TFM-160 MIDTERM SDSU EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

implicit meaning meaning expressed by a film that reflects beliefs on the part of filmmakers, characters, or the time and place of the movie's setting. explicit meaning everything that a movie presents on its surface. Brainpower Read More Previous Play Next Rewind 10 seconds Move forward 10 seconds Unmute 0:09 / 0:15 Full screen form the means by which a subject is expressed. The form for poetry is words; for drama, it is speech and action; for movies, it is sound and picture content the subject of an artwork theme a shared, public idea, such as a metaphor, an adage, a myth, a familiar conflict, or personality type formal analysis film analysis that examines how a scene or sequence uses formal elements-narrative, wise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, sound, and so on - to convey the story, mood, and meaning omniscient narration the narrator knows all and can tell us whatever it wants us to know. Omniscient narration has unrestricted access to all aspects of the narrative. restricted narration Limits the information it provides the audience to things known only to a single character. Encourages the audience to identify with the character's singular perspective on perplexing and frightening events - and invites us to participate in the gradual unlocking of the narrative's secrets. voice-over narration when we hear a character's voice over the picture without actually seeing the character speak the words; Narration heard concurrently and over a scene but not synchronized to any character who may be talking on the screen (nondiegetic) protagonist The primary character whose pursuit of the goal provides the structural foundation of a movie's story. antagonist The character, creature, or force that obstructs or resists the protagonist's pursuit of her or his goal. anti-hero an outwardly unsympathetic protagonist pursuing a morally objectionable or otherwise undesirable goal. diegesis In a narrative film, the world of the film's story. The diegesis includes events that are presumed to have occurred and actions and spaces not shown onscreen; The total world of a story—the events, characters, objects, settings, and sounds that form the world in which the story occurs. diegetic element An element—event, character, object, setting, sound—that helps form the world in which the story occurs; what we see and read on the screen that comes from INSIDE the world of the story (voices of the characters, sounds made by the objects in the story, music being played by a character) nondiegetic elements Something that we see and hear on the screen that comes from outside the world of the story (including background music, titles and credits, and voice-over narration); what we see and hear on the screen that comes OUTSIDE of the world of the story (old music, narrator commentary, sounds made during post production); material that does not exist in the film world, ie. Music score, forms of narration, subtitles, credits, film scores inciting incident (catalyst) the narrative event that presents the protagonist with a goal that sets the rest of the narrative in motion. rising action the development of the action of the narrative toward a climax crisis a critical turning point in a story when the protagonist must engage a seemingly insurmountable obstacle climax the highest point of conflict in a conventional narrative; the protagonist's ultimate attempt to attain the goal. resolution the concluding narrative events that follow the climax and celebrate, or otherwise reflect upon, story outcomes. surprise An unexpected turn in the development of a plot suspense Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels about what is going to happen next in a story story in a movie, all the events we see or hear on the screen, as well as all the events that are implicit or infer to have happened but are not explicit presented. plot the specific actions and events that filmmakers select, and the order in which they arrange those events and actions to effectively convey on-screen the movie's narrative to a viewer. what is the difference between story and plot? story is everything involved inside and outside the movie, plot is the events that take place within the movie. what is the difference between surprise and suspense? -surprise: being taken unaware (audience and characters unaware) -suspense: more drawn out experience of anxiety brought on by partial uncertainty what are the two types of suspense, as explored in class? space (i.e. the killer is in the house) and time (i.e. the bomb is set to go off) Mise-en-Scene Also known as staging. The overall look and feel of a movie - the sum of everything the audience sees, hears, and experiences while viewing it. kinesis the aspect of composition that takes into account everything that moves on the screen composition the organization, distribution, balance, and general relationship of stationary objects and figures - as well as of light, shade, line, and color - within the frame framing the process by which the cinematographer determines what will appear within the borders of the moving image (the frame) during a shot. blocking the actual physical relationships among figures and settings. Also, the process during rehearsal of establishing those relationships; The planning and working out of the movements of actors on stage. rule of thirds a principle of composition that enables filmmakers to maximize the potential of the image, balance its elements, and create the illusion of depth. A grid pattern, when superimposed on the image, divides the image into horizontal thirds representing the foreground, middle ground, and background planes, and into vertical thirds that break up those planes into additional elements deep space composition an approach to composition within the frame that places figures in all three planes (background, middle ground, and foreground) of the frame, thus creating an illusion of depth. Deep space composition is often, though not always, shot with deep-focus cinematography. low-key lighting Darkness and shadows. Often create suspense/ suspicion; lighting that creates strong contrasts; sharp dark shadows, and an overall gloom atmosphere. Its contrasts between light and dark often imply ethical judgements high-key lighting lighting that produces an image with very little contrast between darks and lights. Its even, flat illumination expresses virtually no opinion about the subject being photographed; The scene is flooded with light, creating a bright and open-looking scene. deep-focus cinematography the process of rendering the figures on all planes (background, middle ground, and fore ground) of a deep-space composition in focus. long take Also known as sequence shot. A shot that can last anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes. Between 1930 and 1960, the average length of a shot was 8 to 11 seconds; today, it's 6 to 7 seconds, signifying that directors are telling their stories with a tighter space; A shot that continues for an unusually lengthy time before the transition to the next shot; a shot of long duration what are the differences among a "setup", a "shot", and a "take"? -set up: one camera position and everything associated with it -shot: one uninterrupted run of the camera -take: the number of times a particular shot is taken what are the names of the most commonly used shots in a movie? Be able to describe them based on proximity. --Close-up: Subject, usually face or body part, is completely vulnerable, facial expressions are extremely significant. Background plays no direct role. --Extreme Close-up: Single object or body part (e.g. lighter, lips). Emphasizes detail; used to show importance or value of an object, makes the audience wonder about its significance. --Medium Shot: Subjects from the waist up. Background much less significant, emotions and subject details much more noticeable. --Medium Long shot (American Shot): Subjects filmed from the knees up. --Full Shot: Reduced background often shows human subject(s) from head to toe. More Detail about subjects is more explicit. Often used for fights, embraces or physical comedy --Long shot: shows whom, what and where. Often an establishing shot. Subjects are generally recognizable, but not dominating. --Extreme Long shot: Background information is pertinent, specific subjects are not the focus. Often used to establish location the movie camera can shoot from various angles. What are they? what meaning does each imply? Do these implication always hold true? --Low angle: camera is viewing from the bottom of subject implying empowerment of subject and/or observer is in the position of feeling hopeless --High angle: above the subject (aka high shot or down shot) view to imply inferiority --Eye Level: eye level angle; neutral --Aerial Angle: implies omniscience what are the three basic phases of making a movie? pre-production, production, and post-production what are the principal activities in each of the three basic phases of making a movie? --pre-production: planning and preparation. on average, usually takes a year or two. filmmakers develop a script/buy the rights to a story. estimate budget, costume design, set design, scouting locations, obtaining permission for these locations, rehearsals with cast and crew. --production: actual shooting: 6 weeks-several months-or more. director takes charge during shooting- conduction blocking and lighting rehearsals on set with stand ins, followed by rehearsals with the cast, informing cast and crew of their assignments, replacing cameras, lights, microphones, and other equipment, shooting as many of each shot as necessary, reviewing the results of each day's shooting (rushes/dailies), reshooting if necessary --post-production: three phases: editing, preparing the final print, and bringing the film to the public (marketing and distribution). the producer is the lead creative artist on set. He or she will communicate with the talent what is exactly needed to convey a particular scene. Often times the Director/Producer will be heavily involved in the casting, script editing, scene selection, and shot composition. the screenwriter author of the script; determines the narrative structure of the film; a person who writes a screenplay the production designer The production designer is the person with the responsibility of the visual appearance of a production. They design, plan, organize, and arrange set design, equipment availability, as well as the on screen appearance a production will have. A production designer is often referred to also as the set designer, or scenic designer. the director Is the driving creative force in a film's production, and acts as the crucial link between the production, technical and creative teams. Directors are responsible for creatively translating the film's written script into actual images and sounds on the screen - he or she must visualize and define the style and structure of the film, then act as both a storyteller and team leader to bring this vision to reality; A director orchestrates the artistic and dramatic aspects of a film. The role typically includes: defining the overall artistic vision of the film; controlling the content and flow of the film's plot; directing the performances of actors, both mechanically by putting them in certain positions (i.e. blocking), and dramatically by eliciting the required range of emotions; organizing and selecting the locations in which the film will be shot; managing technical details such as the positioning of cameras, the use of lighting, and the timing and content of the film's soundtrack. the actor An actor is a person who acts, or plays a role in an artistic production. The term commonly refers to someone working in movies, television, live theatre, or radio the cinematographer/director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography regulate lighting for every scene, performs some frame shots, chooses the lenses to be used, decide on film stock and guarantee that the visual appearance of the project follows to the directors initial foresight. However, the cinematographer would usually not maneuver the camera on the set, as this is usually the exclusive role of a camera operator; is responsible for selecting all camera equipment for the production and liaising with the technical director. The Director of Photography decides what lights and related camera equipment are needed and procures these. The Director of Photography is ultimately in charge of the photographic quality of the show and heads up a crew.