Final Flashcards
180 system
A convention of narrative filmmaking in which the director establishes an imaginary line running across the set; the director then keeps the camera on one side of this line for every shot taken so as to avoid making characters and objects appear to flip suddenly from one side of the screen to the other when the sequence is edited together and eventually projected on a screen.
Academy ratio
The standard aspect ratio established in 1932 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; it’s often said to be 1.33:1, but in fact it’s 1.37:1 – a rectangle that is about a third again as wide as it is tall.
ambient sound
background noises of the scene’s environment
amplitude
volume; the loudness or softness of the sound we hear.
anamorphic lens
a lens in the camera that squeezes a widescreen image onto normally shaped frame of film, and/or lens in the projector that unsqueezes the image back out to widescreen width
animation
any process that simulates movement by filing series of individual drawings, objects (clay figures or dolls), or computer images; tiny shifts in the positions and shapes of these drawings, things, or images create the sense of motion
animation cel
a clear sheet of plastic on which artist draw individual elements of an image; when aligned with one another, cells form an impression of depth; the stacks of cels are then photographed onto motion picture film, and the slight variations of position from one stack of cels to another create the impression of movement
Aspect ratio
The ratio of the film image’s width to its height.
asynchronous sounds
sounds that are heard without their sources being seen onscreen (the same as offscreen sound)
Auteurism
a critical theory developed originally in France in the 1950s by critics affiliated with the French film journal Cashiers de cinema, and later popularized in the US by Andrew Sarris, that views the director as a film’s chief creator, values a director’s personal style over whatever literary merit a screenplay may have, and ranks directors according to the perceived morality of their worldview.
Avant-garde film
any experimental and noncommercial film; from the French, meaning advance guard.
Bird’s-eye view
An extreme overhead shot, taken seemingly form the sky or ceiling and looking straight down on the subject.
bluescreen
a common way of achieving traveling mattes. Also called Chroma keys a process in which a specific color is invisible to create a blank backgrounds to be filled in with separately shot images
Boom microphone
glorified broom handle that a microphone is attached to before being held out over the actor’s heads just out of camera range
Cameo appearances
big actors in tiny roles specifically to be noticed by audiences
Camera operator
the member of the cinematographer’s crew who is chiefly responsible for running the camera and setting camera in place with the aid of a viewfinder
Celluloid
the transparent plastic material, technically cellulose nitrate, that was originally used in motion picture photography; because cellulose nitrate is extremely flammable and prone to rapid deterioration, its use was discontinued in favor of cellulose acetate, the term continues to be used to describe both film stock and processed films in general
CGI
any image that has been created by or manipulated by the use of a computer and software
Character actors
secondary performers who specialize in playing similar, recognizable character types
Cinemascope
introduced by 20th century Fox, uses anamorphic lens to squeeze a very wide image onto each frame of standard sized film stock and another anamorphic lens on the projector to spread it back out again
Cinematographer
also known as the director of photography or DP, the person in charge selecting the cameras, lenses, film stocks, and overall lighting design in the making of a motion picture and overseeing the work of the camera operator if he/she is not operation the camera him/herself
Cinematography
The photography of motion pictures.
Cinerama
uses three interlocked cameras to record three separate images which, when projected across a specially curved screen, yielded a single continuous widescreen image with an aspect ratio of 2.77:1
Close up
A shot that isolates an object in the image, making it appear relatively large. (Usually of a person’s face).
Composition
The formal arrangements of shapes within the image, including people, sets, props, and landscape elements. (The relationship of lines, volumes, masses, and shapes at a single instant in a representation.)
Computer geek
a person who spends too much time in front of a computer screen, especially playing games or making picky corrections of Wikipedia entries; the word geek was originally used int he world of circuses and carnivals to describe a sideshow freak.
continuity editing
a set of editing practices that establish spatial and/or temporal continuity between shots; the various techniques that filmmakers employ to keep their narratives moving forward logically and smoothly, without jarring disruptions in space or time
convention
an artistic practice or process or device that is widely used and commonly accepted and understood within a given culture
crane
a camera movement in which the camera moves up and down through space, the camera is mounted on a kind of cherry-picker, which enables it to ascend from ground level into the sky or descend from the sky to ground level
crawl
a series of words that appears at the bottom of the screen and moves upward; the end credits of a film often take the form of a crawl
crosscutting
editing that alternates two or more lines of action occurring in different places or times, thereby connecting them
cut
the simplest transition. attaches two strips of film together with a piece of tape
editing/cutting
the process in which filmmakers link individual shots to one another
dailies
a day’s worth of processed but unedited footage freshly back from the lab; also called rushes
diegesis
the world of the film; all the story elements presented by the narrative, mo matter whether they are actually seen or heard onscreen or not; music broadcast from an onscreen radio is diegetic, whereas the film’s musical score is not
diegetic sound
sound, including most dialogue and sound effects and some music that are sourced in the world of the film’s story
Digital audio work station (DAW)
a computer and specialized application that match the digital recording with the image.
director’s cut
the version of the film the director considers to be finished, without interference from the studio or the producers
dissolve
transition form one shot to another in which the first shot fades out while the second shot fades in
documentary
a film about facts rather than fictional an account of real events, often take a particular point of view toward their subjects and they are always a matter of selectively presenting the facts they chronicle, may or may not tell stories but are always nonfiction
Dolby
the noise-reduction system invented by Ray Dolby in 1965, reduces background noises, cuts down on the noise created by the process of recording itself, and enhances the clarity of dialogue, music and sound effects
Tracking shot (dolly)
when the camera moves parallel to the ground
Dutch tilt (canted angle)
When the camera tilts horizontally and/or vertically.
end credits/end titles
the list of personnel involved in making the film, from the actors to the caterers , that appears at the end of the film, often in the form of a crawl
extra
an actor who has no lines in a crowd scene
Eye-level shot
A shot taken from the height of an average human being, so the camera appears to be looking straight at the characters and/or objects being filmed.
Eye-line matching
direction of the character’s gaze determine where the camera is placed
fabula
the events of the narrative in chronological order, along with the personal associations brought to the narrative by each audience members, synonymous to story but also include the story we tell ourselves
Fade ins and Fade outs
the gradual increase (fade in) or decrease (fade out) in the strength and clarity of the filmed image or recorded sound; fade ins generally behind with a pure white or pure black screen in the case of the image track and silence in the case of the soundtrack, while fade outs usually begin with a clear image or sound, which then disappears to white or black or diminishes to silence, often used and transitional devices between scenes.
Film stock
raw, unexposed footage
final cut
the last version of a film as it is being produced—the one that is released to the public
flashback
a shot, sequence, or scene that takes place in the past, before the present-day time frame established by the film
flashforward
a shot, sequence, or scene that takes place in the future, after the present-day time frame established by the film
Foley artist
a member of the sound team who specializes in duplicating sound effects that don’t sound accurate when recorded directly at the time of shooting
form
all the specific techniques used by filmmakers to create expressing meaning
Frame
(a.) The individual rectangular photographs on a strip of motion picture film which, when run through a projector, yield the impression of movement owing to slight variations in the position of the objects being photographed; (b.) the four borders of the projected image.
Full shot
A shot that includes the entire human body from head to toe, with little space above the head and below the feet.
genre
a category of film, such as western, horror, costume drama, melodrama, and so on with recognizable conventions and character types
Glance-object match
an eye-line match that occurs between a human being and the object he/she is supposed to be looking at
