Cinematography: Key Concepts, Techniques, and Camera Shots UPDATED
ACTUAL Questions and CORRECT Answers
What is cinematography? The photography of a film and how shots are visually created.
What is the basic building block of film? The shot.
What is contrast in cinematography? The range between blacks and whites in an image.
What does high contrast look like? Strong blacks and whites, dramatic image.
What is exposure? How much light enters the camera.
What is overexposure? An image that is too bright or washed out.
What is underexposure? An image that is too dark.
What is grain? A rough visual texture in an image.
What is color grading? Digital adjustment of color to create mood and style.
What is slow motion? Action shown slower than normal speed.
What is fast motion? Action shown faster than normal speed.
What is a freeze frame? A shot where the image stops moving.
What is ramping? Changing speed within a single shot.
What does a normal lens do? Matches human vision.
What does a wide-angle lens do? Exaggerates depth and space.
What does a telephoto lens do? Compresses space and depth.
What is a zoom? Changing focal length without moving the camera.
How is a zoom different from camera movement? Zoom changes image size, camera movement moves through space.
What is a vertigo (dolly zoom) shot? Camera movement combined with an opposite zoom.
What is focus? What appears sharp in the image.
What is depth of field? The range of space that is in focus.
What is shallow depth of field? Only one plane is in focus.
ACTUAL Questions and CORRECT Answers
What is cinematography? The photography of a film and how shots are visually created.
What is the basic building block of film? The shot.
What is contrast in cinematography? The range between blacks and whites in an image.
What does high contrast look like? Strong blacks and whites, dramatic image.
What is exposure? How much light enters the camera.
What is overexposure? An image that is too bright or washed out.
What is underexposure? An image that is too dark.
What is grain? A rough visual texture in an image.
What is color grading? Digital adjustment of color to create mood and style.
What is slow motion? Action shown slower than normal speed.
What is fast motion? Action shown faster than normal speed.
What is a freeze frame? A shot where the image stops moving.
What is ramping? Changing speed within a single shot.
What does a normal lens do? Matches human vision.
What does a wide-angle lens do? Exaggerates depth and space.
What does a telephoto lens do? Compresses space and depth.
What is a zoom? Changing focal length without moving the camera.
How is a zoom different from camera movement? Zoom changes image size, camera movement moves through space.
What is a vertigo (dolly zoom) shot? Camera movement combined with an opposite zoom.
What is focus? What appears sharp in the image.
What is depth of field? The range of space that is in focus.
What is shallow depth of field? Only one plane is in focus.
