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






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






3. 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






4. A term for film stock used in early cinema that was insensitive to red hues






5. 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






6. 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






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






8. A short documentary on current events - show in movie theaters along with cartoons and feature films beginning in the 1930s






9. A class or type of film - such as the Western or the horror movie. They share narrative - visual - and/or sound conventions






10. Drawing attention to the process of representation (including narrative and characterization) to break the theatrical illusion and elicit a distanced - intellectual response in the audience






11. A shot taken when the camera is so close to a subject that it fills the frame. It is most commonly used for a shot that isolates and encompasses a single actor's face - to emphasize the expression of emotion






12. 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






13. 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






14. A description of film stock that is highly sensitive to light






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






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






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






19. The central cause(s) behind a character's actions






20. A shot taken fro a position directly above the action - also called a 'birds' eye shot'






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






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






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






24. 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






25. 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






26. 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






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






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






29. 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






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






31. 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






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






33. Lighting design where the key light is somewhat more intense than the fill light - so the fill does not eliminate every shadow. The effect is generally less cheerful than high-key lighting - but not as gloomy as low-key lighting






34. A technique of leaving empty space around the subject in the frame - in order to covey openness and continuity of visible space and to imply offscreen space






35. An early color process that replaced silver halide grains with colored salts






36. A chemical embedded in the emulsion layer of film stock that - when developed after exposure - releases a particular color dye (red - green - or blue)






37. 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






38. A technique of filming at a speed faster than projection - the projecting the footage at normal speed of 24 frames per second. Because fewer frames were recorded per second - the action appears to be speeded up






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






40. A screenplay written and submitted to a studio or production company without a prior contract or agreement






41. A digital technique developed by Industrial Light and Magic - which builds movement sequences from single frames of film






42. A single take that contains an entire scene






43. A term for film stock used in early cinema that was insensitive to red hues






44. A visual effect achieved through the use of photography and digital techniques that appears to stop time and allow the viewer to travel around the subject and view it from a multitude of vantage points






45. A contemporary modification of the standard three-act structure that identifies a critical turning point at the halfway mark of most narrative films






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






47. 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






48. A term used for any narrative sound - or visual element not contained in the story world. Also called 'extradiegetic'






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






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







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