Film Class Flashcards
Adaptation
the presentation of one art form through another medium; a film based upon,
derived from (or adapted from) a stage play (or from another medium such as a short story, book,
article, history, novel, video game, comic strip/book, etc.) which basically preserves both the
setting and dialogue of the original; can be in the form of a script (screenplay) or a
proposal treatment.
Allegory
mostly a literary term, but taken in film terms to mean a suggestive resemblance or
correspondence between a visible event or character in a film with other more significant or
abstract levels of meaning outside of the film; an extended metaphor.
Allusion
a direct or indirect reference, through an image or through dialogue, to the Bible, a
classic, a person, a place, an external and/or real-life event, another film, or a well-known
cultural idea.
Ambience
: the feeling or mood of a particular scene or setting
Anachronism
an element or artifact in a film that belongs to another time or place; often
anachronistic elements are called film flubs.
Antogonist
the main character, person, group, society, nature, force, spirit world, bad guy, or
villain of a film or script who is in adversarial conflict with the film’s hero, lead character
or protagonist; also sometimes termed the heavy
Anticlimax
anything in a film, usually following the film’s high point, zenith, apex, crescendo,
or climax, in which there is an unsatisfying and disappointing let-down of emotion, or what is
expected doesn’t occur.
Anti-hero
the principal protagonist of a film who lacks the attributes or characteristics of a
typical hero archetype, but with whom the audience identifies. The character is often confused or
conflicted with ambiguous morals, or character defects and eccentricities, and lacks courage,
honesty, or grace. The anti-hero can be tough yet sympathetic, or display vulnerable and weak
traits. Specifically, the anti-hero often functions outside the mainstream and challenges it
Archetype
a character, place, or thing, that is repeatedly presented in films with a particular
style or characterization; an archetype usually applies to a specific genre or type classification.
Backdrop
refers to a large photographic backing or painting for the background of a scene (e.g.,
a view seen outside a window, a landscape scene, mountains, etc.), usually painted on flats
(composed of plywood or cloth); a large curved backdrop (often representing the sky) is known
as a cyclorama; backdrops were more commonly used before the current trend toward onlocation shooting and the use of bluescreens.
Background Music
refers to part of the score that accompanies a scene or action in a film,
usually to establish a specific mood or enhance the emotion.
Backlighting
this phenomenon occurs when the lighting for the shot is directed at the camera
from behind the subject(s), causing the figure(s) in the foreground to appear in semi-darkness or
as silhouettes, or highlighted; with backlighting, the subject is separated from the background.
Buddy Film
a subgenre of film (comedies, westerns, dramas, action films, road films, etc.) in
which two mismatched persons (usually males) are forced to work together, often a pair of police
cops; situations are often contrived to present the pair with challenges or strains that both
strengthen their bond and weaken it; buddy films are often action/comedy films with witty
dialogue between the two characters and sometimes the inclusion of a love triangle; has been
extended to include female buddies; compare to fish-out-of-water tale.
Camera Angle
the point of view (POV) or perspective (including relative height or direction)
chosen from which to photograph a subject. Various camera angles, compositions, or positions
include: front, behind, side, top, high (looking down), low (looking up), straight-on or eye-level
(standard or neutral angle), tilted (canted or oblique), or subjective, etc.; see also framing.
Camera Movement
the use of the camera to obtain various camera angles and perspectives.
(See motion picture camera shots below, including the pan, tilt, track, and zoom;
also boom/craneshots, Steadicam, or hand-held)
CGI
Computer-Generated Imagery (or Images), a term referring to the use of 3D computer
graphics and technology (digital computers and specialized software) in film-making to create
filmed images, special effects and the illusion of motion; often used to cut down on the cost of
hiring extras. See Visual/Special effects
Cliffhanger
a film characterized by scenes of great tension, danger, adventure, suspense, or
high drama, often climaxing at the end of a film, or at the end of a multi-part serial episode,
where the plot ending and the fate of the protagonist(s) are left unresolved; the name was derived
from the movie serials of the 1930’s where each week the hero (or heroine) was perilously left
dangling from a cliff – with a ‘to-be-continued’ ending – to increase interest for the next episode
(sequel).
Climax
the highest point of anxiety or tension in a story or film in which the central
character/protagonist faces, confronts, and deals with the consequence(s) of all his/her actions, or
faces the antagonist in a climactic battle or final engagement; a crisis often leads to a climax;
Close-up/ Extreme Close-Up
a shot taken from a close distance in which the scale of the object is
magnified, appears relatively large and fills the entire frame to focus attention and emphasize its
importance; i.e., a person’s head from the shoulders or neck up is a commonly-filmed close-up; a
tight shot makes the subject fill almost the entire frame; also extreme close-up (ECU or XCU) is
a shot of a part of a character (e.g., face, head, hands) to emphasize detail; also known as detail
shot or close on; contrast to long-shot (LS).
Comic Relief
a humorous or farcical interlude in a dramatic film, usually provided by a
buffoonish character, intended to relieve the dramatic, built-up tension or heighten the emotional
impact by means of contrast
Cyberpunk
a sub-genre of science fiction, derived from combining the terms
cybernetics and punk, and related to the digital or information technology society (referring to
the proliferation of computers, the online world, cyberspace, and ‘hacking’); this sub-genre also
incorporates classic film-noirish characteristics into its style - traits include alienation,
dehumanization, the presence of counter-cultural anti-heroes, darkness, dystopia, and corruption;
heavily influenced by the novels of Raymond Chandler; also associated with the work of writer
William Gibson and his 1984 novel Neuromancer.
Deus ex machina
: literally, the resolution of the plot by the device of a god (“deus”) arriving
onstage by means of a piece of equipment (“machina”) and solving all the characters’ problems;
usually refers to an unlikely, improbable, contrived, illogical, or clumsy ending or suddenlyappearing plot device that alleviates a difficult situation or brings about a denouement - just in
the nick of time; can sometimes refer to an unexpected, artificial, or improbable character.
Doppelgänger
a German word literally meaning: “doublewalker,” a reference to the fact that a
shadow-self, duplicate, counterpart or double (spiritual, ghostly, or real) accompanies every
individual.
Dystopia
: an imaginary, wretched, dehumanized, dismal, fearful, bad, oppressive place or
landscape, often initiated by a major world crisis (post-war destruction) coupled with, an oppressive government, crime, abnormal behavior, etc.; the opposite of utopia (a state of ideal
perfection). See also nihilism (or nihilistic).
Ellipsis
A term that refers to periods of time that have been left out of the narrative. The ellipsis
is marked by an editing transition which, while it leaves out a section of the action, nonetheless
signifies that something has been elided. Thus, the fade or dissolve could indicate a passage of
time, a wipe, a change of scene and so on. A jump cut transports the spectator from one action
and time to another, giving the impression of rapid action or of disorientation if it is not matched
Epiphany
a moment of sudden spiritual insight for the protagonist of a film, usually occurs just
before or after the climax.
Fade in/ Fade out
A punctuation device. The screen is black at the beginning; gradually the image
appears, brightening to full strength. The opposite happens in the fade out.
Flashback
A scene or sequence (sometime an entire film), that is inserted into a scene in
“present” time and that deals with the past. The flashback is the past tense of the film. This is a
technique that alters the natural order of the narrative; a flashback may often be the entire film; it
takes the story order back chronologically in time to a previous or past event, scene, or sequence
that took place prior to the present time frame of the film; the flashbacked story that provides
background on action and events is often called the backstory; contrast to flash-forward.
