image by combining several elements created separately using computer graphics rather than photographic means






34. 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






35. A shot transition that emphasizes the visual similarities between two consecutive shots






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






37. The period of time before principal photography during which actors are signed - sets and costumes designed - and locations scouted






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






39. The non-chronological insertion of scenes of events yet to happen into the present day of the story world






40. Smaller corporations that did not own distribution and/or exhibition companies in the studio era - including Universal - Columbia - and United Artists






41. 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






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






43. 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






44. 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






45. A technique used to join live action with a pre-recorded background image. A projector is placed behind a screen and projects an image onto it. Actors stand in front of the screen and the camera records them in front of the projected background






46. 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






47. Materials intentionally released by studios to attract public attention to films and their stars. Promotion differs from publicity - which is information that is not (or does not appear to be) intentionally disseminated by studios






48. A widescreen process that uses three cameras - three projectors - and a wide - curved screen






49. 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






50. 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