IB Film Glossary

Question 0

Ambient Sound

Answer 0

natural background noise on television, film or radio

Question 1

Ambient Light

Answer 1

natural, available light that is not enhanced in any way

Question 2

Asynchronous sound

Answer 2

lip-synch is out; when the words spoken and the lip movement of the actor on screen do not match

Question 3

Audience

Answer 3

all those who receive or interact with any media product

Question 4

Camera Angle

Answer 4

the position of the camera in relation to the main subject (high angle, low angle, worm’s eye view, or aerial view)

Question 5

Cinematographer

Answer 5

the person responsible for camera and lighting; often referred to as the “director of photography”

Question 6

Continuity Editing

Answer 6

sometimes referred to as “invisible” or “academic” editing, this is the unobtrusive style of editing developed by Hollywood that is still the basis of most commercial productions; basis is to cut on action so that the whole sequence looks natural

Question 7

Diegetic Sound

Answer 7

appears to come from a recognizable source with the narrative world of a film, radio or television text (sound of crashing waves or birdsong)

Question 8

Digital

Answer 8

conversion of sound and visual to transmit information in a code using the numbers zero and one

Question 9

Dubbing

Answer 9

process whereby sound is added to film; adding music or additional sound to dialogue, or addition of an entire soundtrack, including dialogue

Question 10

Editing

Answer 10

the selection of material to make a coherent whole; a variety of methods to move from one sequence to another (transition)

Question 11

Form

Answer 11

structure/skeleton of a text and the narrative framework around which it is based; sometimes determined by a genre and its corresponding codes and conventions (feature film commonly has a 3 act structure)

Question 12

Frame (n)

Answer 12

the single area on a strip of film that holds a single image (or a single still image on a video)

Question 13

Frame (v)

Answer 13

to adjust the position of the camera or to adjust the camera lens to compose the required shot (close-up, long, or medium)

Question 14

Generic Hybrids

Answer 14

media texts that are a mixture of more than one genre

Question 15

Genre

Answer 15

classification of any media text into a category or type; tend to have identifiable codes and conventions that have developed over time and for which audiences may have developed particular expectations

Question 16

Hollywood Cinema

Answer 16

to edit a concentrated sequence using a series of brief transitions creating the effect of the passage of time or movement over large distances or for expressionistic moods

Question 17

Mass (Mainstream)

Answer 17

when the target audience is a very large number of people

Question 18

Mise-en-scène

Answer 18

anything and everything that is “put in the scene”, or put in the frame to be photographed; includes project design, set, location, actors, costumes, make-up, gesture, proxemics and blocks, extras, props, use of color, contrast and filter, lighting, camera shot, composition, framing, angle and movement

Question 19

Narrative

Answer 19

a way in which a plot or story is told, by whom and in what order; (flashbacks, flash forwards, and ellipses)

Question 20

Niche

Answer 20

when the target audience is a smaller, more specific group of people

Question 21

Non-diegetic Sound

Answer 21

appears to come from a source unconnected to the narrative world of a text (film musical scores)

Question 22

Post-production

Answer 22

The period and the processes that come between the completion of principal photography and the completed film or program (includes editing of film with titles, graphics, special effects, etc.)

Question 23

Pre-production

Answer 23

The entire range of preparations that takes place before a film or television program can begin shooting

Question 24

Primary research

Answer 24

information or data you collect yourself (sources: interviews, questionnaires, analysis)

Question 25

Production

Answer 25

either the product itself or the actual process of filming

Question 26

Qualitative research

Answer 26

undertaken through observation, analyzing texts and documents, interviews, open-ended questionnaires and case studies (reasoned argument that is not based upon simple statistical information; for psychological, cultural, and social phenomena)

Question 27

Quantitative research

Answer 27

statistical data most frequently obtained from closed question in questionnaires or structured interviews (calculates quantity)

Question 28

Realism

Answer 28

Dominant mode of representation; media text attempts to represent an external reality but accurately reproduces that part of the real world in reference

Question 29

Representation

Answer 29

process of making meaning in still or moving images and in words and sounds to present or show someone or something; used to describe how segments or individuals of society are portrayed in media

Question 30

Secondary research

Answer 30

information taken from sources other than your own work, such as academic studies, reviews or essays, whether in printed format or from other film texts such as documentaries or interviews

Question 31

Stereotype

Answer 31

oversimplified representation of people, places, or issues, giving a narrowed and exaggerated set of attributes (frequently but not always negative)

Question 32

Style

Answer 32

“look” of a media text/its surface appearance; can be recognized by color, mise-en-scene, lighting, music, camera angle, movement, framing, dialogue, editing, etc.

Question 33

Synchronous sound

Answer 33

sound matches the action or speech in film or television

Question 34

Target Audience

Answer 34

the group of people to whom a product is particularly aimed

Question 35

Teaser trailers

Answer 35

short film or television trailers shown before a full-length trailer

Question 36

Thematic / “Soviet” Montage

Answer 36

arranging striking juxtapositions of individual shots to suggest an idea that goes beyond meanings within an individual shot; “collision montage”

Question 37

Tone

Answer 37

the overall impression that is given by a media text (serious, comic, romantic, sensationalist, etc.)