Quiz 6

Question 1

cinematography

Answer 1

The process of capturing moving images on film or some other medium. (page 226)

Question 2

take

Answer 2

An indication of the number of times a particular shot is taken (e.g., shot 14, take 7).

Question 3

setup

Answer 3

One camera position and everything associated with it. Whereas the shot is the basic building block of the film, the setup is the basic component of the film’s production.

Question 4

camera crew

Answer 4

Technicians that make up two separate groups – one concerned with the camera, the other concerned with electricity and lighting.

Question 5

camera operator

Answer 5

The member of the camera crew who does the actual shooting.

Question 6

assistant camera person (AC)

Answer 6

Member of the camera crew who assists the camera operator. The first AC oversees everything having to do with the camera, lenses, supporting equipment, and the material on which the movie is being shot. The second AC prepares the slate that is used to identify each scene as it is being filmed, files camera reports,
and feeds film stock into magazines to be loaded into the camera.

Question 7

first AC or assistant camera person

Answer 7

Member of the camera crew who assists the camera operator. The first AC The first AC oversees everything having to do with the camera and lenses, including adjusting focus before and during each shot.

Question 8

Second AC or assistant camera person

Answer 8

Member of the camera crew who assists the camera operator. The second AC prepares the slate that is used to identify each shot and take as the camera rolls, notes the lens, exposure, and other information for each shot, and is responsible for moving the camera to each new setup.

Question 9

slate

Answer 9

The board or other device that is used to identify each scene
during shooting.

Question 10

gaffer

Answer 10

The chief electrician on a movie production set.

Question 11

best boy

Answer 11

First assistant electrician to the gaffer on a movie production
set.

Question 12

Grip

Answer 12

All-around handyperson on a movie production set, most
often working with the camera crews and electrical crews.

Question 13

Film stock

Answer 13

Celluloid used to record movies. There are two types: one for
black-and-white films, the other for color. Each type is
manufactured in several standard formats.

Question 14

Gauge or format

Answer 14

The dimensions of a film stock and its perforations, and the
size and shape of the image frame as seen on the screen.
Formats extend from Super 8mm through 70mm (and beyond
into such specialized formats as IMAX), but they are generally
limited to three standard gauges: Super 8mm, 16mm, and
35mm.

Question 15

Speed or film stock

Answer 15

Celluloid used to record movies. There are two types: one for
black-and-white films, the other for color. Each type is
manufactured in several standard formats.

Question 16

colorization

Answer 16

The use of digital technology, in a process similar to
hand-tinting, to ‘paint’ colors on movies meant to be seen in
black and white.

Question 17

Additive color systems

Answer 17

In early film-making, techniques used to add color to
black-and-white images, including hand-coloring, stenciling,
tinting, and toning.

Question 18

subtractive color systems

Answer 18

Adopted in the 1930s, this technique involved shooting three
separate black-and-white negatives through three light filters,
each representing a primary color (red, green, blue). Certain
color components were subtracted (or removed) from each
of the three emulsion layers, creating a positive image in
natural color.

Question 19

Widescreen

Answer 19

Any aspect ratio wider than 1.33:1, the standard ratio until the
early 1950s.

Question 20

Focusable spotlight

Answer 20

A lamp that produces hard, mirrorlike light that can be directed to precise locations.

Question 21

Floodlight

Answer 21

A lamp that produces soft (diffuse) light.

Question 22

Reflector board

Answer 22

A piece of lighting equipment, but not really a lighting
instrument, because it does not rely on bulbs to produce
illumination. Essentially, a reflector board is a double-sided
board that pivots in a U-shaped holder. One side is a hard,
smooth surface that reflects hard light; the other is a soft,
textured surface that reflects softer fill light.

Question 23

three-point system

Answer 23

Perhaps the best-known lighting convention in feature
filmmaking, a system that employs three sources of light –
key light, fill light, and backlight – each aimed from
a different direction and position in relation to the subject.

Question 24

key light

Answer 24

Also known as main light or source light. The brightest light
falling on a subject.

Question 25

fill light

Answer 25

Lighting, positioned at the opposite side of the camera from
the key light, that can fill in the shadows created by the
brighter key light. Fill light may also come from a reflector
board.

Question 26

lighting ratio

Answer 26

The relationship and balance between illumination and
shadow – the balance between key light and fill light. If the
ratio is high, shadows are deep; the result is called low-key
lighting; if the ratio is low, shadows are faint or non-existent
and illumination is even; the result is called high-key lighting.

Question 27

low-key lighting

Answer 27

Lighting that creates strong contrasts; sharp, dark shadows;
and an overall gloomy atmosphere. Its contrasts between
light and dark often imply ethical judgments.

Question 28

high-key lighting

Answer 28

Lighting that produces an image with very little contrast
between darks and lights. Its even, flat illumination expresses
virtually no opinions about the subject being photographed.

Question 29

backlight

Answer 29

Lighting, usually positioned behind and in line with the
subject and the camera, used to create highlights on the
subject as a means of separating it from the background and
increasing its appearance of three-dimensionality.

Question 30

production value

Answer 30

The amount of human and physical resources devoted to
the image, including the style of its lighting. Production
value helps determine the overall style of a film.

Question 31

lens

Answer 31

The piece of transparent material in a camera that focuses the
image on the film being exposed. The four major types of
lenses are the short-focal-length lens, the middle-focal-length
lens, the long-focal-length lens, and the zoom lens.

Question 32

Aperture

Answer 32

Also known as gate. The camera opening that defines the
area of each frame of film exposed.

Question 33

iris

Answer 33

1. A circular cutout made with a mask that creates a frame within a frame. 2. An adjustable diaphragm that limits the amount of light
   passing through the lens of a camera.

Question 34

focal length

Answer 34

The distance from the optical center of a lens to the focal
point (the film plane that the cameraperson wants to keep in
focus) when the lens is focused at infinity.

Question 35

short-focal length lens

Answer 35

Also known as wide-angle lens. A lens that creates the illusion
of depth within a frame, albeit with some distortion at the
edges of the frame.

Question 36

long-focal length lens

Answer 36

Also known as telephoto lens. A lens that flattens the space
and depth of an image and thus distorts perspectival
relations.

Question 37

middle-focal length lens

Answer 37

Also known as normal lens. A lens that does not distort
perspectival relations.

Question 38

Zoom lens

Answer 38

Also known as variable-focal-length lens. A lens that is moved
toward and away from the subject being photographed, has
a continuously variable focal length, and helps reframe a shot
within the take. A zoom lens permits the camera operator
during shooting to shift between wide-angle and telephoto
lenses without changing the focus or aperture settings.

Question 39

Prime lens

Answer 39

A lens that has a fixed focal length. The short-focal-length, middle-focal-length, and long-focal-length lenses are all prime lenses; the zoom lens is in its own category.

Question 40

Depth of field

Answer 40

The distance in front of a camera and its lens in which objects are in apparent sharp focus.

Question 41

Plane

Answer 41

Any of three theoretical areas – foreground, middle ground, and background – within the frame.

Question 42

Rack focus

Answer 42

Also known as select focus, shift focus, or pull focus. A change of the point of focus from one subject to another within the same shot. Rack focus guides our attention to a new clearly focused point of interest while blurring the previous subject in the shot.