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
2
Q
Diegetic Sound
A
Any voice, music, or sound effect presented as originating from a source within the film’s world
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
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
5
Q
Scene
A
Segment that takes place in one time and space or that uses crosscutting to show 2 or more simultaneous actions
6
Q
Sequence
A
Moderately large segment of a film, involving one complete stretch of action
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
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
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
10
Q
Unrestricted Narrative
A
The audience knows more, sees more, and hears more than all the characters
11
Q
Restricted Narrative
A
The characters and the audience learn story information at the same time
12
Q
Subjective Narrative
A
A narrator knows everything about a single character only, and sees the story through the eyes of that character
13
Q
Objective Narrative
A
A narrator is an observer but cannot enter into the minds of the characters except in a speculative way
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
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
16
Q
Causality
A
Relation between one event (the cause) and a second event (the effect)
17
Q
In Medias Res
A
In the middle of things
18
Q
Backstory
A
A history or background created for a fictional character in a film
19
Q
Exposition
A
The portion of a story that introduces important background information to the audience
20
Q
Genres
A
Types of films that audiences/filmmakers recognize by their familiar narrative conventions
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
22
Q
Expressionism
A
A style in which the artist or writer seeks to express emotional experience rather than impressions of the external world
23
Q
Impressionism
A
A style characterized by a concern with depicting the visual impression of the moment
24
Q
Surrealism
A
Movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind
25
Soviet Montage
An approach to understanding and creating cinema that relies heavily upon editing
26
Neo-Realism
Any of various movements in literature, art, etc., that are considered to be a return to a more realistic style
27
Off-Screen Space
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
28
Overlap
Cue for suggesting represented depth in the film image by placing objects partly in front of more distant ones
29
Bilateral Symmetry
Balance on each side of the scene/shot
30
Framing
Use of edges of the film frame to select/compose what will be visible onscreen
31
Shallow Space
Staging the action in relatively few planes of depth
32
Deep Space
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
33
Frontality
The positioning of figures so that they face the viewer
34
Flashback
Alteration of story order in which plot moves back to show events that have taken place earlier than ones already shown
35
Flashforward
Alteration of story order in which the plot presentation moves forward to future events and then returns to the present
36
Frame Narrative
A story within a story, within sometimes yet another story
37
Ellipsis
Shortening of plot duration achieved by omitting some story duration
38
Decor
The objects contained in and the setting of a scene
| Can be used to amplify character emotion or the dominant mood of a film
39
Costumes
Clothes that characters wear
| Used to signify character, advertise particular fashions, or make clear distinctions between characters
40
Frontal Lighting
Illumination directed into the scene from a position near the camera
41
Sidelight (Crosslight)
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
42
Backlighting (Rim/Edge Lighting)
Illumination cast onto the figures in the scene from the side opposite the camera
Usually creates a thin outline of highlighting on the figures
43
Underlighting
Illumination from a point below the figures in the scene
44
Top Lighting
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
High-Key Lighting
Illumination that creates little contrast between light and dark areas of the shot
Shadows are fairly transparent and brightened by fill light
46
Low-Key Lighting
Illumination that creates strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot
Shadows are deep and there is little fill light
47
Three-Point Lighting
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
Key Light
Brightest illumination coming into the scene
49
Fill Light
Illumination from a source less bright than the key light
| Used to soften deep shadows in a scene
50
Contrast
Difference between the brightest and the darkest areas within the frame
51
Exposure
Adjustment of the camera mechanism in order to control how much light strikes each frame of film passing through the aperture
52
Depth of Field
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
Deep Focus
Use of the camera lens and lighting that keeps objects in both close and distant planes in sharp focus
54
Shallow Focus
Restricted depth of field, which keeps only one plane in sharp focus
55
Racking Focus
Shifting the area of sharp focus from one plane to another during a shot
56
Canted Framing
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
Extreme Long Shot
Framing in which the scale of the object shown is very small
| A building, landscape, or crowd of people will fill the screen
58
Long Shot
Framing in which the scale of the object shown is small
| A standing human figure would appear nearly the height of the screen
59
Medium Long Shot
Framing at a distance that makes an object about 4 or 5 feet high appear to fill most of the screen vertically
60
Medium Shot
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
Medium Close-Up
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
Close-Up
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
Extreme Close-Up
Framing in which the scale of the object shown is very large
| Most commonly, a small object or a part of the body
64
Mobile Frame
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
Reframing
Short panning/tilting movements to adjust for the figures' movements, keeping them onscreen or centered
66
Pan
Camera movement with the camera body turning to the right or left
Produces a mobile framing that scans the space horizontally
67
Tilt
Camera movement with the camera body swiveling upward or downward on a stationary support
Produces a mobile framing that scans the space vertically
68
Crane Shot
Shot with a change in framing accomplished by placing the camera above the subject and moving through the air in any direction
69
Dolly
Camera support with wheels
| Used in making tracking shots
70
Tracking Shot
Mobile framing that travels through space forward, backward, or laterally
71
Following Shot
Shot with framing that shifts to keep a moving figure onscreen
72
Zoom
A camera shot that changes smoothly from a long shot to a close-up
73
Whip Pan
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
Point-of-View (POV) Shot
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
Long Take
Shot that continues for an unusually lengthy time before the transition to the next shot
76
Fade-In
Dark screen that gradually brightens as a shot appears
77
Fade-Out
Shot that gradually disappears as the screen darkens
78
Dissolve
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
Mask
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
Iris
Round, moving mask
81
Iris-In
Close down to end a scene or emphasize a detail
82
Iris-Out
Open to begin a scene or to reveal more space around a detail
83
Wipe
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
Continuity Editing
System of cutting to maintain continuous and clear narrative action
Relies on matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations from shot to shot
85
Montage
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
Graphic Match
Two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements (e.g., color, shape)
87
Match on Action
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
Elliptical Editing
Shot transitions that omit parts of an event, causing an ellipsis in plot duration
89
180-degree system
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
Axis of Action
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
Screen Direction
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
Establishing Shot
A shot, usually involving a distant framing, that shows the spatial relations among the important figures, objects, and setting in a scene
93
Reestablishing Shot
Return to a view of an entire space after a series of closer shots following the establishing shot
94
Shot/Reverse Shot
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
Eyeline Match
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
Crosscutting
Editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously
97
Jump Cut
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
Discontinuity Editing
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
Nondiegetic Insert
Shot or series of shots cut into a sequence, showing objects that are represented as being outside the world of the narrative
100
External Diegetic Sound
Sound represented as coming from a physical source within the story space that we assume characters in the scene can also hear
101
Internal Diegetic Sound
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
Off-Screen Sound (Voice Off)
Simultaneous sound from a source assumed to be in the space of the scene but outside what is visible onscreen
103
Voice Over
A piece of narration in a film, not accompanied by an image of the speaker
104
Dialogue Overlap
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
Sound Bridge
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
