Film Midterm

The presumed or actual author of a film, usually identified as the director. Also sometimes used in an evaluative sense to distinguish good filmmakers (auteurs) from bad ones.

The relationship of the frame's width to its height. The standard Academy ratio is currently 1.85:1.

Sound that is not matched temporally with the movements occurring in the image, as when dialogue is out of synchronization with lip movements.

In the continuity editing system, the imaginary line that passes from side to side through the main actors, defining the spatial relations of all the elements of the scene as being to the right or left. The camera is not supposed to cross the axis at a cut and thus reverse those spatial relations. Also called the 180° line.

Illumination cast onto the figures in the scene from the side opposite the camera, usually creating a thin outline of highlighting on those figures.

A view in which the frame is not level; either the right or left side is lower than the other, causing objects in the scene to appear slanted out of an upright position.

A general term for all the manipulations of the film strip by the camera in the shooting phase and by the laboratory in the developing phase.

A framing in which the scale of the object shown is relatively large; most commonly a person's head seen from the neck up, or an object of a comparable size that fills most of the screen.

A system of cutting to maintain continuous and clear narrative action. Continuity editing relies on matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations from shot to shot.

In cinematography, the difference between the brightest and darkest areas within the frame.

A shot with a change in framing accomplished by having the camera above the ground and moving through the air in any direction.

Editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously.

1. In filmmaking, the joining of two strips of film together with a splice. 2. In the finished film, an instantaneous change from one framing to another.

An instantaneous shift from a distant framing to a closer view of some portion of the same space.

A use of the camera lens and lighting that keeps both the close and distant planes being photographed in sharp focus.

An arrangement of mise-en-scene elements so that there is a considerable distance between the plane closest to the camera and the one farthest away. Any or all of these planes may be in focus.

The measurements of the closest and farthest planes in front of the camera lens between which everything will be in sharp focus. A depth of field from 5 to 16 feet, for example, would mean everything closer than 5 feet and farther than 16 feet would be out of focus.

In a narrative film, the world of the film's story. The diegesis includes events that are presumed to have occurred and actions and spaces not shown onscreen.

Any voice, musical passage, or sound effect presented as originating from a source within the film's world.

Any alternative system of joining shots together using techniques unacceptable withincontinuity editingprinciples. Possibilities would include mismatching of temporal and spatial relations, violations of theaxis of action, and concentration on graphic relationships.

A transition between two shots during which the first image gradually disappears while the second image gradually appears; for a moment the two images blend insuperimposition.

One of the three branches of the film industry; the process of supplying the finished film to the places where it will be shown.

A camera support with wheels, used in making tracking shots.

The process of replacing part or all of the voices on the sound track in order to correct mistakes or rerecord dialogue.

1. In filmmaking, the task of selecting and joining camera takes. 2. In the finished film, the set of techniques that governs the relations among shots.

In a narrative film, the shortening ofplot duration achieved by omitting intervals ofstory duration.

Shot transitions that omit parts of an event, causing an ellipsis in plot and story duration.

A shot, usually involving a distant framing, that shows the spatial relations among the important figures, objects, and setting in a scene.

One of the three branches of the film industry; the process of showing the finished film to audiences.

A framing in which the scale of the object shown is very large; most commonly, a small object or a part of the body.

A framing in which the scale of the object shown is very small; a building, landscape, or crowd of people will fill the screen.

A cut obeying theaxis of actionprinciple, in which the first shot shows a person looking off in one direction and the second shows a nearby space containing what he or she sees. If the person looks left, the following shot should imply that the looker is offscreen right.

A dark screen that gradually brightens as a shot appears.

A shot gradually disappears as the screen darkens. Occasionally, fade-outs brighten to pure white or to a color.

Illumination from a source less bright than the key light, used to soften deep shadows in a scene.

The strip of material upon which a series of still photographs is registered; it consists of a clear base coated on one side with a light-sensitive emulsion.

A piece of glass or gelatin placed in front of the camera or printer lens to alter the quality or quantity of light striking the film in the aperture.

An alteration of story order in which the plot moves back to show events that have taken place earlier than ones already shown.

An alteration of story order in which the plot presentation moves forward to future events and then returns to the present.

A shot with framing that shifts to keep a moving figure onscreen.

A single image on the strip of film. When a series of frames is projected onto a screen in quick succession, an illusion of movement is created.

The use of the edges of the film frame to select and to compose what will be visible onscreen.

Illumination directed into the scene from a position near the camera.

Various types of films that audiences and filmmakers recognize by their familiar narrative conventions. Common genres are musical, gangster, and Western films.

Two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements (e.g., color, shape).

The use of the camera operator's body as a camera support, either holding it by hand or using a harness.

Illumination that creates sharp-edged shadows.

Illumination that creates comparatively little contrast between the light and dark areas of the shot. Shadows are fairly transparent and brightened by fill light.

A relatively coherent system of values, beliefs, or ideas shared by some social group and often taken for granted as natural or inherently true.

A round, movingmask that can close down to end a scene (irisout) or emphasize a detail, or that can open to begin a scene (iris-in) or to reveal more space around a detail.

An elliptical cut that appears to be an interruption of a single shot. Either the figures seem to change instantly against a constant background, or the background changes instantly while the figures remain constant.

In the three-point lighting system, the brightest illumination coming into the scene.

A framing in which the scale of the object shown is small; a standing human figure would appear nearly the height of the screen.

A shot that continues for an unusually lengthy time before the transition to the next shot.

An opaque screen placed in the camera or printer that blocks part of the frame off and changes the shape of the photographed image, leaving part of the frame a solid color. As seen on the screen, most masks are black, although they can be white or colored.

In exhibition, stretches of black fabric that frame the theater scene. Masking can be adjusted according to the aspect ratio of the film to be projected.

A continuity cut that splices two different views of the same action together at the same moment in the movement, making it seem to continue uninterrupted.

A type of process shot in which different areas of the image (usually actors and setting) are photographed separately and combined in laboratory work.

A framing in which the scale of the object shown is fairly large; a human figure seen from the chest up would fill most of the screen.

A framing at a distance that makes an object about four or five feet high appear to fill most of the screen vertically.

A framing in which the scale of the object shown is of moderate size; a human figure seen from the waist up would fill most of the screen.

All of the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed: the settings and props, lighting, costumes and makeup, and figure behavior.

The effect on the screen of the moving camera, azoom lens, or certain special effects; the framing shifts in relation to the scene being photographed.

1. A synonym forediting. 2. An approach to editing developed by the Soviet filmmakers of the 1920s; it emphasizes dynamic, often discontinuous, relationships between shots and the juxtaposition of images to create ideas not present in either shot by itself.

An element in a film that is repeated in a significant way.

The process through which theplot conveys or withholds storyinformation. The narration can be more or less restricted to character knowledge and more or less deep in presenting characters' mental perceptions and thoughts.

Sound, such as mood music or a narrator's commentary, represented as coming from a source outside the space of the narrative.

Simultaneous sound from a source assumed to be in the space of the scene but outside what is visible onscreen.

The six areas blocked from being visible on the screen but still part of the space of the scene: to each side and above and below the frame, behind the set, and behind the camera.

The continuity approach to editing dictates that the camera should stay on one side of the action to ensure consistent leftright spatial relations between objects from shot to shot. The 180° line is the same as the axis of action.

Cuts that repeat part or all of an action, thus expanding its viewing time and plot duration.

A camera movement with the camera body turning to the right or left. On the screen, it produces a mobile framing that scans the space horizontally.

In a narrative film, all the events that are directly presented to us, including their causal relations, chronological order, duration, frequency, and spatial locations. Opposed to story, which is the viewer's imaginary construction of all the events in the narrative.

A shot taken with the camera placed approximately where the character's eyes would be, showing what the character would see; usually cut in before or after a shot of the character looking.

The process of adding sound to images after they have been shot and assembled. This can include dubbing of voices, as well as inserting diegetic music or sound effects. It is the opposite of direct sound.

Any shot involving rephotography to combine two or more images into one or to create a special effect; also called composite shot.

One of the three branches of the film industry; the process of creating the film.

Shifting the area of sharp focus from one plane to another during a shot; the effect on the screen is called rack-focus.

A segment in a narrative film that takes place in one time and space or that uses crosscutting to show two or more simultaneous actions.

A restricted depth of field, which keeps only one plane in sharp focus; the opposite of deep focus.

Staging the action in relatively few planes of depth; the opposite of deep space.

Two or more shots edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation situation. Incontinuity editing, characters in one framing usually look left, in the other framing, right. Over-the-shoulder framings are common in shot/reverse-shot editing.

1. At the beginning of one scene, the sound from the previous scene carries over briefly before the sound from the new scene begins. 2. At the end of one scene, the sound from the next scene is heard, leading into that scene.

In a narrative film, all the events that we see and hear, plus all those that we infer or assume to have occurred, arranged in their presumed causal relations, chronological order, duration, frequency, and spatial locations. Opposed to plot, which is the film's actual presentation of events in the story.

In filmmaking, the shot produced by one uninterrupted run of the camera. One shot in the final film may be chosen from among several takes of the same action.

A camera movement with the camera body swiveling upward or downward on a stationary support. It produces a mobile framing that scans the space vertically.

Lighting coming from above a person or object, usually in order to outline the upper areas of the figure or to separate it more clearly from the background.

A common arrangement using three directions of light on a scene; from behind the subjects (backlighting), from one bright source (key light), and from a less bright source balancing the key light (fill light).

A mobile framing that travels through space forward, backward, or laterally.

A performance technique of Soviet Montage cinema whereby an actor is given features believed to characterize a social class or other group.

Illumination from a point below the figures in the scene.

An extremely fast movement of the camera from side to side, which briefly causes the image to blur into a set of indistinct horizontal streaks. Often an imperceptible cut will join two whip pans to create a trick transition between scenes.

A transition between shots in which a line passes across the screen, eliminating one shot as it goes and replacing it with the next one.

A lens with a focal length that can be changed during a shot. A shift toward the telephoto range enlarges the image and flattens its planes together, giving an impression of magnifying the scene's space, while a shift toward the wide-anglerange does the opposite.

• Weine
• 1920

• Vertov
• 1929

• Hawks
• 1932

• Di Capra
• 1934

• Ford
• 1939

• Welles
• 1941

• all of the above
• diagonal split screen, the dissolve as a time transition, period accurate mise-en-scene, composition in depth

the technological display of the cinematic apparatus

set up a single camera to take a series of pictures to find out if all 4 horse hooves leave the ground while galloping

hand tinted color

shot to shot

narrative continuity

The Student of Prague

• modeled after NYC skyline
• Hitler's favorite film

physically becomes the eyes of a player in the film

camera movement

The Odessa Steps

an editor.

Edward Tisse

meaning in cinema is determined by the edit, not the content of the shot

• none of the above
• montage

• slapstick comedy
• Western

Scarface

• MGM
• Paramount
• Warner Brothers
• Fox
• RKO

• Universal
• Columbia
• United Artists

David O. Selznik

the double bill

Hitchcock

Universal