Visual Literacy Flashcards
What are purposes of visual techniques?
-Establish a context or location
-emphasize an element or character
Emphasize a plot detail
What is static art?
Still images
What is sequential art?
Images which move form frame to frame
What is film study?
Study of moving image which is filmed
What’s a shot?
Continuous unedited piece of film of any length
What’s a scene?
A series of shots edited together
What’s a sequence ?
Series of scenes edited together r
What’s parallel action?
Crosscuts between 2 or more separate actins to create the illusion that they are occurring simultaneously
What’s objective camera?
POV of spectator watching from outside the scene
What’s subjective camera?
POV from character directly involved in the action
What is off screen?
Words heard with actor outside of cameras view
What’s voice over?
Words spoken of screen and heard over visual shots
What’s a blocking shot/scene?
Figuring out where everything goes
What’s the hook?
Opening sequence that catches the audience’s attention
What’s a caption?
Printed lines of text at the bottom of the screen
What does mise-en-scene mean?
Placing on stage
What is mise-en-scene
Everything in the frame of a static or moving image
What does mise-en-scene include?
-Lighting,props,setting
-how space is used to have symbolic meaning or dramatic effect
-every choice is purposeful
What’s an extreme long shot?
Shows landscape or view of the whole world, town, or city
What’s a long shot?
Subjects whole body along with entire area of action
What’s the purpose of a long shot?
-establish a setting
-introduce main characters
-indicate emotional separation
What’s a full shot?
Shows subject head to toe
What’s a medium (mid) shot?
Shows subject from mid shin or mid thigh up
What the purpose of a mid shot?
Emphasize relationship between characters
-separate characters form background
What’s a close shot?
Subject is shown from waist up
What’s a close up shot?
-Focuses on subjects face, shows head & shoulders
-may focus on a small object
What’s the purpose of a close up shot?
For emphasis
What’s an extreme close up shot?
Singles out a portion of the face or isolates a detail
Often used as a cut in
What’s the purpose of an extreme close up shot?
-Call attention to key elements for symbolic significance
-intensity and expression
What’s a tracking or dolly shot?
Single continuous shot made with a camera moving along the ground usually on a dolly
What’s an Aerial shot?
Filmed from a plane, helicopter, kite, balloon, anything in the air, most commonly on a drone
What’s a crane shot?
A crane is used to lift the camera above the action looking down on it
What’s an arc shot?
Subject is filmed by encircling or moving camera
What’s a boom shot?
Shot made from a pole which as a camera suspended from it
What’s an establishing it master shot?
Shows overall view of a location or all the actors in the scene
What’s a hand held shot?
Camera is held by hand
What’s the purpose of a hand held shot?
-create sense of anxiety and confusion
-involve audience in scene with characters
-add realism to scene
What’s a reactions shot?
Medium shot that shows subjects reaction to an event
What’s a Shot /reverse shot?
Shows two people talking and listening to each other
What’s an over the shoulder shot?
Characters POV but includes part of that characters shoulder
What’s a Birds Eye view angle?
Camera is virtually on top of the subject, looking straight down
What is a high angle?
Camera shoots down at the subject
What’s the purpose of a high angle?
-increase vulnerability
-shows powerlessness
-shows small size
What’s a low angle?
Camera shoots up at the subject
What’s the purpose of a low angle?
-shows large size
-shows power
-used to inspire
What’s a straight/flat angle ?
Camera is eye level
What’s the purpose of a straight/flat angle?
Shows equality, sincerity, honesty between subject and audience
What’s a Dutch angle and what are 2 other words for it?
Oblique or canted angle
Shot by tilting the camera frame off its normal vertical axis
What’s the purpose of a Dutch/canted/oblique angle ?
-creates confusion and disorientation
-strange mood
-subjective viewpoint
-suggest a symbolic imbalance
What’s a wide angle?
Greater panorama without having to move camera
What fish eye lens?
Creates Exaggerated linear distortion, looks like looking into a mirrored glass ball
What does breaking the fourth wall create?
Humorous, clever, personal, or disturbed scene
What are transitions?
Connect one scene to another
What’s a bridging shot?
Used to “bridge A jump in time, place or other discontinuity
What’s a cut?
End of the shot
Whats a jump cut?
Cut that visually jars or disturbs viewers, making a break in the continuity of the scene
What’s a cut away?
A shot inserted into a master/establishing shot to focus on elements of the scene
What’s cross cutting?
Cutting back and fourth between two scenes to create the the impression they are happening at the same time
What’s a fade in/ fade out?
Going from black to the scene or going from the scene to black
What’s dissolve?
One image gradually fades in while another fades out so for a few seconds they bleed into each other (superimposed)
What’s match cut dissolve?
Audio or visual transition. That’s used elements from previous scene to transition
What’s match on action ?
Connects two shots by having a character in the first shot start and action and have the character in the second shot finish the action
What’s a graphic match?
Connects two shots by having an object in one shot connect to a similar or same object in the second shot
What’s a colour graph match cut dissolve?
Connects two shots cut together by having a key colour in one shot connect to the similar colour in a second shot
What’s a symbolic graph match cut dissolve?
Connects shots by having a significant object in one shot connect symbolically to a dissimilar object in a second shot
What’s an audio match cut dissolve ?
Connects two shots by having sounds connect to a second shot
What’s superimposed?
Overlay one shot over another shot, two or more images can be seen at the same time (overlapping)
What’s a wipe?
One shot wipes across the screen to replace another
What’s an iris in/out?
Shot goes from full frame to focusing on small circle with everything else blacked out
What’s an eyeline match?
Cut between two shots where the character in first shot looks at something in the second shot
What’s continuity editing?
Editing shots together to create a seamless flow of action
What’s montage editing?
Editing shots together without a seamless flow. It requires the audience to create their own connections
What’s bookends?
Denoting scenes at the beginning and end of the film that complement each other and help tie a film together
What’s defocus?
Take a shot out of focus
What’s shallow focus?
Focus is clear and only one plane. The rest of the image is blurred.
What kind of depth of field does shallow focus have?
Narrow
What’s deep focus?
All areas from foreground to background are in focus
What kind of depth of field does deep focus have
Wide
What’s soft focus?
Slightly blurred shot
(Romantic, nostalgic or dreamlike
What’s rack focus ?
On screen, focus change from an object in the foreground to an object in the background, or vice versa in a single shot
What’s pan?
Camera moves from side to side
What’s tilt?
Movement up or down
What’s tracking?
Camera moves smoothly to follow a moving object or person
What’s zoom in?
Magnifies the subject, while the camera remains stationary
What’s zoom out?
Minimizes the subject, while the camera remains stationary
What’s push in?
Camera physically moves closer on a dolly usually rapidly
What’s pull back?
Camera zoom out or physically pull back if often usually rapidly
What’s static ?
Subject stays in the same position
What’s tail away ?
Subject walks away from the camera
What’s head on?
Subject moves towards the camera
What’s freeze frame?
All movement on screen stops
What is the purpose of slow motion?
-Implies strength, power
-gives the feeling that something terrible is happening and audience is helpless
-used in dream sequences
may be symbolic.
What’s the purpose of fast motion?
Create a comic effect, frenzy or confusion
What’s high key lighting?
Brightly lit, most common lighting style in Hollywood
What’s high contrast lighting and what’s another word for it
Chiaroscuro lighting
Harsh lines of light and dark elements may be used for symbolic, intent, or to establish an uneasy/nervous mood
What’s low-key lighting?
Many shadows and directed pools of light to create atmosphere, and suspense, suggests a sense of
What’s backlighting and its purpose ?
Illumination coming from behind the subject
More dramatic, more angelic, a hero
What’s side lighting and its purpose ?
Illumination coming from the side of the subject
Suggest ambiguity ,suggest a psychological self division
What’s unmotivated lighting?
Intense, bright light from an unseen, impossible source
Can distract/puzzle the audience
What’s motivated lighting?
Light from an explainable source
Keeps audience engaged in story
line
What’s diffused light?
Light source is reflected, providing a softer, lower contrast image
What’s ambient light?
Natural light
What’s diegetic sound?
Any sound that could logically be heard by a character
What’s internal diegetic?
Sounds that only one character can hear
What’s non diegetic ?
Sounds from a source outside the storyline
What’s ambient sounds ?
Refers to any sounds that are used to establish a location
What’s pitch?
High, medium, low
What’s tempo?
Fast or slow
What’s volume ?
Loud or soft
What’s asynchronous ?
Audio track sounds are mismatched/out of conjunction with images shown
What’s score ?
Music written for film, typically for the beginning and end of the movie
What associates with the colour red?
Urgency, excitement, love, passion, heat, sexual attraction, blood, strength, speed, danger, warning
What associates with the colour blue?
Calmness, wholesomeness, truth, dignity, power, coolness, trust, reliability, belonging, melancholy
What associates with the colour yellow?
Cowardice, friendliness, happiness, warmth, welcoming
What associates with the colour green?
Freshness, nature, growth, health, environment, money/greed, envy
What associates with the colour purple?
Power, royalty, dignity, sophistication, intelligence, morning, spirituality
What associates with the colour orange ?
Nature, homeliness, warmth, vibrant, playfulness
What associates with the colour brown?
Homeliness, warmth, decay, destruction, lack of growth
What associates with white?
Purity, innocence, cleanliness, freshness, emptiness
What associates with the colour black
Sophistication, elegance, mysterious, strength/power, threatening, morning, evil, Rebellion
What is subsidiary details? 
Where viewers eyes is drawn to after the point of focus
What’s internal framing and what its purpose?
A frame without a frame
Suggests imprisonment, protection, or isolation
What’s directionality?
Elements of the visual, direct the viewer to read the image in a particular way
