Film Terms

Question 1

Mis en Scene

Answer 1

Everything captured within the camera’s frame– that which shows up on screen. (Setting, subjects, composition, etc.)

Question 2

Key Light

Answer 2

Primary lighting source striking subject

Question 3

Fill Light

Answer 3

Soft light fills in yet unlit areas of subject, and dissolves shadows

Question 4

Hard Light

Answer 4

Direct, strong light, often from a single direction like the sun; can create stark shadows

Question 5

Soft light

Answer 5

Light reflected off another surface before it hits a given subject

Question 6

High-key Lighting

Answer 6

Light covers most of the subject and the surrounding space; minimizes contrast between dark and bright areas; often suggests ease and comfort

Question 7

Low-key Lighting

Answer 7

The subject receives little illumination, leaving much of the subject in darkness; allows
for greater contrast between dark and lights areas of image; sometimes ominous

Question 8

Side Lighting

Answer 8

Subject is lit from one side, creating contrast between halves of the face

Question 9

Back Lighting

Answer 9

Single light source illuminates character from behind, casting subject’s features and perhaps identity or motivations into doubt

Question 10

Split-screen technique

Answer 10

Conveying two or more frames/images on the same screen at the same time

Question 11

Tracking Shot

Answer 11

Shot in which camera follows a moving subject within frame, often for a considerable time

Question 12

Dollying

Answer 12

Filming while camera is affixed to a moving, wheeled platform (as on train tracks)

Question 13

Panning

Answer 13

Pivoting mounted or relatively fixed camera sideways around a central axis (as on a tripod)

Question 14

Swish Pan

Answer 14

Panning so fast that it creates blurred images

Question 15

German Expressionism

Answer 15

Exaggerated, sometimes distorted set design, costuming, and atmosphere reflect extreme emotional states, cognitive differences, and strange situations

Question 16

Aspect Ratio: 1.33 (4:3)

Answer 16

Original silent film format, and TV format until HD

Question 17

Aspect Ratio: 1.37 (Academy Ratio)

Answer 17

Slightly larger than 1.33 to accommodate audio track alongside video frame; affects picture shape only slightly; first use in 1932

Question 18

Aspect Ratio: 1.43 (IMAX)

Answer 18

Runs 70mm film horizontally. First used in 1970.

Question 19

Aspect Ratio: 1.78 (16:9)

Answer 19

Current standard for HDTV

Question 20

Aspect Ratio: 1.85 (VistaVision)

Answer 20

Standard 35mm film rotated 90 degrees, allowing for larger image & higher quality
picture. First used in 1954.

Question 21

Aspect Ratio: 1.9 (IMAX)

Answer 21

Created using high-def, digital proprietary cameras and projectors. First used in 2008.

Question 22

Aspect Ratio: 2.2(Todd A-O)

Answer 22

70mm film (twice that of 35mm film) allows for wider projected image at high
resolution. First used in 1955

Question 23

Aspect Ratio: 2.2 (Super Panavision 70)

Answer 23

A 70mm film format. First used in 1959

Question 24

Aspect Ratio: 2.2 (Super Panavision 70)

Answer 24

Wide image squeezed onto standard 35mm film, then re-expanded when projected.
First used in 1953 by 20th-Century Fox

Question 25

Aspect Ratio: 2.59 (Cinerama)

Answer 25

Created in cinemas by projecting three standard 35mm images next to one another. First use in 1952.

Question 26

Aspect Ratio: 2.76 (MGM 65)

Answer 26

Another kind of 70mm film format. First used in 1957. Used today by directors like Christopher Nolan

Question 27

Deep Focus

Answer 27

Much of a subject’s surroundings are also in focus; wide-angle lens achieve this

Question 28

Soft Focus

Answer 28

Subject slightly out of focus; used to grant subject an idealized appearance

Question 29

Imprecise Focus

Answer 29

Neither foreground, midground, or background in clear focus

Question 30

Rack Focus

Answer 30

Altering focus in midst of a single shot, either from background to foreground or vice versa, while retaining the same amount of material in the frame (as opposed to zooming, which alters both)

Question 31

Extreme Long Shot

Answer 31

Subject appears small, at a distance within the frame; helps establish setting

Question 32

Long Shot

Answer 32

Subject still visible in its entirety, close enough to register bodily & facial reactions to setting

Question 33

Medium Shot

Answer 33

Only part of subject is visible (often knees or waist up, if human); setting still a variable

Question 34

Medium Close-Up

Answer 34

Subject fills most of frame; if human subject, frame captures shoulders & head

Question 35

Close-Up

Answer 35

Virtually no setting visible; if human subject, tight focus on most of face

Question 36

Extreme Close-Up

Answer 36

Part of subject fills entire frame; could be part of a person’s face or limb

Question 37

Establishing Shot

Answer 37

A shot that introduces the broader contours of a particular space, indoors or outdoors, before cutting to a shot that draws us closer to the subjects within that space

Question 38

Shot/Verse Shot

Answer 38

The process of alternating between shots of two different characters in a conversation

Question 39

Over-the-shoulder Shot

Answer 39

Shooting over the face of one character from over the shoulder of another

Question 40

Masked Shot

Answer 40

Altering a frame’s shape as if seen through a particular shape (keyhole, binoculars, etc.)

Question 41

Subjects

Answer 41

Characters and their actions, reactions, and appearances

Question 42

Composition

Answer 42

The arrangement of subjects, setting, lighting, etc. relative to one another

Question 43

Diegetic Sound

Answer 43

Sound traceable to a source in the film's storyline (whether visible or not)

Question 44

Non-Diegetic Sound

Answer 44

Sound that cannot be explained by film action (e.g narration, musical score.)

Question 45

Cross Cutting

Answer 45

Editing technique; interweaves separate actions often in separate locations. Intended to take place simultaneously.

Question 46

Match Cut

Answer 46

Connects two scenes from different locations with similarly shaped/colored objects, provide visual connectivity

Question 47

Contrast Cut

Answer 47

Jarring transition between two scenes for discordant thematic/stylistic material

Question 48

Jump Cut

Answer 48

Transition that interrupts continuity, often purposely.

Question 49

Parallel Cutting

Answer 49

A type of cross cutting: Forms such a strong parallel between actions, that it encourages compare/contrast between these different situations. Actions could connect characters directly (interaction) or symbolically.

Question 50

Synchronous Sound

Answer 50

Combines a visual image with the sounds apparently issuing from it.

Question 51

Nonsynchronous Sound

Answer 51

Sound not matched to the image nor recorded during shooting.