vocabulary

Question 1

What is film form?

Answer 1

the pattern of elements in a narrative film by which it is organized

Question 2

what are the two dimensions of film form?

Answer 2

1. the film itself (cues that trigger emotions) 2. the viewer’s engagement (emotion that is triggered)

Question 3

What are narrative elements?

Answer 3

the elements of a film that constitute a film’s story: plot, setting, characters, goal and subjective states of the character

Question 4

what are stylistic elements?

Answer 4

elements through which the story is told: music, sets, costumes

Question 5

What are the two viewer components? (what the viewer brings to the film)

Answer 5

1. Knowledge about the world (nature, history, social customs, behaviour) 2. knowledge about films (story conventions, types or characters, genres)

Question 6

Principle of form films: Motivation

Answer 6

what is narratively significant, what pushes the story along

Question 7

Principle of film form: motif

Answer 7

any significant element that is repeating, thematic and significant

Question 8

Principle of film form: variation

Answer 8

any significant element that is repeated in a film but that repetition entails variation (cinematic parallels)

Question 9

Principle of film form: development

Answer 9

progression from beginning, middle and end, plot structure

Question 10

Principle of film form: Unity and Disunity

Answer 10

the degree to which all elements of a film should fit together

Question 11

What is Mise en Scene?

Answer 11

the staging of events before the camera

Question 12

What are the four elements of Mise-en-scene?

Answer 12

setting
costume and makeup
lighting
staging

Question 13

What are the dimensions of setting?

Answer 13

The places within the film’s story where the action occurs, real or imaginary

Question 14

What does genre have to do with dimensions of setting?

Answer 14

elements of iconography in setting that are associated with certain genres

Question 15

What is Verisimilitude?

Answer 15

How realistic something is meant to look, even if it’s in a made up world

Question 16

What is Artifice?

Answer 16

When the setting is not at all realistic or mimicking the real world

Question 17

What is Compositing?

Answer 17

using different elements to create a set, ie. painted background or CGI greenscreen

Question 18

What are the functions of costumes?

Answer 18

Express the traits of the character or assist in social categorization, props or historical accuracy

Question 19

What are the functions of makeup?

Answer 19

Can age the actor or enhance certain facial features for the character

Question 20

Functions of character placement and movements

Answer 20

direct attention to narratively salient characters, character dynamics or subjective states

Question 21

What is planimetric staging?

Answer 21

the staging of action and placement of characters along planes in the shot

Question 22

What is the first function of lighting?

Answer 22

registering the image, showing the scene and character even in darkness

Question 23

What is the importance of shadows?

Answer 23

assists the compositions, emphasizes facial features

Question 24

What are cast shadows?

Answer 24

when a shadow is cast through an object or window

Question 25

what are attached shadows?

Answer 25

light directly shining on an actor (usually face)

Question 26

What is the second function of light?

Answer 26

directing the attention to a person, object or silhouette

Question 27

What are the four features of light?

Answer 27

Quality, Direction, Source, Colour

Question 28

What is light quality?

Answer 28

Hard vs Soft lighting

Question 29

What is hard lighting?

Answer 29

Intense light that creates hard shadows and sharp edges

Question 30

What is soft lighting?

Answer 30

diffuse with soft shadows and more flattering

Question 31

What does front lighting do?

Answer 31

Well lit with emphasis on the front

Question 32

What does backlighting do?

Answer 32

create silhouettes and emphasis on the back of the shot

Question 33

What does top lighting do?

Answer 33

Emphasizes cheekbones and forehead, creating a glamourous and flattering image

Question 34

What does bottom lighting do?

Answer 34

Highlights features we aren’t used to seeing, creates a distorted and unsettling image

Question 35

What is three-point lighting?

Answer 35

Three lights to create even light distribution

Question 36

What is High Key Lighting?

Answer 36

use of light to reduce the degree of contrast between darker and lighter parts of the image (three-point lighting)

Question 37

What is low key lighting?

Answer 37

the use of lighting to increase the degree of contrast between dark and light, fill light often not used

Question 38

What is the light source?

Answer 38

the origin of the light used to illuminate a shot, sometimes diegetic and sometimes non-diegetic

Question 39

What is Diegetic?

Answer 39

something that is occurring for the audience but also for the characters (movie music, also in their earbuds)

Question 40

What is non-diegetic?

Answer 40

When something is happening of the audience but not the characters (music that the characters don’t hear)

Question 41

Colour in lighting

Answer 41

realistic or unrealistically motivated: using gels to make the light a certain colour

Question 42

what is an example of realistic coloured lighting?

Answer 42

blue lighting pretending to be moonlight streaming through a window