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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 term for a film's spoken dialogue - as opposed to the underlying meaning contained in the subtext






2. 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






3. A story; a chain of events linked by cause-and-effect logic






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






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






6. 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






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






8. Individuals who were prevented from working in the film industry because of their suspected involvement with Communist interests






9. A system of constructing and arranging buildings and objects on the set so that they diminish in size dramatically from foreground to background - which creates the illusion of depth






10. A statement that asserts a judgment that a given film or group of films is good or bad - based on specific criteria - Which may or may not be stated






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






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






13. 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






14. 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






15. 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






16. Projecting a series of frames of film with the same image - which appears to stop the action






17. Dutch angle; a shot resulting from a static camera that is tilted to the right or left - so that the subject in the frame appears at a diagonal






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






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






20. 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






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






22. A short screen appearance by a celebrity - playing himself or herself






23. Experimental film; Underground cinema;






24. A consistent style - theme - and subject matter developed over the course of a director's body of work






25. 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






26. 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)






27. Squeezes the image at a ratio of 2:1 horizontally onto a standard film frame. On the projector - it unsqueezes the image - creating a widescreen aspect ratio during presentation






28. 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






29. A technique of running the motion picture camera at a speed slower than projection speed (24 frames per second) - in order to produce at a fast motion sequence when projected at normal speed. The term derives from early film cameras - which were cran






30. 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






31. 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






32. 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






33. Individuals who were prevented from working in the film industry because of their suspected involvement with Communist interests






34. The arrangement of images to depict a unified storyline






35. 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






36. An actor whose career rests on playing minor or secondary quirky characters rather than leading roles






37. Non-diegetic; any element in the film that is not part of the imagined story world






38. Reels of film that are shipped to movie theaters for exhibition. Digital cinema - which can be distributed via satellite - broadband - or on media such as DVDs - may soon replace film prints because the latter are expensive to create - copy - and dis






39. A machine that converts film prints to videotape format






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






41. 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






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






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






44. A shot taken from a camera position below the subject






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






46. A short screen appearance by a celebrity - playing himself or herself






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






48. Squeezes the image at a ratio of 2:1 horizontally onto a standard film frame. On the projector - it unsqueezes the image - creating a widescreen aspect ratio during presentation






49. A shot that makes the human subject very small in relation to his or her environment. The entire figure from head to toe is onscreen and dwarfed by the surroundings






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