Films & Visual Literacy

Question 1

Cinematic Elements

Answer 1

Camera angles, lighting, sound design, editing, color palette, and visual effects.

Question 2

Dramatic Elements

Answer 2

Acting, Costumes, Set, Props, Makeup, Lights, Music.

Question 3

Lighting Styles & Directions

Answer 3

Top: Lighting a subject from above

Under: Lighting a subject from below

Backlighting: Lighting a subject from behind

Sidelighting: Partially lighting a subject from the side

High-Key Lighting: Bright, even lighting with few shadows

Low-Key Lighting : Using minimal light to create shadows, and pools of “brightness” on a mostly dark screen

Contrast: the ratio of light to dark in an image

High contrast: Darker

Low contrast: Lighter

Question 4

Diegetic vs. non-diegetic sound

Answer 4

Diegetic: Sounds whose source is visible or implied on screen; a noise that is caused by something on screen.

Non-diegetic: Sounds whose source is not visible and does not exist within the screen world.

Question 5

“Mise en Scene”

Answer 5

Everything that occurs “inside the box,” or frame of view.

Question 6

Visual Literacy

Answer 6

Being able to identify, interpret, and discern meaning from a printed image or graphic

Question 7

Camera Angles

Answer 7

High: The camera is positioned high, looking down.

Low: The camera is positioned low, looking up; often places at knee-high

Eye Level: The camera is exactly level with the subject.

Overhead: The camera is directly overhead in the sky, giving an aerial view. This is a common shot for drones.

Dutch/Canted: The camera is tilted off-axis.

Question 8

Camera Distances

Answer 8

Extreme close up: Can only see one part of the subject.

Close: Can see the full head.

Medium close up: Bust up is visible.

Medium shot: Waist up is seen.

Long shot: Whole body is shown.

Extreme long shot: Subject is seen far in the distance with its surroundings visible.

Question 9

Framing shots

Answer 9

Subjective point of view: Shown as if through the character’s own eyes.

Over the shoulder: Includes portion of the shoulder and head of one character while focusing on face of another.

Establishing Shot: Shows location at beginning of movie or a shot.

Question 10

Moving Camera Shots

Answer 10

Crane Shot: Swooping movement low to high or high to low around a subject

Dolly Shot/Tracking Shot: Camera placed on dolly tracks and moves horizontally

Pan Shot: Camera is fixed but rotated left or right to create a sweeping motion

Tilt Shot: Camera is fixed but tilted up or down

Zoom Shot: Camera is fixed but lens zooms in on character