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Film Appreciation Test Questions – Flashcards

Ken Ericksen

7 July 2022

question

Realism

answer

physical reality is the source of all raw materials of film, minimum of distortion, documentary style, open form

question

formalism

answer

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.

question

shots

answer

the amount of subject matter that's included within the frame of the screen

question

medium shot

answer

contains a figure from the knees or waist up

question

close-up

answer

concentrates on a relatively small object

question

long shot

answer

distance between the audience and the theatre

question

extreme long shot

answer

establishing shot, tells you what world you're in

question

extreme close-up

answer

show only a person's eyes or mouth

question

deep focus shot

answer

long shot consisting of a number of focal distances photographed in depth

question

angle

answer

determined by where the camera is placed, not the subject photographed

question

bird's-eye view

answer

photographing a scene from directly overhead

question

high angle

answer

placed on a crane, not so extreme, not so disorientating

question

low angle

answer

increase height, opposite of high angle, useful for suggesting vertically. heighten the importance of a subject

question

oblique angle

answer

lateral tilt of the camera. suggest tension, transition, and impending movements. ex. drunk

question

cinematographer

answer

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

question

cool colors

answer

(blue, green, violet) suggest tranquility, aloofness, and serenity. tendancy to recede an image

question

warm colors

answer

(red, yellow, orange) suggest aggressiveness, violence, and stimulation

question

film noir

answer

a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. low-key and high contrast lighting

question

dominants

answer

The area of the film image that compels the viewer's most immediate attention, usually because of a prominent visual constrast

question

storyboarding

answer

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

question

Mise en scene

answer

"Placing on stage," the arrangement of all the visual elements of a theatrical production within a given playing area.

question

frame

answer

The dividing line between the edges of the screen image and the enclosing darkness of the theater.

question

aspect ratio

answer

frame's horizontal and vertical dimensions

question

standard aspect ratio

answer

(television) 1:33:1

question

widescreen aspect ratio

answer

1:85:1

question

Center Frame

answer

where the dominant visual effects are placed in the frame

question

Top of Frame

answer

suggests ideas dealing with power, authority, and aspiration

question

Left and Right Edges of Frame

answer

suggests insignificance

question

Darkness in frame

answer

suggests the unknown, the unseen, and the fearful

question

subsidiary contrasts

answer

A subordinate element of the film image, complementing or contrasting with the dominant contrast. In other words, what you see after the dominant

question

Intrinsic interest

answer

the audience, through the context of a story, knows that an object is more important dramatically than it appears visually.

question

Territorial Space

answer

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.

question

full-front territorial space

answer

most intamate

question

quarter-turn

answer

provides high degree of intimacy but with less emotional involvement

question

profile

answer

unaware of being observed, lost in his or her own thoughts

question

three-quarter turn

answer

useful for conveying a character's unfriendly or anti-social feelings

question

back to camera

answer

character's alienation from the world, sense of concealment, mystery

question

loosely framed shots

answer

sense of freedom

question

proxemic patterns

answer

The spatial relationships among characters within the mise en scene, and the apparent distance of the camera from the subject photographed

question

intimate distances

answer

physical involvement, of love, comfort and tenderness between individuals

question

personal distance

answer

perserve the privacy between individuals

question

social distance

answer

usually reserved impersonal buisness and casual social gatherings

question

public distance

answer

formal and rather detatched

question

Open Forms

answer

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

question

closed forms

answer

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

question

anticipatory setups

answer

implies fatality or determinism

question

characteristics of mise en scene

answer

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

question

iconography

answer

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

question

take

answer

A variation of a specific shot. The final shot is often selected from a number of possible takes

question

cutting to continuity

answer

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.

question

establishing shot

answer

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

question

classical cutting

answer

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.

question

thematic montage

answer

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

question

motifs

answer

Any unobtrusive technique, object, or thematic idea that systematically repeated throughout the film

question

sound montage

answer

the dialogue of one character overlaps with that of another

question

diegetic

answer

sounds the characters can hear

question

nondiegetic

answer

sounds they can't hear

question

cinema verite (direct cinema)

answer

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

question

subtext

answer

implicit meanings behind the language of a film or play script

question

monologue

answer

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

question

voice-over

answer

A non-synchronized spoken commentary in a movie, often used to convey a character's thoughts or memories

question

dialogue

answer

script of a film

question

Mimesis

answer

showing

question

diegesis

answer

telling

question

narrator

answer

in the first-person novel is the main character of a movie

question

plot

answer

"The design and intention of narrative, what shapes a story and gives it a certain direction or intention of meaning

question

"open city" (1945)

answer

began the italian neorealism movement

question

Reviewers

answer

are generally journalists who describe the contents and general tone of a movie, with only incidental emphasis on aesthetic evaluation

question

Critics

answer

are also journalists for the most part, but their emphasis is more on evaluation than on mere content description

question

Theorists

answer

are usually professional academics, often the authors of books on how movies can be studied on a more philosophical level

question

critics focus on three areas

answer

The work of art, the artist, and the audience

question

Italian Neo-Realism

answer

emphasis on value of ordinary people, compassionate point of view, emphasis on emotion; documentary visual style

question

Auteur Theory

answer

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.

question

Andre Bazin and Francois Truffaut

answer

the first two who recognized the Auteur Theory.

question

Director as an Autheur

answer

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.

question

electicism

answer

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.

question

Structuralism

answer

the study of how various codes function within a single structure

question

Semiology

answer

systematic classification of types of codes used in cinema and how it "signifies"

question

Ideaology

answer

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

question

"Triumph of the Will" (1935)

answer

a marvel of artistic photopgraphy and meticulous editing, Fascist in ideaology

question

The Left-Center-Right Model

answer

Left us more communist, center is centrist, and right is more fascist

question

Neutral- Ideaology

answer

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

question

Implicit-Ideaology

answer

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.

question

Explicit- Ideaology

answer

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.

question

Spike Lee

answer

He is prolific in multiple film genres, outspoken, and arguably one of the most talented directors working today

question

feminisim

answer

Objects to the portrayal of women as sex objects

question

Tone

answer

Filmmaker's attitude toward the dramatic material, Atmosphere created through cinematic techniques, Activing styles and style in general, Genre, Narration, and music

question

Actor Classifications

answer

Extras, NonProfessional performers, Trained professionals or charactor actors, Personality Stars

question

Extras

answer

provides a sense of crowd, functions as "landscape of set"

question

Nonprofessional Performers

answer

Amateur players chosen not necessarily because of their acting ability, but because of their authentic apearence, documentary and independent films

question

Trained professionals or Character Actors

answer

Screen and Stage performers capable of playing a wide variety of roles; Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, and Meryl Streep

question

Personality Stars

answer

valued for their box office draw, charisma and personality type; defined and recognizable persona

question

Stage Actors

answer

project their voices to be heard in the back row, while conveying chracterization through body language

question

Movie Actors

answer

less restricted by vocal requirements, have the opportunuity for retakes of action

question

Film Openness

answer

Nicole Kidman, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn possessed; reveals not only an outer beauty but an inner quality the camera and audiences cannot resist

question

1930s-1940s

answer

The "Golden Age" of the Star System and the Majors (MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, RKO)

question

Clark Gable

answer

1930 top leading man of the decade

question

The Method

answer

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

question

Realist: The French New Wave

answer

1960s brought realist thought to the technique of acting; Godard and Truffaut, new wave directors

question

Screenwriter

answer

sells the rights to his or her work, it can be used as is or changed at will

question

Ernest Lehman's screenplay of Hitcock's North by Northwest

answer

provides the director clearly defined actions, the raw materials for the shots

question

figurative comparisons

answer

Motifs, Symbol, Metaphor, Allegory, Allusions, Homage

question

Point of View Types

answer

The first person (onscreen or offscreen characters), the omniscient (withhold information to build audience suspence), the third person, the objective

question

The Truman Show

answer

Jim Carrey

question

Sunset Blvd

answer

William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim

question

The Matrix

answer

Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne

question

Casablanca

answer

Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman

question

Cat on a hot tin Roof

answer

Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman

question

Bringing home baby

answer

Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant

question

Dead Again

answer

Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson

question

The Terminator

answer

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn

question

answer

James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz

1 of

Unlock all answers in this set

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question

Realism

answer

physical reality is the source of all raw materials of film, minimum of distortion, documentary style, open form

question

formalism

answer

question

shots

answer

the amount of subject matter that's included within the frame of the screen

question

medium shot

answer

contains a figure from the knees or waist up

question

close-up

answer

concentrates on a relatively small object

question

long shot

answer

distance between the audience and the theatre

question

extreme long shot

answer

establishing shot, tells you what world you're in

question

extreme close-up

answer

show only a person's eyes or mouth

question

deep focus shot

answer

long shot consisting of a number of focal distances photographed in depth

question

angle

answer

determined by where the camera is placed, not the subject photographed

question

bird's-eye view

answer

photographing a scene from directly overhead

question

high angle

answer

placed on a crane, not so extreme, not so disorientating

question

low angle

answer

increase height, opposite of high angle, useful for suggesting vertically. heighten the importance of a subject

question

oblique angle

answer

lateral tilt of the camera. suggest tension, transition, and impending movements. ex. drunk

question

cinematographer

answer

question

cool colors

answer

(blue, green, violet) suggest tranquility, aloofness, and serenity. tendancy to recede an image

question

warm colors

answer

(red, yellow, orange) suggest aggressiveness, violence, and stimulation

question

film noir

answer

a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. low-key and high contrast lighting

question

dominants

answer

The area of the film image that compels the viewer's most immediate attention, usually because of a prominent visual constrast

question

storyboarding

answer

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

question

Mise en scene

answer

"Placing on stage," the arrangement of all the visual elements of a theatrical production within a given playing area.

question

frame

answer

The dividing line between the edges of the screen image and the enclosing darkness of the theater.

question

aspect ratio

answer

frame's horizontal and vertical dimensions

question

standard aspect ratio

answer

(television) 1:33:1

question

widescreen aspect ratio

answer

1:85:1

question

Center Frame

answer

where the dominant visual effects are placed in the frame

question

Top of Frame

answer

suggests ideas dealing with power, authority, and aspiration

question

Left and Right Edges of Frame

answer

suggests insignificance

question

Darkness in frame

answer

suggests the unknown, the unseen, and the fearful

question

subsidiary contrasts

answer

A subordinate element of the film image, complementing or contrasting with the dominant contrast. In other words, what you see after the dominant

question

Intrinsic interest

answer

the audience, through the context of a story, knows that an object is more important dramatically than it appears visually.

question

Territorial Space

answer

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.

question

full-front territorial space

answer

most intamate

question

quarter-turn

answer

provides high degree of intimacy but with less emotional involvement

question

profile

answer

unaware of being observed, lost in his or her own thoughts

question

three-quarter turn

answer

useful for conveying a character's unfriendly or anti-social feelings

question

back to camera

answer

character's alienation from the world, sense of concealment, mystery

question

loosely framed shots

answer

sense of freedom

question

proxemic patterns

answer

The spatial relationships among characters within the mise en scene, and the apparent distance of the camera from the subject photographed

question

intimate distances

answer

physical involvement, of love, comfort and tenderness between individuals

question

personal distance

answer

perserve the privacy between individuals

question

social distance

answer

usually reserved impersonal buisness and casual social gatherings

question

public distance

answer

formal and rather detatched

question

Open Forms

answer

question

closed forms

answer

question

anticipatory setups

answer

implies fatality or determinism

question

characteristics of mise en scene

answer

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

question

iconography

answer

question

take

answer

A variation of a specific shot. The final shot is often selected from a number of possible takes

question

cutting to continuity

answer

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.

question

establishing shot

answer

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

question

classical cutting

answer

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.

question

thematic montage

answer

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

question

motifs

answer

Any unobtrusive technique, object, or thematic idea that systematically repeated throughout the film

question

sound montage

answer

the dialogue of one character overlaps with that of another

question

diegetic

answer

sounds the characters can hear

question

nondiegetic

answer

sounds they can't hear

question

cinema verite (direct cinema)

answer

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

question

subtext

answer

implicit meanings behind the language of a film or play script

question

monologue

answer

question

voice-over

answer

A non-synchronized spoken commentary in a movie, often used to convey a character's thoughts or memories

question

dialogue

answer

script of a film

question

Mimesis

answer

showing

question

diegesis

answer

telling

question

narrator

answer

in the first-person novel is the main character of a movie

question

plot

answer

"The design and intention of narrative, what shapes a story and gives it a certain direction or intention of meaning

question

"open city" (1945)

answer

began the italian neorealism movement

question

Reviewers

answer

are generally journalists who describe the contents and general tone of a movie, with only incidental emphasis on aesthetic evaluation

question

Critics

answer

are also journalists for the most part, but their emphasis is more on evaluation than on mere content description

question

Theorists

answer

are usually professional academics, often the authors of books on how movies can be studied on a more philosophical level

question

critics focus on three areas

answer

The work of art, the artist, and the audience

question

Italian Neo-Realism

answer

emphasis on value of ordinary people, compassionate point of view, emphasis on emotion; documentary visual style

question

Auteur Theory

answer

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.

question

Andre Bazin and Francois Truffaut

answer

the first two who recognized the Auteur Theory.

question

Director as an Autheur

answer

question

electicism

answer

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.

question

Structuralism

answer

the study of how various codes function within a single structure

question

Semiology

answer

systematic classification of types of codes used in cinema and how it "signifies"

question

Ideaology

answer

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

question

"Triumph of the Will" (1935)

answer

a marvel of artistic photopgraphy and meticulous editing, Fascist in ideaology

question

The Left-Center-Right Model

answer

Left us more communist, center is centrist, and right is more fascist

question

Neutral- Ideaology

answer

question

Implicit-Ideaology

answer

question

Explicit- Ideaology

answer

question

Spike Lee

answer

He is prolific in multiple film genres, outspoken, and arguably one of the most talented directors working today

question

feminisim

answer

Objects to the portrayal of women as sex objects

question

Tone

answer

Filmmaker's attitude toward the dramatic material, Atmosphere created through cinematic techniques, Activing styles and style in general, Genre, Narration, and music

question

Actor Classifications

answer

Extras, NonProfessional performers, Trained professionals or charactor actors, Personality Stars

question

Extras

answer

provides a sense of crowd, functions as "landscape of set"

question

Nonprofessional Performers

answer

Amateur players chosen not necessarily because of their acting ability, but because of their authentic apearence, documentary and independent films

question

Trained professionals or Character Actors

answer

Screen and Stage performers capable of playing a wide variety of roles; Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, and Meryl Streep

question

Personality Stars

answer

valued for their box office draw, charisma and personality type; defined and recognizable persona

question

Stage Actors

answer

project their voices to be heard in the back row, while conveying chracterization through body language

question

Movie Actors

answer

less restricted by vocal requirements, have the opportunuity for retakes of action

question

Film Openness

answer

Nicole Kidman, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn possessed; reveals not only an outer beauty but an inner quality the camera and audiences cannot resist

question

1930s-1940s

answer

The "Golden Age" of the Star System and the Majors (MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, RKO)

question

Clark Gable

answer

1930 top leading man of the decade

question

The Method

answer

question

Realist: The French New Wave

answer

1960s brought realist thought to the technique of acting; Godard and Truffaut, new wave directors

question

Screenwriter

answer

sells the rights to his or her work, it can be used as is or changed at will

question

Ernest Lehman's screenplay of Hitcock's North by Northwest

answer

provides the director clearly defined actions, the raw materials for the shots

question

figurative comparisons

answer

Motifs, Symbol, Metaphor, Allegory, Allusions, Homage

question

Point of View Types

answer

The first person (onscreen or offscreen characters), the omniscient (withhold information to build audience suspence), the third person, the objective

question

The Truman Show

answer

Jim Carrey

question

Sunset Blvd

answer

William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim

question

The Matrix

answer

Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne

question

Casablanca

answer

Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman

question

Cat on a hot tin Roof

answer

Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman

question

Bringing home baby

answer

Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant

question

Dead Again

answer

Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson

question

The Terminator

answer

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn

question

answer

James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz

Film Appreciation Test Questions – Flashcards

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