Glossary of Film Terms: Practice Questions

What type of shot involves the camera moving above the ground and through the air in any direction?

What is the editing technique that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously?

What is the term for the joining of two strips of film together with a splice or an instantaneous change from one framing to another?

What is the term for an instantaneous shift from a distant framing to a closer view of some portion of the same space?

What technique uses the camera lens and lighting to keep both the close and distant planes being photographed in sharp focus?

What is the arrangement of mise-en-scène elements so that there is a considerable distance between the plane closest to the camera and the one farthest away?

What are the measurements of the closest and farthest planes in front of the camera lens between which everything will be in sharp focus?

In narrative film, what term describes the world of the films story, including events presumed to have occurred and actions not shown onscreen?

What type of sound is presented as originating from a source within the films world?

What is the transition called between two shots where the first image gradually disappears while the second image gradually appears?

What is the task of selecting and joining camera takes, or the set of techniques that governs the relations among shots in a finished film?

What type of shot usually involves a distant framing that shows the spatial relations among the important figures, objects, and setting in a scene?

What editing technique involves a cut obeying the axis of action principle, showing a person looking off in one direction and the second shot showing what they see?

What is the term for a dark screen that gradually brightens as a shot appears, or a shot that gradually disappears as the screen darkens?

What type of shot involves framing that shifts to keep a moving figure onscreen?

What is a single image on the strip of film called, which when projected in quick succession creates an illusion of movement?

What is the use of the edges of the film frame to select and compose what will be visible onscreen?

What are the various types of films that audiences and filmmakers recognize by their familiar narrative conventions?

What is a strong similarity of compositional elements between two successive shots called?

What type of lighting creates sharp-edged shadows?

What is the distance of the camera above the ground, regardless of the angle of framing, called?

What is a round, moving mask that can close down to end a scene or emphasize a detail, or open to begin a scene?

What is an elliptical cut that appears to be an interruption of a single shot called?

What is a framing in which the scale of the object shown is small, such as a standing human figure appearing nearly the height of the screen?

What is a shot that continues for an unusually lengthy time before transitioning to the next shot called?

What is an opaque screen placed in the camera or printer that blocks part of the frame off and changes the shape of the photographed image?

What is a framing in which the scale of the object shown is fairly large, such as a human figure seen from the chest up?

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

What is a framing in which the scale of the object shown is of moderate size, such as a human figure seen from the waist up?

What encompasses all the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed, including settings, props, lighting, costumes, makeup, and figure behavior?

What is a synonym for editing, particularly in the context of an approach developed by Soviet filmmakers emphasizing dynamic, often discontinuous, relationships between shots?

What is a segment of a film that summarizes a topic or compresses a passage of time into brief symbolic or typical images called?

What type of filmic organization relates parts to each other through a series of causally related events taking place in time and space?

What type of sound, such as mood music or a narrators commentary, is represented as coming from a source outside the space of the narrative?

What is the term for a camera movement with the camera body turning to the right or left, producing a mobile framing that scans the space horizontally?

What is a shot called that is taken with the camera placed approximately where the characters eyes would be, showing what the character would see?

What is the technique of shifting the area of sharp focus from one plane to another during a shot called?

What term describes the number of frames exposed per second in shooting or projected per second in projection?

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

What term is commonly used for a moderately large segment of film involving one complete stretch of action, often equivalent to a scene in narrative film?

What is a restricted depth of field that keeps only one plane in sharp focus called?

What is staging the action in relatively few planes of depth called?

What is one uninterrupted run of the camera to expose a series of frames called in shooting, or one uninterrupted image in the finished film?

What is the editing technique that involves two or more shots edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation situation?

What is the exposure of more than one image on the same film strip called?

What is the term for a shot produced by one uninterrupted run of the camera, where one shot in the final film may be chosen from several takes?

What is a camera movement with the camera body swiveling upward or downward on a stationary support, producing a mobile framing that scans the space vertically?

What is a mobile framing that travels through space forward, backward, or laterally called?

What is 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?

What is a lens with a focal length that can be changed during a shot, allowing for a shift toward the telephoto or wide-angle range?

What is the term for a shot where the camera is positioned above the subject and looks down at it?

What is the term for a shot where the camera is positioned below the subject and looks up at it?

What is the term for the visual composition of elements within the frame, such as shapes, colors, and lines?

What is the term for a shot that captures a subject from head to toe, filling the frame vertically?

What is the term for a technique that involves altering the speed of motion on screen, such as slow motion or fast motion?

What is the term for the process of adjusting the focus of the lens to keep a moving subject in sharp focus?