Chapter 1: Film as business Flashcards
1
Q
What is the #1 rule of mise-en-scène analysis
A
99.9% of what is onscreen is intentional.
2
Q
two areas of control in film
A
style + form.
3
Q
What is form
A
overall patterning, composition of parts of a film.
4
Q
What is style
A
use of cinematic technique
5
Q
What are the 4 cinematic techniques
A
mise-en-scène
cinematography
editing
sound
6
Q
what is mise-en-scène
A
arrangement of characters and setting.
7
Q
cinematography
A
recording of images and sound
8
Q
editing
A
piecing together shots
9
Q
sound
A
voices/effects/music
10
Q
coverage
A
shooting the same scene several times from different angles, distances, with different cameras.
11
Q
whip pans
A
rapid blurry movements of the camera that give the impression of a continuous shot
12
Q
long take
A
film taken of a longer duration
13
Q
apparent motion
A
the visual display changes rapidly enough to
14
Q
what is the most common shooting rate
A
24 frames per second
15
Q
at what rate does film go through the projector
A
90 feet per minute
16
Q
What are digital movies shot in (instead of frame rate)
A
2k and 4k (pixels) (4k is 4x as much)
17
Q
What is the frame rate of silent films
A
16-20 fps
18
Q
what is critical flicker fusion
A
Frequency at which an intermittent light stimulus appears to be completely steady to the average human.
19
Q
What are the four steps in the process of production
A
- Scriptwriting and funding
- Preparation for filming.
- Shooting.
- Assembly
20
Q
Which two roles are central in the scriptwriting + funding phase of film production?
A
Producer and screenwriter
21
Q
What is the role of a producer before shooting
A
- Follow through scriptwriting
- Obtain financial support
- arrange to hire personnel to work on film
22
Q
What is the role of the producer during shooting
A
Liaison between writer/director and company financing film.
23
Q
What is the role of the producer after shooting
A
Arranging distribution, promotion, marketing of film
24
Q
What is the executive producer
A
Arranges financing/obtains literary rights
25
line producer
oversees day-to-day of cast, director, crew
26
associate producer
liaison with laboratories/technical personnel
27
screenwriter
prepares screenplay
28
What are the stages of writing a screenplay
1. Treatment
2. full-length script(s)
3. Shooting script
29
What is the treatment of a screenplay
a synopsis of the action
30
what is the shooting script
the final version of a screenplay
31
What two costs do producers need to keep in mind
above-the-line costs
| and below-the-line costs
32
above the line costs
cost of:
- literary property
- scriptwriter
- director
- major cast
33
below the line costs
Expenses of:
- Crew
- Secondary cast
- Shooting
- Assembly phase
- Insurance
- Publicity
34
Preproduction
time to prepare to shoot after funding is secured and the script is solid to start filming
35
Who plays the central role in preproduction
the director
36
What is the role of the director
coordinates all staff
37
role of production designer
visualizes film's settings, creates drawings/plans that determine architecture/colour
38
art director
oversees construction/painting of sets
39
costume designer
planning/executing wardrobe
40
graphic artist
produces storyboard
41
"shooting" is also known as
principal photography
42
the director's crew during shooting consists of:
- Script supervisor
- First assistant director
- Second assistant director
- third assistant director
- dialogue coach
- second unit director
43
script supervisor
in charge of continuity from shot to shot
44
first assistant director
- plans each day's shooting schedule
- sets up each shot
- monitors safety
- keeps high energy level
45
2nd AD
liaison between first AD, camera crew, electrician's crew
46
3rd AD
messenger for director and staff
47
dialogue coach
feeds performers lines, speaks lines of offscreen characters
48
2nd unit director
films:
- stunts
- location footage
- action scenes
- Anything far from where principal shooting is
49
Who is in the photography unit
- director of photography
- camera operator
- key grip
- gaffer
50
director of photograpy
```
also "cinematographer"
expert on:
-photo processes
-lighting
-camera techniques
-Consults with director
```
51
camera operator
runs machine, has assistants to load camera, adjust focus, push dolly, etc.
52
key grip
-supervises grips
53
grip
carry/arrange equipment/props/elements of setting/lighting
54
gaffer
head electrician who supervises placement/rigging of lights
55
Who is in the sound unit
- production recordist
- boom operator
- third man
- sound designer (optional)
56
production recordist
also "sound mixer"
| -record dialogue/ambient sound
57
boom operator
manipulates boom mic, conceals radio mics on actors
58
third man
places mics, lays sound cables, controls ambient sound
59
sound designer
plans sonic style for film
60
who is in visual effects unit
- visual effect supervisor
| - hundreds of other workers
61
visual effect supervisor
preparing/executing process shots, CGI, miniatures, technical shots.
62
Who is in miscellaneous unit
- makeup staff
- costume staff
- hairdressers
- drivers
63
Who is in producer's crew
- line producer
- production accountant
- production secretary
- production assistants
64
production secretary
coordinates telephone calls between units and producer
65
master shot
records entire action and dialogue, supervised by director.
66
postproduction
assembly phase, begins during filming
67
editor
also "supervising editor"
| -Categorizes/assembles takes during shooting
68
dailies
footage by editor received as it is available
69
assistant direcor
synchronizes image and sound of dailies and sorts takes by scene.
70
ACE
After the name of the editor; abbreviation for the American Cinema Editors, a professional association.
71
ASC:
After the name of the director of photography; abbreviation for the American Society of Cinematographers, a professional association. The British equivalent is the BSC.
72
Additional photography:
Crew shooting footage apart from the principal photography, typically supervised by the director of photography.
73
Best boy:
Term from the classic studio years, originally applied to the gaffer’s assistant. Today film credits may list both a best boy electric and a best boy grip, the assistant to the key grip.
74
Casting director:
Member who searches for and auditions performers for the film and suggests actors for leading roles (principal characters) and character parts (fairly standardized or stereotyped roles). She or he may also cast extras (background or nonspeaking roles).
75
Clapper boy:
Crew member who operates the clapboard that identifies each take.
76
Concept artist:
Designer who creates illustrations of the settings and costumes that the director has in mind for the film.
77
Dialogue editor:
Sound editor specializing in making sure recorded speech is audible.
78
Digital colorist:
In postproduction, the colorist works on a digital copy of the film, manipulating the color, light levels, and other pictorial aspects. The colorist creates a consistent look for all the shots in a scene, corrects mistakes made in shooting, and makes shots more visually appealing.
79
Digital imaging technician:
A specialist who advises on the choice of camera and other digital equipment, calibrates monitors during shooting, downloads and checks image files, and ensures that the postproduction workflow proceeds smoothly.
80
Dolly grip:
Crew member who pushes the dolly that carries the camera, either from one setup to another or during a take for moving camera shots.
81
Foley artist:
Sound-effects specialist who creates sounds of movement by walking or by shifting materials across large trays of different substances (sand, earth, glass, for example). Named for Jack Foley, a pioneer in postproduction sound.
82
Greenery man:
Crew member who chooses and maintains trees, shrubs, and grass in settings.
83
Lead man:
Member of set crew responsible for tracking down various props and items of decor.
84
Loader:
On a production using film, this person inserts and unloads the camera magazines, keeps a log of shots taken, labels the cans of film, and sends them to the laboratory. A digital loader works alongside the digital imaging technician, putting the memory cards or drives in the camera, inventorying the contents of the recording media, and backing up the image files.
85
Matte artist:
Member of special-effects unit who paints backdrops that are then photographically or digitally incorporated into a shot to indicate a setting.
86
Model maker:
(1) Member of production design unit who prepares architectural models for sets to be built. (2) Member of the special-effects unit who fabricates scale models of locales, vehicles, or characters to be filmed or scanned as substitutes for full-size ones.
87
Property master:
Member of set crew who supervises the use of all props, or movable objects in the film.
88
Publicist, unit publicist:
Member of producer’s crew who creates promotional material regarding the production. The publicist may arrange for press and television interviews with the director and cast and for coverage of the production in the mass media.
89
Scenic artist:
Member of set crew responsible for painting surfaces of the set
90
Still photographer:
Member of crew who takes photographs of scenes and behind-the-scenes shots of cast members and others. These photographs may be used to check lighting or set design or color, and some will be used in publicizing the film.
91
Video assist:
A device that records a camera take to allow immediate playback. This allows the director and cinematographer to check lighting, framing, or performances.
92
digital intermediate
the scanned frame by frame of film, manipulated so shots filmed at different times can be used together.
93
what is edited first, picture or sound?
picture
94
spotting
where music/sound effects will be places, as agreed by picture and sound editors
95
Large scale producition
studio filmmaking
96
exploitation
low budget film productions
97
what is a common occurrence in exploitation productuon
the same person will do multiple behind the scenes roles
98
collective production
several filmmakers working on one small-budget film
99
Which six hollywood firms are major
- Warner Bros.
- Paramount
- Walt Disney/Buena Vista
- Universal
- Sony/Columbia
- Twentieth Century Fox
100
What are the two distribution strategies
platforming and wide release
101
platforming
the film opens first in a few big cities
102
wide release
film opens at same time in many places
