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Literature and Film > midterm vocab > Flashcards

midterm vocab Flashcards

film terms

1
Q

asynchronization:

A

sound related metaphorically or contextually to the next image that we see. Asyncrhonization allows filmmakers to contrast sound and image, substitute a sound for an image, or juxtapose sounds and images that would not normally occur at the same time.

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2
Q

auteur:

A

French for “author,” a term applied to directors such as Hitchcock whose films are so distinctive that they are regarded as having been “authored” and are designated accordingly (Hitchcock’s Rear Window)

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3
Q

auteurism/auteur theory:

A

the philosophy that the director is the central intelligence behind a film and deserves authorial status and possessory credit. The theory has proven controversial, but is often justified when referring to directors who have shown that they are capable of leaving their personal imprint on films

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4
Q

canted shot:

A

An angled shot, resulting in an asymmetrical, lopsided image to suggest that something is amiss. Also known as a Dutch-angle shot

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5
Q

close-up (CU):

A

a shot in which the camera is or appears to be close to the subject

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6
Q

commentative sound:

A

sound from a source outside the physical setting, such as background music

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7
Q

compose a shot/composition:

A

the act of planning a shot or a series of shots as an artist might the details of a painting, with close attention to such matters as lighting, color, camera angles, and spatial relationships

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8
Q

connotation:

A

the metaphorical meaning of a word or an image

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9
Q

contrast cut:

A

a transition from one shot to another that is so radically different from the first that it calls attention to the disparity between them

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10
Q

credits sequence:

A

a narrative segment of the film that unfolds during the credits, often functioning as a prologue and imparting information that is necessary to an understanding of the plot

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11
Q

cross-cutting/parallel cut:

A

switching back and forth between two actions taking place at the same time, but rarely in the same place

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12
Q

cut:

A

1)the joining of two separate shots so that the first is replaced by the second; 2)the joint connecting two shots; 3)a director’s signal to terminate a scene (“Cut!”); 4) a version of a movie (rough cut, director’s cut, final cut)

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13
Q

deep focus:

A

a type of photography in which foreground, middle ground, and background are clearly visible

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14
Q

denotation:

A

the literal meaning of a word; in film, the image independent of its symbolic or connotative meaning

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15
Q

director:

A

the individual ultimately considered responsible for the visualization of the screenplay, although the actual making of a film is a collaborative activity

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16
Q

discourse:

A

in film, the way in which the story reaches the audience, including all the narrative strategies that have been used, both visual and implicit

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17
Q

dissolve:

A

a transition in which one shot fades out as another fades in, sometimes with the two shots overlapping

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18
Q

distribution:

A

the second phase of moviemaking, after production, which involves the manner in which a film is marketed and released

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19
Q

dramatic foreshadowing:

A

early indications of events or actions that will happen later

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20
Q

editing:

A

the arrangement of the shots in such a way as to create the film’s narrative, rhythmic, and tonal structure so that there is variety of image, size, mood, color, texture, and pace

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21
Q

epistolary voice/voice over:

A

narration accompanying the reading or writing of a letter

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22
Q

establishing shot (ES):

A

generally a long shot identifying a location, such as a shot of the New York skyline; 2) a long shot (for example, a family gathering) that becomes the basis of closer shots of the various components (i.e. individual family members)

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23
Q

exhibition:

A

the third phase of movie-making, after production and distribution, which refers to the showing of a film in a theater or other venue

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24
Q

fade-out/fade-in:

A

the image either disappears as the screen goes dark (fade-out) or materializes out of a dark screen (fade-in)

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25
Q

flashback:

A

a segment of a film, brief or extended, that dramatizes what has happened in the past

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26
Q

flash-forward:

A

a shot or series of shots depicting an event that will take place at some point in the film but not at the point at which either appears

27
Q

framing:

A

the act of composing a shot after the filmmaker has decided on its visual form

28
Q

genre:

A

a literary form or type of film in which recurring motifs, stylistic conventions, characters, and plot devices have become so familiar that the work or film is categorized as such: tragedy, comedy, horror, science fiction, western, etc.

29
Q

God’s eye shot/bird’s eye shot/high-angle shot:

A

a shot taken from above the subject

30
Q

iconography:

A

re-creating an image so that it evokes a traditional or familiar pictorial representation, such as a well-known painting or sculpture

31
Q

independent film (indie):

A

1) a movie made without a studio affiliation; 2) one made by a producer whose production unit is based at a studio that has provided some form of financing and functions as the film’s distributor; 3) one distributed through a studio’s specialty unit, such as Sony Pictures Classics

32
Q

infranarrative:

A

the film’s subtext, consisting of the various associations made while watching the film (for example, associating the characters with mythic types and archetypal figures, the actors with their previous roles or with other actors with whom they share common traits, and so forth)

33
Q

intertextuality:

A

inserting references to other works within one’s own, often as a way of acknowledging influences, paying homage, or answering predecessors. Example: Brian De Palma’s Obsession is a tribute to Hitchcock’s Vertigo.

34
Q

leitmotif:

A

a recurring musical phrase associated with a character or theme

35
Q

long shot (LS):

A

a shot in which the camera appears at a distance from the subject

36
Q

low-angle shot:

A

a shot in which the camera shoots up at the subject from below, making the subject appear larger than it actually is

37
Q

medium shot (MS):

A

midway between a close-up and a long shot

38
Q

mise-en-scène:

A

a French theatrical term meaning the staging of a production; in film, composing a shot or sequence with the same attention to detail (set, lighting, costumes, makeup, positioning of actors within the frame, etc.) that a stage director lavishes on a play

39
Q

movie time:

A

the collapsing or expanding of time, depending on the filmmaker’s purpose

40
Q

myth:

A

a timeless narrative that expresses universal truths about life and death, fate and nature, and/or the divine and the human

41
Q

narrative film:

A

a film with an invented plot; also known as fiction film or story film

42
Q

objective shot:

A

what the camera, as opposed to the character, sees

43
Q

plot:

A

a work’s narrative structure—not the story-line but the arrangement and order of the episodes that make up the work

44
Q

point-of-view (POV) shot:

A

1) a shot from the character’s point of view—what the character sees; 2) a shot representing what the character experiences—in a reverie, a memory, a dream—so that we momentarily become the character (aka “subjective camera”)

45
Q

post-production:

A

the stage following the completion of a film, including the editing, the addition of transitions and visual effects, and musical scoring

46
Q

producer:

A

the individual who “puts the package together” and oversees the entire production from its inception to its completion and, in some cases, oversees its marketing, while also making sure that the film stays within budget

47
Q

production:

A

the first phase of moviemaking, followed by distribution and exhibition, and denoting everything involved in the making of the movie prior to its being edited

48
Q

production designer (production supervisor):

A

the person responsible for the film’s “look” as determined by the script and the director’s vision

49
Q

reflexivity:

A

the self-conscious attempt by a novelist or filmmaker to call attention to his or her work as a novel or film so that we are reading a novel about writing a novel or seeing a film about moviemaking

50
Q

scene:

A

a combination of shots that is part of a sequence, unable to stand by itself

51
Q

sequence:

A

a segment of a film that, when excerpted, makes a certain amount of narrative sense

52
Q

shallow focus:

A

rendering the foreground with greater clarity and sharpness that the background; the opposite of deep focus

53
Q

shot:

A

what is recorded by a single, uninterrupted run of the camera (a take)

54
Q

subjective camera:

A

a technique in which the viewer stands in for the character, experiencing what the character would have experienced (POV shot)

55
Q

synchronization:

A

correlation of sound and image with the sound coming from within the image or from an identifiable source

56
Q

tight framing:

A

confining the image, usually a character, within the frame lines to suggest entrapment

57
Q

transition:

A

device used for bridging scenes, such as fades, dissolves, wipes, and irising

58
Q

visual effects (special effects):

A

effects achieved through special optical and mechanical processes (wipes, dissolves, freezes, masking, stop-motion photography, etc)

59
Q

voice of God:

A

omniscient off-camera narration

60
Q

voice-over:

A

off-camera narration by either a character or a commentator

61
Q

wide-angle lens:

A

a lens that has a short focal length; though it can offer a broader view and provide more visual information, a shot taken with this type of lens also makes the foreground and whatever is in it seem unnaturally larger than the background

62
Q

wipe:

A

a transition in which a line appears to move vertically, horizontally or diagonally across the screen, causing one shot to disappear or close down and another to materialize; wipes can also appear in the form of clocks, fans, and spirals

63
Q

zoom (zoom in/zoom out):

A

the filmmaker creates the illusion of movement by using a lens that can change the focal length to move into (zoom in) or out of (zoom out) a scene

Literature and Film (2 decks)

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