Midterm Review

Communication Arts 350 with Minett at University of Wisconsin - Madison

About this deck

By: Sasha Weist
Textbook:

Film Art: An Introduction with Tutorial CD-ROM
Created: 2010-11-07
Size: 158 flashcards
Views: 239

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form

sum of all the parts of the film

5 aspects:
Function
Repetition
Variation
Development
Unity and Disunity

style

the way a film uses the techniques of filmmaking

4 Categories:
mise-en-scene ("put in the scene")
cinematography
editing
sound

pre-production

director hires crew, casts roles, scouts locations, prepares shooting schedule

post-production

assembly phase

editor catalogs and assembles takes into a rough cut

four categories of function

narrative
expressive
symbolic
aesthetic

motif

an element that is repeated in a significant way

ex: lighter in Out of Sight

Shaun of the Dead and form

use of repetition and variation emphasize Shaun's world before and after the zombies

typage

performance type of Soviet Montage
actor's appearance and behavior presented as typical of a social class or group

monochromatic color design

emphasizes a narrow set of shades of a single color

size diminution

a cue for suggesting represented depth in the image by showing objects that are farther away as smaller than foreground objects

shallow space

use of few planes of space

deep space

use of multiple planes of space

Out of Sight and mise-en-scene

colors of setting are different in different places
Glenn's sunglasses and Dick's hair pieces and glasses
expressive use of backlighting and silhouetting

cinematography

manipulations of film strip in camera and lab
process of fixing mise-en-scene
photographic aspects, framing, duration

film stocks

photographic films on which movies are shot
differentiated by the chemical qualities of the emulsion

exposure

how much light strikes each frame of film

wide angle lens

lens of short focal length
distorts straight lines near the edge of the frame
exaggerates distance between foreground and background
35mm or less

normal lens

35-55mm

telephoto lens

long focal length
enlarges distant planes and makes them seem close to the foreground
75mm and up

process (composite) shots

any shot involving rephotography to combine two or more images into one or to create special effects

rear projection

foreground filmed in a studio against a screen and backing is projected from behind the screen
doesn't create convincing depth cues
absence of cast shadows from foreground to background

matte work

different areas of the image are photographed separately and combined in lab work

aspect ratio

the relationship between a frame's width and height

academy ratio

1.85 : 1

masking

stretches of black fabric that frame the theatre scene
can be adjusted to the aspect of the film to be projected

amamorphic

a lens for making wide-screen films using regular academy ratio frame size
camera lens takes in a wide field of view and squeezes it onto the frame and similar projector lens unsqueezes the image onto a wide theatre screen

iris

a round moving mask that closes down to end a scene or opens up to begin a scene or emphasize detail

Do the Right Thing and cinematography

mobile framing
track forward => intensifies anger, throws it in our face
level
canted framing => Radio Raheem: Raheem's role in community is complicated
onscreen/ offscreen space
Pino always inserts himself: always in others' business

ellipsis

shortening of plot duration achieved by emitting some story duration

graphic relations

two successive shots joined so as to create a strong similarity of compositional elements

Kuleshov effect

"Any series of shots can, without an establishing shot, prompt the viewer to infer a spatial whole from only portions of the space"

crosscutting

cutting back and forth between two different spaces to imply simultaneity

montage

a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense time, space, and information

elliptical editing

cutting out unnecessary action to reduce screen time

overlapping editing

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

continuity editing

relies on matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations from shot to shot

contiguity editing

figures move in same direction across shots to maintain spatial clarity

cheat cut

a cut that represents continuous time and space but mismatches the position of figures or objects

temporal order

may be in or out of chronological order
use flashbacks/flashforwards, alternate between past and present

temporal frequency

the amount of times a story event is presented, usually only once

temporal duration

the amount of time the plot stretches (story time)
the length of the film (screen time)

substitution splice

strategy used in early film to instantly transform an object or person into something or someone else

principles of Soviet Montage

an editing technique that allows two or more simultaneous sets of action to unfold within a single film sequence

intensified continuity

a more forceful and flamboyant technique of editing that uses fast cutting and free range camera movement

Zodiac and editing

example of intensified continuity

Mickey Mousing

conspicuous matching of image and sound to illustrate a character's movements

fidelity

faithfulness to onscreen source

hierarchy of sound

relative importance of one kind of sound over others at any given moment in a film
es: phone call in Tom Cruise movie

in media res

"in the middle of things"
narration begins in the middle of the story and the audience is left to interpret what has happened before

dialogue overlap

a cut in the middle of a line of dialogue so that the cut is less abrupt

narrative

chain of events occurring in time and space that follows a cause-effect logic

narration

moment by moment process of storytelling that guides us in building the story out of the plot

Vertigo and narration and sympathy

narration limited to what Scottie knows
narration supplies subjective access to Scottie
music adds depth
retrograde zoom represents how Scottie's mind plays a role
dream sequence= subjective access to Scottie's breakdown

setting

location where narrative action takes place
used in service to story

prop

an object motivated to operate actively in an ongoing action
can impart a sense of unity and bind a film together
ex: lighter in Out of Sight

costume

what a character wears

Devil Wears Prada= costuming changes as character changes

makeup

makeup that is both diagetic and nondiagetic
used across films subtley
The Shining= clean-cut to grizzly
makes things/emotions/situations more vibrant

lighting

used to direct attention in a particular way

attached shadow

occurs when light fails to illuminate part of an object because of the object's shape or surface features

aka shading

cast shadow

come from an object/person blocking out light as with sunlight

frontal lighting

can be recognized by its tendency to eliminate shadows

sidelight

sculpts a character's features

aka crosslight

backlighting

comes from behind the subject filmed
can be positioned at many angles
tends to create silhouettes
combined with a frontlight, it can produce unobtrusively illuminated contour

aka edge lighting or rim lighting

underlighting

often used to create dramatic horror effects, but may also simply indicate a realistic light source, such as a fireplace

top lighting

light shines down from above

key light

primary light source
provides the dominant illumination and casts the strongest shadows
most directional light, and usually corresponds to the motivating light source in the setting

fill light

less intense illumination that "fills in" light
softens or eliminates shadows cast by the key light

three-point lighting

composed of key light, backlight, and fill light
emerged during the studio era of Hollywood filmmaking and is still widely used
lamps must be rearranged virtually every time the camera shifts to a new framing

high-key lighting

an overall lighting design that uses fill light and backlight to create low contrast between brighter and darker areas
usually, the light quality is soft, making shadow areas fairly transparent
can be 'dark', too, if showing time of day (ex: B2tF)

low-key lighting

creates stronger contrasts and sharper, darker shadows
often, lighting is hard
fill light is often lessened or eliminated completely
often applied to somber or mysterious scenes
common in 1930s horror and film noir

staging

movement of a figure in the frame

acting

performance of a character in a narrative

realism

how closely an actor's performance does or doesn't follow people's real-life behavior

function

the purpose a performance is supposed to serve within a film
ex: realism isn't important/appropriate in many slapstick comedies

typecasting

ideologically stereotyped roles: the Irish cop on the beat, the black servant, etc
actors selected and directed to conform to a "type"

motivation

the main concern of the characters

planes

the layers of space occupied by persons or objects
described according to how close to or far away from the camera they are
foreground, middleground, background

aerial perspective

the hazing of more distant planes

linear perspective

off-center and central

objects farther down the line will seem farther away

tinting

often used before 1930s to add color
accomplished by dipping the already developed film into a bath of dye
the dark areas remain black and grey, while the lighter areas pick up the color

toning

works in the opposite fashion as tinting
dye added during the developing of the positive print
darker areas are colored, while lighter portions of the frame remain white or only faintly colored

speed of motion

depends on the relation between the rate at which the film was shot and the rate of projection
both rates are calculated in frames/second

focal length

distance from the center of the lens to the point where light rays converge to a point of focus on the film
alters the perceived magnification, depth, and scale of things in the image

zoom lens

optically designed to permit the continuous varying of focal length
gives the director a chance to manipulate focal length and to transform perspective relations during a single shot

depth of field

the range of distances before the lens within which objects can be photographed in sharp focus

selective focus

choosing to focus on only one plane and letting the other planes blur

deep focus

shorter-focal-length lenses and more intense lighting to yield a greater depth of field
famous example= contract signing scene in Citizen Kane

rack focus

starting with one plane of motion in focus, with others blurred, then moving to a different plane being in focus, while the others (including the original) become fuzzy

aka pulling focus

superimposition

by double exposure either in the camera or in laboratory printing, one image is laid over another

front projection

came into use in the late 1960s
projects the setting onto a two-way mirror, angled to throw the image onto a high-reflectance screen
camera photographs the actors against the screen by shooting through the mirror
fore and background planes blend smoothly

framing

actively defines the image
how characters, scenery and prop is set up within scope of frame of film

widescreen ratios

North America today= 1.85 : 1
less common, widely used in European films= 1.75 :1
this ratio is approximated by widescreen (16x9) TV monitors

split-screen imagery

two or more images, each with its own frame dimensions and shape, appear within the larger frame
often used to present telephone conversations

aka multiple-frame imagery

onscreen and offscreen space

onscreen space appears on the film frame in view, while offscreen space is everything that is outside the frame at a given moment

six zones of offscreen space

space beyond each of the four edges of the frame (4--top, bottom, left, right)
space behind the set
space behind the camera

angle of framing

three general categories:

1) straight-on
2) high
3) low

canted framing

when the framing is tipped to one side or the other

relatively rare

height of framing

view from a certain height relative to the setting and figures

shot scale

sense of being close or far based on framing

relative to the human body

extreme long shot

the human figure is lost or tiny

framing for landscapes, bird's eye views of cities

long shot

figures are more prominent, but the background still dominates

medium long shots

the human figure is framed from about the knees up

common, since they permit a nice balance of figure and surroundings

medium shot

frames the human body from the waist up

close-up

traditionally shows just the head, hands, feet, or a small object

emphasizes facial expression, details of a gesture, or a significant object

extreme close-up

singles out a portion of the face or isolates and magnifies an object

mobile framing

the framing of an object changes the camera angle, level, height, or distance DURING the shot

pan

(short for 'panorama')

movement rotates the camera on a vertical axis
gives the impression of a frame horizontally scanning space

tilt

rotates the camera on a horizontal axis
as if the camera's head is swiveling up and down

tracking

the camera as a whole does change position, traveling in any direction along the ground--forward, backward, circularly, diagonally, etc

aka dolly shot

crane shot

the camera moves above ground level
typically, it rises or descends thanks to a mechanical arm
may move up and down, forward and backward, or from side to side

handheld

the operator doesn't anchor the camera on a tripod or dolly, but instead uses his or her body to act as the support without benefit of compensating equipment

zoom lens

can be used as a form of mobile framing

functions of frame mobility

continually affects the angle, level, height, or distance of the framing

reframing

tend to be relatively unnoticeable
camera pans or tilts slightly to follow the movement of a character

following shot

camera displaces itself in order to follow figures or moving objects

mobile frame and time

can create an arc of expectation and fulfillment
velocity of frame is also important
speed of mobile framing may function rhythmically

patterns of mobile framing

can create its own motifs within a film

long take

a shot of considerable duration
generally used selectively

editing

coordination of one shot with the next
elimination of unwanted footage

fade-out

gradually darkens the end of a shot to black

fade-in

gradually lightens the beginning of a shot from black

dissolve

briefly superimposes the end of shot A and the beginning of shot B

wipe

shot B replaces shot A by means of a boundary line moving across the screen

graphic match

linking shots by graphic similarities
shapes, colors, overall composition, or movement in shot A may be picked up in shot B

graphic contrast

linking shots by graphic dissimilarities
shapes, colors, overall composition, or movement in shot A may be contrasted in shot B

temporal relations

order, duration, and frequency in shot A vs shot B

flashbacks/ flash-forward

moving from the present to past (flashback) or --much more rarely-- future (flash-forward) within a film
helps reveal characters past experiences or builds anticipation for things to come

punctuation

dissolve, wipe, fade
signals some time has been emitted

empty frames

when used on either side of a cut, they can cover elided time

ex: man walking up stairs can walk out of frame --empty frames--
cut to top of stairs
--empty frames-- man walks into frame

cutaway

a shot of another event elsewhere that will not last as long as the elided action

axis of action

determines the area where the camera can be placed to present the action

aka center line, 180 degree line

180 degree system

ensures that relative positions in the frame remain consistent
ensures consistent eyelines
ensures consistent screen direction

screen direction

the direction in which a character or object moves across the scene (left to right, etc)

shot/reverse-shot

once the 180 line has been established, one end point of the line can be shown, then the other
Shot A, then Shot B at the opposite end of the axis of action

eyeline match

shot A= the looker sees something offscreen
shot B= what the looker is seeing

the looker and the object aren't present together in either shot

establishing shot

establishes space in the scene

reestablishing shot

reestablishes the overall space that was analyzed in previous shots

match on action

tactic for ensures spatial continuity
beginning of a movement in shot 1
continue movement in shot 2
editing device that carries a movement across the break between two shots

montage sequence

brief portions of a process, informative titles, stereotyped images, newsreel footage, newspaper headlines
can be joined by dissolves and music to create a quick, regular rhythm and to compress a lengthly series of actions into a few moments

jump cut

violation of continuity

when two shots of the same subject are cut together but are not sufficiently different in camera distance and angle, there will be a noticeable jump on the screen

nondiegetic insert

filmmaker cuts from the scene to a metaphorical or symbolic shot that is not part of the space and time of the narrative

ex: housewives gossiping cutting to clucking chickens

sound in Letter from Siberia

sound changes perception of the footage being shown. In one, they are happy workers, in another they are opressed workers, etc

perceptual properties of sound

loudness= volume
pitch= frequency of the sound vibration
timbre= harmonic components of sound give it certain color or tone quality
ex: nasal or mellow voice

sound mixing

combining sonic events into a specific pattern and into layers

sound perspective

the closer the camera is to the source of a sound, the louder the sound will be

rhythm in sound and image

coordination= matching sonic rhythms to visual ones
disparities= contrasting rhythm of sound and visual elements

diegetic sound

sound that comes from inside the story world

nondiegetic sound

sound that doesn't come from the story world, such as music or score

offscreen sound

a sound whose source isn't in a shot

onscreen sound

a sound whose source can be seen in the frame

external diegetic sound

sounds which viewers take to have a physical source in the scene

internal diegetic sound

that which comes from inside the mind of a character
it is subjective

synchronous sound

hear the sound at the same time as the source is seen producing the sound

asynchronous sound

sound goes out of sync with source

aka out-of-sync sound

simultaneous sound

sound takes place at the same time as the image in terms of the story events

nonsimultaneous sound

sound watchers hear is occurring earlier or later in the story than the events seen on screen

sound bridge

sound may linger briefly while the image is already presenting the next scene

ex: Silence of the Lambs phone call convo to storage unit

dialogue hook

ending a scene with a line that prepares for the next scene

About this deck

By: Sasha Weist
Textbook:

Film Art: An Introduction

Film Art: An Introduction with Tutorial CD-ROM
Created: 2010-11-07
Size: 158 flashcards
Views: 239

About StudyBlue

“I have been getting MUCH better grades on all my tests for school. Flash cards, notes, and quizzes are great on here. Thanks!”
Kathy