TFM-160 UNIT 1 QUIZ QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
ANSWERS
1. What is the difference between implicit and explicit meaning? (And how do these
terms relate to onions, and ogres, and a movie such as Juno?" - Answers - Ogres,
Onions, and movies all have layers. This relates to the implicit and explicit meaning.
The implicit meaning lies below the surface of a movie's story and presentation; implied
or suggested. The explicit meaning is available on the surface of the movie; obvious.
What is "formal analysis" and how does formal analysis differ from other types of
analyses that explore the relationship between culture and movies? - Answers -
examines how a scene or sequence uses formal elements: narrative, mise-en-scene,
cinematography, editing, sound, and so on to convey story, mood, and meaning. It is
fundamental to all approaches to understanding and engaging in cinema.
Alternative approaches analyze movies more as cultural artifacts rather than as
traditional works of art.
What do we mean when we describe cinematic language as "invisible"? What are some
of the reasons why cinematic language is invisible? - Answers - we mean that not all
movie meaning is obvious and easy to see. Movies have a way of hiding their methods
and meaning. One of the reasons why is because movies simply move too fast for
viewers to consciously consider everything they've seen.
● Hiding like the equipment, giving the illusion of a story happening right now "make it
seem less like a movie"
○ EX: can't see hanging camera because it would ruin the invisibility
● Don't want to take away the narrative of the movie
What do we mean by cultural invisibility? How is this different from cinematic invisibility?
- Answers - the way filmmakers are compelled to favor stories and themes that reinforce
viewers' shared belief systems (film makers want to give people the movies they want to
see because they will sell). Cinematic invisibility is different because it refers to the
actual hidden/invisible meaning of the movie.
What are the defining characteristics that distinguish movies from other forms of art? -
Answers - The defining characteristics that distinguish movies from other forms of art
are that movies move. The human brain and eye see movies as a fluid movement.
shot - Answers - One uninterrupted run of the camera.
cut - Answers - A direct change from one shot to another
editing - Answers - The process by which the editor combines and coordinates
individual shots into a cinematic whole; the basic creative force of cinema.
, close up - Answers - A shot that often shows a part of the body filling the frame.
fade in/fade out - Answers - Transitional devices in which a shot fades in from a black
field on black and
white film or from a color field on color film, or fades out to a black field (or a color field).
low angle shot - Answers - A shot that is made with the camera below the action and
that typically places the observer in a position of inferiority.
implicit meaning - Answers - lies below the surface of a movie's story and presentation,
is closest to our everyday sense of the word meaning.
explicit meaning - Answers - meaning on the surface of the movie
Formal Analysis - Answers - analytical approach primarily concerned with film form
cutting on action - Answers - designed to hide the instantaneous and potentially jarring
shift from one camera viewpoint to another
motif - Answers - any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story
- For example, "death" could be a motif in a literary work
character types - Answers - genre films are often populated by specific character
"types."
Protagonist - Answers - the central character or leading figure in poetry, narrative, novel
or any other story. A protagonist is sometimes a "hero" to the audience or readers
setting - Answers - where a movie's action is located and how that environment is
portrayed—is also a common genre convention
What is the difference between form and content? And why do works of art need both? -
Answers - Form is defined as the means by which a subject is expressed and
experienced while content is the subject of an artwork, or what the work is about.
Content provides something to express while form supplies the methods and techniques
necessary to present it to the audience.
presentation - Answers - Many genres feature certain elements of cinematic language
that communicate tone and atmosphere
In what ways do movies use patterns to convey meaning? How do they create meaning
by breaking an established pattern? - Answers - The more patterns meet our
expectations the more likely we are to enjoy, analyze, and
ANSWERS
1. What is the difference between implicit and explicit meaning? (And how do these
terms relate to onions, and ogres, and a movie such as Juno?" - Answers - Ogres,
Onions, and movies all have layers. This relates to the implicit and explicit meaning.
The implicit meaning lies below the surface of a movie's story and presentation; implied
or suggested. The explicit meaning is available on the surface of the movie; obvious.
What is "formal analysis" and how does formal analysis differ from other types of
analyses that explore the relationship between culture and movies? - Answers -
examines how a scene or sequence uses formal elements: narrative, mise-en-scene,
cinematography, editing, sound, and so on to convey story, mood, and meaning. It is
fundamental to all approaches to understanding and engaging in cinema.
Alternative approaches analyze movies more as cultural artifacts rather than as
traditional works of art.
What do we mean when we describe cinematic language as "invisible"? What are some
of the reasons why cinematic language is invisible? - Answers - we mean that not all
movie meaning is obvious and easy to see. Movies have a way of hiding their methods
and meaning. One of the reasons why is because movies simply move too fast for
viewers to consciously consider everything they've seen.
● Hiding like the equipment, giving the illusion of a story happening right now "make it
seem less like a movie"
○ EX: can't see hanging camera because it would ruin the invisibility
● Don't want to take away the narrative of the movie
What do we mean by cultural invisibility? How is this different from cinematic invisibility?
- Answers - the way filmmakers are compelled to favor stories and themes that reinforce
viewers' shared belief systems (film makers want to give people the movies they want to
see because they will sell). Cinematic invisibility is different because it refers to the
actual hidden/invisible meaning of the movie.
What are the defining characteristics that distinguish movies from other forms of art? -
Answers - The defining characteristics that distinguish movies from other forms of art
are that movies move. The human brain and eye see movies as a fluid movement.
shot - Answers - One uninterrupted run of the camera.
cut - Answers - A direct change from one shot to another
editing - Answers - The process by which the editor combines and coordinates
individual shots into a cinematic whole; the basic creative force of cinema.
, close up - Answers - A shot that often shows a part of the body filling the frame.
fade in/fade out - Answers - Transitional devices in which a shot fades in from a black
field on black and
white film or from a color field on color film, or fades out to a black field (or a color field).
low angle shot - Answers - A shot that is made with the camera below the action and
that typically places the observer in a position of inferiority.
implicit meaning - Answers - lies below the surface of a movie's story and presentation,
is closest to our everyday sense of the word meaning.
explicit meaning - Answers - meaning on the surface of the movie
Formal Analysis - Answers - analytical approach primarily concerned with film form
cutting on action - Answers - designed to hide the instantaneous and potentially jarring
shift from one camera viewpoint to another
motif - Answers - any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story
- For example, "death" could be a motif in a literary work
character types - Answers - genre films are often populated by specific character
"types."
Protagonist - Answers - the central character or leading figure in poetry, narrative, novel
or any other story. A protagonist is sometimes a "hero" to the audience or readers
setting - Answers - where a movie's action is located and how that environment is
portrayed—is also a common genre convention
What is the difference between form and content? And why do works of art need both? -
Answers - Form is defined as the means by which a subject is expressed and
experienced while content is the subject of an artwork, or what the work is about.
Content provides something to express while form supplies the methods and techniques
necessary to present it to the audience.
presentation - Answers - Many genres feature certain elements of cinematic language
that communicate tone and atmosphere
In what ways do movies use patterns to convey meaning? How do they create meaning
by breaking an established pattern? - Answers - The more patterns meet our
expectations the more likely we are to enjoy, analyze, and
