Midterm 1 102924 Flashcards

Question

Cinematography Terms: 180-degree rule:

Answer 1

fundamental guideline in cinematography that helps maintain spatial consistency in a scene, establishing an imaginary line, often called the axis of action, that runs through a scene (note: filmmakers sometimes intentionally break the rule in order to disorient the viewer or for dramatic effect)

Answer 2

editing technique that connects two shots with a similar visual, audio, or thematic elements to create the illusion of a smooth, often symbolic, transition (the main idea is to match the composition, movement, or content from one shot to the next)

Answer 3

type of editing technique in which two sequential shots of the same subject are cut together, but there is an abrupt (and identifiable) transition in time, position, or angle; the scene should “jump” rather than flow

Answer 4

when we see over someone’s shoulder, we know that we’re momentarily occupying their perspective, and then the same with a second character –puts us in the scene without necessarily asking us to identify with either character, provides consistency in scene direction for characters while providing flexibility in framing and perspective

Answer 5

technique in which the camera is panned (rotated horizontally) very quickly, creating a motion blur eIect, often causing disorientation in transitioning between two scenes or shot, pointing to a sense of urgency in the narrative of the film

Answer 6

shot A peels oI to reveal shot B (used to move location in time and space

Answer 7

similar to a wipe, in that the viewer is moved quickly from one time/space to another, but they shots feel connected because they’re visualized simultaneously

Answer 8

typically signifies a shift in time, often a fade to black (but not always) at the end of a film

Answer 9

the image closes in/out, similar to a fade/wipe

Answer 10

Small and large jumps in time and space are highlighted through rapid-fire editing; in soviet Montage, jumps between shots signify conflict and juxtaposition –Eisenstein masters this in dialectical montage; in dialectical montage, elements within a frame, or between shots (conflicts like thesis and anti-thesis) prompt a “revolutionary consciousness” (psychological realization) within the spectator

Answer 11

Metric, rhythmic, tonal, overtonal (what Eisenstein calls 'associational'), intellectual.

Answer 12

a precise mathematization to editing (matching/contradicting something on the screen) - the making of a sense of time through a clash of images (adding one to another, and creating a collision of a measure of time, a vibration)

Answer 13

becomes more expressive (long, long, short) – in the same way music creates a rhythmic through the alternation of tempo – the creation of tension, alternating between diIerent vibrations and motion within the frame, produces affect / a visceral reaction

Answer 14

creates metaphorical association (rather than realism, make connections metaphorically through disparate images, the hand – the knife …), produces an “emotional impression”

Answer 15

: the sense of pathos, you begin to identify or connect with something in the shot / in the sequence (the way it pulls you in) – realization in the spectator (a moment of identification, recognition of the impact of that expression, tone of the situation)

Answer 16

: the most abstract, about the jump between ideas, the overt use of metaphor or simile to connect one thing to another - engages a higher cognitive function, the production of meaning or consciousness

Answer 17

Parallelism. Story vs. Plot, Diegetic, Non-Diegetic

Answer 18

the film follows multiple storylines simultaneously, intersecting at key points, mirroring each other thematically, contrasting each other, or remaining separate; often these narratives explore different characters or time periods

Answer 19

a story refers to the full sequence of events in chronological order, including everything that happens in the world of the film, shown/implied; plot, on the other hand, refers to the specific arrangement and presentation of events in the film as the audience experiences them

Answer 20

elements that are part of the film’s world; anything the characters in the film are aware of in the story is considered diegetic (meaning they can be seen, heard, or experienced by the characters themselves)

Answer 21

: elements that exist outside the world of the story and are not directly experienced by the characters (added for the audience’s interpretation, mood, or narrative clarity but don’t affect the film’s diegesis, such as film score/music, narration/voiceover, sound effects, text on the screen, etc)

Answer 22

demonstrates a power of montage in shaping the audience’s perception of meaning; employs a single, neutral expression shot of the actor Ivan Mozzhukhin and intercuts it with three different images (a bowl of soup, a girl in a coffin, a woman reclining on a sofa), and in each shot, allowing the audience to interpret Mozzhukin’s expression is differently based on the context provided by the image (hungry, 5 sad/mourning, lustful/desirous); in short – meaning is created through editing and audience participation

Answer 23

Observing others without their knowledge or consent, often with sexual undertones; in Rear Window, Miss Torso’s dance performance in private, her lack of return of the gaze, and the silence involved are all examples of voyeurism; additionally, the audience member becomes a voyeur vis-à-vis JeIries’ character, manipulating the our perspective and creating intimacy or tension

Answer 24

include the aesthetics of dominant, mainstream, Hollywood cinema; supported by industry and government (hegemonic structures); distribution and making are both supported and normalized by dominant society; idealizes bourgeois values (escapism and the individual hero); movie stars are worshipped

Answer 25

opposed to/a reaction to First Cinema; subversive, intending to repoliticize cinema; received by dominant power(s) with indiIerence or even pleasure; created by smaller teams; exert imaginative control over the narrative; largely encompass European art films of the 50s/60s (French new wave); filmmaker is understood as both an author and an artist

Answer 26

designed to invent alternative modes of distribution and exhibition; create diIerent cinematographic languages; intervene artistically in the modernizing, revolutionary, anti-colonial, and anti-imperialist politics of the time; explicitly political; expose historical and/or current dominant political and cultural colonization, call for militant production techniques to generate militant audience response

Answer 27

movement/theory that originated in Latin America (particularly Cuba) during the 1960s; introduced by Julio García Espinosa; rejects polished, high-budget, “perfect” films typical of mainstream Hollywood (which tend to focus on escapism, entertainment, technical perfection, etc)

Answer 28

Arbitrary conventions that govern conduct and largely go unquestioned because they present themselves as “natural,” “normal,” “given,” or “the way things are”

Answer 29

: things that have been decided to be defined a certain way and then we treat them as the only way that they could be; something that has become normalized but is really just convention; note: films in their various forms can subvert or reinforce dominant ideologies

Answer 30

inequality/unfairness presented as a natural societal arrangement, which typically (further) oppress already oppressed/marginalized groups of people; individuals (and filmmakers) can reject, deviate from, and resist dominant ideology and hegemonic order, creating new possibilities for change

Answer 31

: seeks to address, critique, and deconstruct colonialism, exploring the complexities of identity, culture, and power dynamics in formerly colonized nations, aiming to give voice to marginalized groups

Answer 32

perpetuate/reinforce the dynamics of neo-colonialism (the continuation of colonial practices and power structures in a postcolonial context, often through economic-political-cultural means); often reflect contemporary forms of imperialism (in which powerful nations or entities exert influence over formerly colonized countries)

Answer 33

overloading a particular character, context, or object within larger social or situational significance (e.g.: the American flag becomes a condensation of American values and ideals)

Answer 34

moving a contentious issue or idea into a less volatile context, in which the social conflict or problem becomes an interpersonal conflict, an individual challenge (e.g. Jefferies’ feelings of masculine insecurity and his anxiety about marriage and domestic life get displaced onto the lives of his neighbors)

Answer 35

(components of a sign, which refers to anything that conveys meaning or represents something else)

Answer 36

Formal, narrative, historical, socio-cultural

Answer 37

lighting, composition (mise-en-scene), cinematography (angle, movement, focus), sound, acting, editing (how is this shot joined with other shots) – describing and then interpreting that description

Answer 38

plot, characters (good guys/bad guys), dialogue, genre (comedy, tragedy, epic, etc), setting (civilization and society/nature), sets (domestic/national)

Answer 39

production history (studios, actors, directors), popular/critical reception (why do some films ‘go viral’?)

Answer 40

social and ideological tropes presented, upheld, and contradicted (race, class, gender, nationality), politics

Answer 41

: questions the manner in which cinema is a mirror of or a challenge to the real world; what is cinema’s relation to the real world in each of the film’s we’ve seen?

Answer 42

Alfred Hitchcock, 1954

Answer 43

Alfonso Cuarón, 2018

Answer 44

Sergei Eisenstein, 1925

Answer 45

Maya Deren, 1943

Answer 46

Ousmane Sembène, 1966