Film Appreciation Test Questions – Flashcards
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Realism
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physical reality is the source of all raw materials of film, minimum of distortion, documentary style, open form
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formalism
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high degree of manipulation, a stylization of reality, emphasize techniques and expressiveness, closed form. Real Deff: A style of filmmaking in which asethetic forms take precedence over the subject matter as content Time and space as oridnarily percieved are often distorted. Emphasis on essential, symbolic characteristics of objects and people.
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shots
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the amount of subject matter that's included within the frame of the screen
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medium shot
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contains a figure from the knees or waist up
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close-up
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concentrates on a relatively small object
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long shot
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distance between the audience and the theatre
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extreme long shot
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establishing shot, tells you what world you're in
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extreme close-up
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show only a person's eyes or mouth
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deep focus shot
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long shot consisting of a number of focal distances photographed in depth
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angle
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determined by where the camera is placed, not the subject photographed
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bird's-eye view
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photographing a scene from directly overhead
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high angle
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placed on a crane, not so extreme, not so disorientating
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low angle
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increase height, opposite of high angle, useful for suggesting vertically. heighten the importance of a subject
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oblique angle
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lateral tilt of the camera. suggest tension, transition, and impending movements. ex. drunk
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cinematographer
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the artist and technician responsible for the film's lighting and photography, an expert with lights, lenses, cameras, film stocks, and photographic processes who designs and tests different effects until they match the director's intentions for the film, then oversees the actual shooting
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cool colors
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(blue, green, violet) suggest tranquility, aloofness, and serenity. tendancy to recede an image
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warm colors
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(red, yellow, orange) suggest aggressiveness, violence, and stimulation
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film noir
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a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. low-key and high contrast lighting
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dominants
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The area of the film image that compels the viewer's most immediate attention, usually because of a prominent visual constrast
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storyboarding
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A pre visualization technique in which shots are sketched in advance and in sequence, allowing the filmmakers to outline the mis en scene and construct the editing community before production begins
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Mise en scene
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"Placing on stage," the arrangement of all the visual elements of a theatrical production within a given playing area.
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frame
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The dividing line between the edges of the screen image and the enclosing darkness of the theater.
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aspect ratio
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frame's horizontal and vertical dimensions
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standard aspect ratio
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(television) 1:33:1
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widescreen aspect ratio
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1:85:1
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Center Frame
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where the dominant visual effects are placed in the frame
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Top of Frame
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suggests ideas dealing with power, authority, and aspiration
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Left and Right Edges of Frame
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suggests insignificance
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Darkness in frame
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suggests the unknown, the unseen, and the fearful
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subsidiary contrasts
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A subordinate element of the film image, complementing or contrasting with the dominant contrast. In other words, what you see after the dominant
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Intrinsic interest
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the audience, through the context of a story, knows that an object is more important dramatically than it appears visually.
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Territorial Space
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the way we respond to objects and people within a given area is a constant source of information in life as well as in movies.
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full-front territorial space
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most intamate
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quarter-turn
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provides high degree of intimacy but with less emotional involvement
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profile
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unaware of being observed, lost in his or her own thoughts
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three-quarter turn
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useful for conveying a character's unfriendly or anti-social feelings
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back to camera
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character's alienation from the world, sense of concealment, mystery
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loosely framed shots
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sense of freedom
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proxemic patterns
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The spatial relationships among characters within the mise en scene, and the apparent distance of the camera from the subject photographed
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intimate distances
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physical involvement, of love, comfort and tenderness between individuals
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personal distance
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perserve the privacy between individuals
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social distance
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usually reserved impersonal buisness and casual social gatherings
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public distance
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formal and rather detatched
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Open Forms
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use primarily by realistic filmmakers, these techniques are likely to be unobtrusive, with an emphasis on informal compositions and apparently haphazard designs. the frame is exploited to suggest a temporary masking, a window the arbitrarily cuts off part of the action
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closed forms
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A visual style that inclines toward self-conscious designs and carefully harmonized compositions. The frame is exploited to suggest a self-sufficient universe that encloses all the necessary visual information, usually in an aesthetically appealing manner
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anticipatory setups
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implies fatality or determinism
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characteristics of mise en scene
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dominant, lighting key, shot and camera proxemics, angle, color values, lens/filter/stock, subsidiary contrasts, density, composition, form, framing, depth, character placement, and staging positions
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iconography
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the use of well-known cultural symbol or complex of symbols in an artistic representation. in movies, it can involve a star's persona, the preestablishment conventions of a genre (like the shootout in the western), the use of archetypal characters and situations, and such stylistic features as lighting, settings, costuming, props, and so on
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take
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A variation of a specific shot. The final shot is often selected from a number of possible takes
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cutting to continuity
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Classic// A type of editing in which the shots are arranged to preserve the fluidity of an action without showing all of it. An unobtrusive condensation of a continuous action.
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establishing shot
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usually an extreme long shot or long shot offered at the beginning of a scene, providing the viewer with the context of the subsequent closer shots
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classical cutting
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A style of editing in which a sequence of shots is determined by a scene's dramatic and emotional emphasis rather than by physical action alone.
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thematic montage
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A type of editing in which separate shots are linked together not by their literal continuity in reality but by symbolic association. ex)Law and order shows
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motifs
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Any unobtrusive technique, object, or thematic idea that systematically repeated throughout the film
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sound montage
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the dialogue of one character overlaps with that of another
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diegetic
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sounds the characters can hear
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nondiegetic
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sounds they can't hear
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cinema verite (direct cinema)
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A method of documentary filming using aletory methods that don't interfere with the way events takes place in reality. such movies are made with a minnimum of equipment
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subtext
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implicit meanings behind the language of a film or play script
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monologue
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associated with documentaries, in which off screen narrators provides the audience with factual information. gives movies a sense of off-screen narration of a sense of objectivity and often an air of predestination
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voice-over
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A non-synchronized spoken commentary in a movie, often used to convey a character's thoughts or memories
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dialogue
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script of a film
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Mimesis
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showing
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diegesis
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telling
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narrator
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in the first-person novel is the main character of a movie
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plot
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"The design and intention of narrative, what shapes a story and gives it a certain direction or intention of meaning
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"open city" (1945)
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began the italian neorealism movement
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Reviewers
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are generally journalists who describe the contents and general tone of a movie, with only incidental emphasis on aesthetic evaluation
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Critics
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are also journalists for the most part, but their emphasis is more on evaluation than on mere content description
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Theorists
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are usually professional academics, often the authors of books on how movies can be studied on a more philosophical level
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critics focus on three areas
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The work of art, the artist, and the audience
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Italian Neo-Realism
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emphasis on value of ordinary people, compassionate point of view, emphasis on emotion; documentary visual style
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Auteur Theory
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stresses the importance of the director as the "author" of the film; emphasizes the director as the principle creator of a film stamping his or her own personal style.
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Andre Bazin and Francois Truffaut
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the first two who recognized the Auteur Theory.
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Director as an Autheur
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technical competence, A distinguishable "personality", interior meaning- an autheurs work will reflect personal psychological, social, or other thematic elements that are part of the director's personal belief system or obssessions.
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electicism
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belief that no single film theory can be applied to all films, analyze films to most appropriate contexts, combine multiple theories when reviewing a film.
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Structuralism
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the study of how various codes function within a single structure
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Semiology
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systematic classification of types of codes used in cinema and how it "signifies"
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Ideaology
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a body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture; can refer to a given set of values implicit in any human enterprise
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"Triumph of the Will" (1935)
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a marvel of artistic photopgraphy and meticulous editing, Fascist in ideaology
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The Left-Center-Right Model
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Left us more communist, center is centrist, and right is more fascist
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Neutral- Ideaology
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escapist films, light entertainment; they inhabit a vague but benevolent setting, favor story, and place emphasis on action, pleasure, and entertainment values for their own sake. Issues of right and wrong are treated superficially, with little or no analysis
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Implicit-Ideaology
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protagonist and antagonist represent conflicting value systems, which are implied but never overtly stated or dwelled on; while there is a slant, manipulation is not obvious. This category includes the majority of fiction films.
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Explicit- Ideaology
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aim to teach or persuade as much as to entertain; these may be overtly patriotic or political or may have a sociological emphasis. Typically, an admirable character will articulate the important values.
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Spike Lee
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He is prolific in multiple film genres, outspoken, and arguably one of the most talented directors working today
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feminisim
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Objects to the portrayal of women as sex objects
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Tone
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Filmmaker's attitude toward the dramatic material, Atmosphere created through cinematic techniques, Activing styles and style in general, Genre, Narration, and music
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Actor Classifications
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Extras, NonProfessional performers, Trained professionals or charactor actors, Personality Stars
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Extras
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provides a sense of crowd, functions as "landscape of set"
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Nonprofessional Performers
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Amateur players chosen not necessarily because of their acting ability, but because of their authentic apearence, documentary and independent films
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Trained professionals or Character Actors
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Screen and Stage performers capable of playing a wide variety of roles; Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, and Meryl Streep
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Personality Stars
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valued for their box office draw, charisma and personality type; defined and recognizable persona
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Stage Actors
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project their voices to be heard in the back row, while conveying chracterization through body language
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Movie Actors
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less restricted by vocal requirements, have the opportunuity for retakes of action
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Film Openness
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Nicole Kidman, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn possessed; reveals not only an outer beauty but an inner quality the camera and audiences cannot resist
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1930s-1940s
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The "Golden Age" of the Star System and the Majors (MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, RKO)
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Clark Gable
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1930 top leading man of the decade
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The Method
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focuses on an interior style of acting; Live the part, use of emotional recall, Emphasis on subconsious - the psychology of the character, Never take the script at face value- think subtext, Research background, Emphasis on accurate recreation of externals
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Realist: The French New Wave
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1960s brought realist thought to the technique of acting; Godard and Truffaut, new wave directors
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Screenwriter
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sells the rights to his or her work, it can be used as is or changed at will
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Ernest Lehman's screenplay of Hitcock's North by Northwest
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provides the director clearly defined actions, the raw materials for the shots
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figurative comparisons
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Motifs, Symbol, Metaphor, Allegory, Allusions, Homage
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Point of View Types
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The first person (onscreen or offscreen characters), the omniscient (withhold information to build audience suspence), the third person, the objective
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The Truman Show
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Jim Carrey
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Sunset Blvd
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William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim
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The Matrix
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Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne
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Casablanca
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Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman
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Cat on a hot tin Roof
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Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman
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Bringing home baby
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Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant
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Dead Again
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Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson
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The Terminator
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Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn
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Oz
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James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz