Film Midterm Exam – Key Concepts, Revision Notes & Practice Questions
Suspension of Disbelief - ANS ✔✔Allowing oneself to temporarily invest in the world of the film
with the knowledge that it isn't real
Breaking the Fourth Wall - ANS ✔✔When the subject / character directly addresses the
audience / camera
2-Shot - ANS ✔✔When 2 people are featured in a shot
3-Shot - ANS ✔✔When 3 people are featured in a shot
Group Shot - ANS ✔✔When 4 or more people are featured in a shot
diegetic sound - ANS ✔✔Sound that exists within the world of the film (i.e. the characters can
'hear' it)
Non-Diegetic Sound - ANS ✔✔Sound that exists outside the world of the film (i.e. the audience
can only 'hear' it)
Voiceover - ANS ✔✔aka 'narration', where someone speaks (typically) non-diegetically to recap
information for the audience or within their own minds (i.e. thoughts)
Offscreen - ANS ✔✔Sound which takes place in the world of the filmed scene but isn't seen (i.e.
someone walks into an adjacent room and continues talking...we know where they are but can't
physically see them)
Foley - ANS ✔✔Sound recorded after filming to match with the visuals onscreen (aggressive ex:
kung fu movies where they smash heads of letture + break celery to match kicks + punches)
, Framing - ANS ✔✔he amount of screenspace subjects occupy onscreen (all approximate)
Extreme Long Shot - ANS ✔✔Subject occupies 5% or less of screen space (i.e. if you can multiply
them x20 and there's still screen space, it's an ELS)
Long Shot - ANS ✔✔Long Shot - Subject occupies ~1/2 the vertical space of the screen head-to-
toe
Full Shot - ANS ✔✔Subject occupies ~100% the vertical screen space head-to-toe
Medium Shot - ANS ✔✔1/2 the subject occupies the screen space (i.e. head-to-waist...a little
lower for Westerns to keep guns omnipresent)
Close-Up - ANS ✔✔Part of subject occupies screen space (i.e. head, hand)
Extreme Close-Up - - ANS ✔✔Part of a part of a subject occupies screen space (i.e. eye,
fingernail)
Proxemic Patterns - ANS ✔✔Space between subjects in a frame (Note: doesn't matter what
they're doing, only the objective distance between)
public distance - ANS ✔✔12 to 25 feet
social distance - ANS ✔✔3 to 12 feet
personal distance - ANS ✔✔18 inches to 3 feet
Suspension of Disbelief - ANS ✔✔Allowing oneself to temporarily invest in the world of the film
with the knowledge that it isn't real
Breaking the Fourth Wall - ANS ✔✔When the subject / character directly addresses the
audience / camera
2-Shot - ANS ✔✔When 2 people are featured in a shot
3-Shot - ANS ✔✔When 3 people are featured in a shot
Group Shot - ANS ✔✔When 4 or more people are featured in a shot
diegetic sound - ANS ✔✔Sound that exists within the world of the film (i.e. the characters can
'hear' it)
Non-Diegetic Sound - ANS ✔✔Sound that exists outside the world of the film (i.e. the audience
can only 'hear' it)
Voiceover - ANS ✔✔aka 'narration', where someone speaks (typically) non-diegetically to recap
information for the audience or within their own minds (i.e. thoughts)
Offscreen - ANS ✔✔Sound which takes place in the world of the filmed scene but isn't seen (i.e.
someone walks into an adjacent room and continues talking...we know where they are but can't
physically see them)
Foley - ANS ✔✔Sound recorded after filming to match with the visuals onscreen (aggressive ex:
kung fu movies where they smash heads of letture + break celery to match kicks + punches)
, Framing - ANS ✔✔he amount of screenspace subjects occupy onscreen (all approximate)
Extreme Long Shot - ANS ✔✔Subject occupies 5% or less of screen space (i.e. if you can multiply
them x20 and there's still screen space, it's an ELS)
Long Shot - ANS ✔✔Long Shot - Subject occupies ~1/2 the vertical space of the screen head-to-
toe
Full Shot - ANS ✔✔Subject occupies ~100% the vertical screen space head-to-toe
Medium Shot - ANS ✔✔1/2 the subject occupies the screen space (i.e. head-to-waist...a little
lower for Westerns to keep guns omnipresent)
Close-Up - ANS ✔✔Part of subject occupies screen space (i.e. head, hand)
Extreme Close-Up - - ANS ✔✔Part of a part of a subject occupies screen space (i.e. eye,
fingernail)
Proxemic Patterns - ANS ✔✔Space between subjects in a frame (Note: doesn't matter what
they're doing, only the objective distance between)
public distance - ANS ✔✔12 to 25 feet
social distance - ANS ✔✔3 to 12 feet
personal distance - ANS ✔✔18 inches to 3 feet
