film exam study

Question 1

Intertextuality

Answer 1

where one piece of fiction references another piece of fiction

Question 2

SCALE

Answer 2

The minimum amount of money a writer/actor/director must be paid for their role

Question 3

B-Roll

Answer 3

Secondary footage that adds meaning to a sequence or disguises elimination of unwanted content.

Question 4

Clipping

Answer 4

Creating digital distortion in a digital audio file by overmodulating

Question 5

Foley artist

Answer 5

Post-production crew member who records sound effects for a film

Question 6

Dailies

Answer 6

A copy of the film that is received the day after the shoot so the crew can see their progress

Question 7

Metafiction

Answer 7

form of literature that emphasizes its own constructedness in a way that reminds the reader that they are reading fictional work.

Question 8

Aspect ratio

Answer 8

Ratio of the width to height of the film frame and projected image.

Question 9

Letterbox

Answer 9

transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect to standard width video formats while preserving the film’s original aspect ratio

Question 10

Pillar box

Answer 10

Pillar box effect occurs in widescreen video displays when black bars are placed on the side of the image.

Question 11

180 degree rule

Answer 11

Rule that states that an imaginary line should be drawn between two actors, the crossing of this line by the camera disturbs spatial continuity.

Question 12

Screener

Answer 12

A DVD or Blu-ray of a completed film given to a few select people prior to the release of the film.

Question 13

Reel

Answer 13

A DVD or Blu-ray containing samples of someone’s work, used to gain employment

Question 14

BIOPIC

Answer 14

film that tells the true story of a historical person

Question 15

Lower third

Answer 15

Title that appears at the bottom of the screen, usually with person’s name or location

Question 16

Slug/gap

Answer 16

black piece of film used to fill a space between 2 shots

Question 17

diegetic sound

Answer 17

sound heard onscreen from a source actually in the scene

Question 18

MOS

Answer 18

“mit out sound”, a take that is filmed without recording sound at the same time

Question 19

clap board

Answer 19

board that is used at the beginning of a shot that displays the scene and take number

Question 20

Back to one

Answer 20

verbal cue for actors to return to the mark where they started the scene

Question 21

reset

Answer 21

verbal cue for actors to return to where they started the scene (used more often than “back to one”)

Question 22

timecode

Answer 22

system for identifying each frame of video. measured in hours:minutes:seconds:frames

Question 23

codec

Answer 23

microchip that compresses data so large computer files are smaller

Question 24

Alpha channel

Answer 24

channel that controls the amount of exposure that the color channels use. You need an alpha channel to have a transparent background

Question 25

Flash frame

Answer 25

shot of only a few frames duration, caused by the camera slowing down and creating an overexposed frame

Question 26

focus puller

Answer 26

1st AC, they adjust the focus during filming

Question 27

Rack focus

Answer 27

shot where focus shifts to something in the background to something in the foreground

Question 28

Follow focus

Answer 28

device used for shooting film/video that allows the operator to adjust the focus during the shot

Question 29

Vectorscope

Answer 29

a type of oscilloscope used when calibrating the proper color of a video

Question 30

waveform monitor

Answer 30

type of oscilloscope used when calibrating the proper luminance of a video

Question 31

luminance

Answer 31

the degree of brightness of a video image

Question 32

chrominance

Answer 32

the color portion of a video signal

Question 33

aperture

Answer 33

the opening in a lens, formed by adjustable iris that controls the amount of light passing through

Question 34

transcode

Answer 34

converting a computer file from one type to another

Question 35

native

Answer 35

video that does not need to be transcoded

Question 36

jump cut

Answer 36

cut in film editing where 2 shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that only vary slightly

Question 37

invisible editing

Answer 37

technique of cutting shots so that the audience isn't aware of the cuts

Question 38

Continuity editing

Answer 38

process of combining related shots into a sequence to direct the viewer's attention to the story

Question 39

Single system sound

Answer 39

recording audio on the same device as the video

Question 40

30 degree rule

Answer 40

film editing guideline that states the camera should move at least 30 degrees relative to the subject between shots of the same subject

Question 41

the auteur theory

Answer 41

theory that states that one person (director) has artistic control of the film and their world view can be seen through the finished film

Question 42

dolly zoom

Answer 42

technique in which the camera moves closer/further from the subject while adjusting the zoom angle to keep the subject the same size.

Question 43

magic hour

Answer 43

time period just before sundown after the sun has set behind the horizon, and there is still a soft light in the sky

Question 44

practical

Answer 44

light that is used in a scene to provide light but also be a prop.

Question 45

anamorphic lens

Answer 45

lens that squeezes the width of an image during filming and expands it during projection to create a wide screen effect

Question 46

martini shot

Answer 46

the last shot of the day

Question 47

bokeh

Answer 47

aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of the image

Question 48

video village

Answer 48

the bank of monitors on set where the director watches what is being filmed

Question 49

WONKY

Answer 49

a moment that feels out of place or forced

Question 50

Courier

Answer 50

The standard typewriter font used to write all screenplays

Question 51

In-the-can

Answer 51

term referring to scenes that have been shot

Question 52

cutaway

Answer 52

a shot of something outside the main action

Question 53

insert

Answer 53

a shot of part of a scene filmed from a different angle than the master shot

Question 54

judder

Answer 54

an instability introduced when images sampled at one frame rate are converted to another frame rate for viewing

Question 55

diegetic sound

Answer 55

sound heard onscreen from a source actually in the scene

Question 56

barn doors

Answer 56

blinders placed on a set of lights to direct the flow of the light beam

Question 57

footcandle

Answer 57

a unit of measurement for light. One footcandle is equal to the brightness of one candle in one square foot

Question 58

lux

Answer 58

unit of measurement of light used in reference to a video camera's abilty to shoot in low light

Question 59

period film

Answer 59

a film set in a time period in the past

Question 60

ADR

Answer 60

Automatic dialogue replacement, used when an actor needs to re-record their dialogue after the film has been shot.