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Intro to Film Study > Midterm > Flashcards

Midterm Flashcards

1
Q

Diegesis

A

The world of the film’s story

Includes events that are presumed to have occurred and actions and spaces that aren’t shown onscreen

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2
Q

Diegetic Sound

A

Any voice, music, or sound effect presented as originating from a source within the film’s world

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3
Q

Nondiegetic Sound

A

Sound, like mood music or a narrator’s commentary, represented as coming from a source outside the space of the narrative

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4
Q

Shot

A

In shooting, one uninterrupted run of the camera to expose a series of frames (a take)
In the finished film, one uninterrupted image

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5
Q

Scene

A

Segment that takes place in one time and space or that uses crosscutting to show 2 or more simultaneous actions

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6
Q

Sequence

A

Moderately large segment of a film, involving one complete stretch of action

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7
Q

Narrative

A

Type of film organization in which the parts relate to one another through a series of casually related events taking place in time and space

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8
Q

Story

A

All events that we see and hear, plus all those that we infer or assume to have occurred, arranged in their presumed causal relations, chronological order, duration, frequency, and spatial locations
The viewer’s imaginary construction of all the events in the narrative

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9
Q

Plot

A

All events that are directly presented to us, including their causal relations, chronological order, duration, frequency, and spatial locations
The film’s actual presentation of events in the story

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10
Q

Unrestricted Narrative

A

The audience knows more, sees more, and hears more than all the characters

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11
Q

Restricted Narrative

A

The characters and the audience learn story information at the same time

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12
Q

Subjective Narrative

A

A narrator knows everything about a single character only, and sees the story through the eyes of that character

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13
Q

Objective Narrative

A

A narrator is an observer but cannot enter into the minds of the characters except in a speculative way

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14
Q

Omniscient Narrative

A

The voice in which a story is written that is outside the story and that knows everything about the characters and events in the story

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15
Q

Closure

A

Degree to which the ending of a narrative film reveals the effects of all the causal events and resolves all lines of action

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16
Q

Causality

A

Relation between one event (the cause) and a second event (the effect)

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17
Q

In Medias Res

A

In the middle of things

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18
Q

Backstory

A

A history or background created for a fictional character in a film

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19
Q

Exposition

A

The portion of a story that introduces important background information to the audience

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20
Q

Genres

A

Types of films that audiences/filmmakers recognize by their familiar narrative conventions

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21
Q

Auteur

A

Presumed or actual author of a film
Usually identified as the director
Sometimes used to distinguish good filmmakers from bad ones

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22
Q

Expressionism

A

A style in which the artist or writer seeks to express emotional experience rather than impressions of the external world

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23
Q

Impressionism

A

A style characterized by a concern with depicting the visual impression of the moment

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24
Q

Surrealism

A

Movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind

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25
Q

Soviet Montage

A

An approach to understanding and creating cinema that relies heavily upon editing

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26
Q

Neo-Realism

A

Any of various movements in literature, art, etc., that are considered to be a return to a more realistic style

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27
Q

Off-Screen Space

A

Six areas blocked from being visible on the screen but still part of the space of the scene
Six areas: one to each side of the frame, above and below the frame, behind the set, and behind the camera

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28
Q

Overlap

A

Cue for suggesting represented depth in the film image by placing objects partly in front of more distant ones

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29
Q

Bilateral Symmetry

A

Balance on each side of the scene/shot

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30
Q

Framing

A

Use of edges of the film frame to select/compose what will be visible onscreen

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31
Q

Shallow Space

A

Staging the action in relatively few planes of depth

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32
Q

Deep Space

A

Arrangement of mise-en-scene elements so that there is a considerable distance between the plane closest to the camera and the one farthest from the camera
Any or all of these frames may be in focus

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33
Q

Frontality

A

The positioning of figures so that they face the viewer

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34
Q

Flashback

A

Alteration of story order in which plot moves back to show events that have taken place earlier than ones already shown

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35
Q

Flashforward

A

Alteration of story order in which the plot presentation moves forward to future events and then returns to the present

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36
Q

Frame Narrative

A

A story within a story, within sometimes yet another story

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37
Q

Ellipsis

A

Shortening of plot duration achieved by omitting some story duration

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38
Q

Decor

A

The objects contained in and the setting of a scene

Can be used to amplify character emotion or the dominant mood of a film

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39
Q

Costumes

A

Clothes that characters wear

Used to signify character, advertise particular fashions, or make clear distinctions between characters

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40
Q

Frontal Lighting

A

Illumination directed into the scene from a position near the camera

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41
Q

Sidelight (Crosslight)

A

Lighting coming from one side of a person/object
Usually used to create a sense of volume, to bring out surface tensions, or to fill in areas left shadowed by light from another source

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42
Q

Backlighting (Rim/Edge Lighting)

A

Illumination cast onto the figures in the scene from the side opposite the camera
Usually creates a thin outline of highlighting on the figures

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43
Q

Underlighting

A

Illumination from a point below the figures in the scene

44
Q

Top Lighting

A

Lighting coming from above a person/object

Usually used in order to outline the upper areas of the figure or to separate it more clearly from the background

45
Q

High-Key Lighting

A

Illumination that creates little contrast between light and dark areas of the shot
Shadows are fairly transparent and brightened by fill light

46
Q

Low-Key Lighting

A

Illumination that creates strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot
Shadows are deep and there is little fill light

47
Q

Three-Point Lighting

A

Arrangement using three directions of light on a scene: backlighting (behind subjects), key light (one bright source), and fill light (a less bright source balancing the key light)

48
Q

Key Light

A

Brightest illumination coming into the scene

49
Q

Fill Light

A

Illumination from a source less bright than the key light

Used to soften deep shadows in a scene

50
Q

Contrast

A

Difference between the brightest and the darkest areas within the frame

51
Q

Exposure

A

Adjustment of the camera mechanism in order to control how much light strikes each frame of film passing through the aperture

52
Q

Depth of Field

A

Measurements of closest and farthest planes in front of the camera lens between which everything will be in sharp focus
Ex. depth of field from 5-16 feet means everything closer than 5 feet and farther than 16 feet would be out of focus

53
Q

Deep Focus

A

Use of the camera lens and lighting that keeps objects in both close and distant planes in sharp focus

54
Q

Shallow Focus

A

Restricted depth of field, which keeps only one plane in sharp focus

55
Q

Racking Focus

A

Shifting the area of sharp focus from one plane to another during a shot

56
Q

Canted Framing

A

View in which the frame is not level
Either the right or the left side is lower than the other, causing objects in the scene to appear slanted out of an upright position

57
Q

Extreme Long Shot

A

Framing in which the scale of the object shown is very small

A building, landscape, or crowd of people will fill the screen

58
Q

Long Shot

A

Framing in which the scale of the object shown is small

A standing human figure would appear nearly the height of the screen

59
Q

Medium Long Shot

A

Framing at a distance that makes an object about 4 or 5 feet high appear to fill most of the screen vertically

60
Q

Medium Shot

A

Framing in which the scale of the object shown is of moderate size
A human figure seen from the waist up would fill most of the screen

61
Q

Medium Close-Up

A

Framing in which the scale of the object shown is fairly large
A human figure seen from the chest up would fill most of the screen

62
Q

Close-Up

A

Framing in which the scale of the object shown is relatively large
Most commonly, a person’s head seen from the neck up, or an object of a comparable size fills most of the screen

63
Q

Extreme Close-Up

A

Framing in which the scale of the object shown is very large

Most commonly, a small object or a part of the body

64
Q

Mobile Frame

A

Effect on the screen of the moving camera, a zoom lens, or certain special effects
Framing shifts in relation to the scene being photographed

65
Q

Reframing

A

Short panning/tilting movements to adjust for the figures’ movements, keeping them onscreen or centered

66
Q

Pan

A

Camera movement with the camera body turning to the right or left
Produces a mobile framing that scans the space horizontally

67
Q

Tilt

A

Camera movement with the camera body swiveling upward or downward on a stationary support
Produces a mobile framing that scans the space vertically

68
Q

Crane Shot

A

Shot with a change in framing accomplished by placing the camera above the subject and moving through the air in any direction

69
Q

Dolly

A

Camera support with wheels

Used in making tracking shots

70
Q

Tracking Shot

A

Mobile framing that travels through space forward, backward, or laterally

71
Q

Following Shot

A

Shot with framing that shifts to keep a moving figure onscreen

72
Q

Zoom

A

A camera shot that changes smoothly from a long shot to a close-up

73
Q

Whip Pan

A

Extremely fast movement of the camera from side to side
Briefly causes the image to blur into a set of indistinct horizontal streaks
Often an imperceptible cut joins two whip pans to create a trick transition between scenes

74
Q

Point-of-View (POV) Shot

A

Shot taken with the camera placed approximately where the character’s eyes would be, showing what the character would see
Usually cut in before or after a shot of the character looking

75
Q

Long Take

A

Shot that continues for an unusually lengthy time before the transition to the next shot

76
Q

Fade-In

A

Dark screen that gradually brightens as a shot appears

77
Q

Fade-Out

A

Shot that gradually disappears as the screen darkens

78
Q

Dissolve

A

Transition between two shots during which the first image gradually disappears while the second image gradually appears
For a moment, the two images blend in superimposition

79
Q

Mask

A

Opaque screen placed in the camera or printer that blocks part of the frame off and changes the shape of the photographed image, leaving part of the frame a solid color

80
Q

Iris

A

Round, moving mask

81
Q

Iris-In

A

Close down to end a scene or emphasize a detail

82
Q

Iris-Out

A

Open to begin a scene or to reveal more space around a detail

83
Q

Wipe

A

Transition between shots in which a line passes across the screen, eliminating one shot as it goes and replacing it with the next one

84
Q

Continuity Editing

A

System of cutting to maintain continuous and clear narrative action
Relies on matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations from shot to shot

85
Q

Montage

A

A synonym for editing
An approach to editing developed by Soviet filmmakers of the 1920s
Emphasize dynamic, often discontinuous relationships between shots and the juxtaposition of images to create ideas not present in either shot by itself

86
Q

Graphic Match

A

Two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements (e.g., color, shape)

87
Q

Match on Action

A

Continuity cut that splices two different views of the same action together at the same moment in the movement, making it seem to continue uninterrupted

88
Q

Elliptical Editing

A

Shot transitions that omit parts of an event, causing an ellipsis in plot duration

89
Q

180-degree system

A

Continuity approach to editing dictates that the camera should stay on one side of the action to ensure consistent left-right spatial relations between elements from shot to shot

90
Q

Axis of Action

A

In continuity editing system, the imaginary line that passes through the main actors or the principal movement
Defines the spatial relations of all the elements of the scene as being to the right or left

91
Q

Screen Direction

A

Right-left relationships in a scene, set up in an establishing shot and determined by the position of characters and objects in the frame, by the directions of movement, and by the characters’ eyelines

92
Q

Establishing Shot

A

A shot, usually involving a distant framing, that shows the spatial relations among the important figures, objects, and setting in a scene

93
Q

Reestablishing Shot

A

Return to a view of an entire space after a series of closer shots following the establishing shot

94
Q

Shot/Reverse Shot

A

Two or more shots edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation situation
In continuity editing, characters in one framing usually look left; in the other framing, they look right

95
Q

Eyeline Match

A

A cut obeying the axis of action principle, in which the first shot shows a person looking off in one direction and the second shows a nearby space containing what he or she sees
If the person looks left, the following shot should imply that the looker is offscreen right

96
Q

Crosscutting

A

Editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously

97
Q

Jump Cut

A

Elliptical cut that appears to be an interruption of a single shot
Either the figures seem to change instantly against a constant background, or the background changes instantly while the figures remain constant

98
Q

Discontinuity Editing

A

Any alternative system of joining shots together using techniques unacceptable within continuity editing principles
Possibilities include mismatching of temporal and spatial relations, violations of the axis of action, and concentration on graphic relationships

99
Q

Nondiegetic Insert

A

Shot or series of shots cut into a sequence, showing objects that are represented as being outside the world of the narrative

100
Q

External Diegetic Sound

A

Sound represented as coming from a physical source within the story space that we assume characters in the scene can also hear

101
Q

Internal Diegetic Sound

A

Sound represented as coming from the mind of a character within the story space
Although we and the character can hear it, we assume that the other characters can’t

102
Q

Off-Screen Sound (Voice Off)

A

Simultaneous sound from a source assumed to be in the space of the scene but outside what is visible onscreen

103
Q

Voice Over

A

A piece of narration in a film, not accompanied by an image of the speaker

104
Q

Dialogue Overlap

A

Arranging the cut so that a bit of dialogue coming from shot A is heard under a shot that shows another character or another element in the scene

105
Q

Sound Bridge

A

At the beginning of once scene, the sound from the previous scene carries over briefly before the sound from the new scene begins
At the end of one scene, the sound from the next scene is heard, leading into that scene

Intro to Film Study (1 decks)

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