SDSU TFM 160 Exam 1 Questions &
Answers 2025/2026
Implicit Meaning - ANSWERSAn association, connection, or inference that a viewer makes on
the basis of the given (explicit) meaning conveyed by the story and form of a film. Closest to our
everyday sense of the word meaning.
Explicit Meaning - ANSWERSEverything that a movie presents on its surface; the obvious
meaning of the movie.
Shot - ANSWERSunbroken span of action captured by an uninterrupted run of a motion-picture
camera- that allow visual elements to rearrange themselves and the viewer's perspective itself
to shift w/o any composition; cannot exceed the length of the film stock in the camera
Cut - ANSWERSA direct change from one shot to another; that is, the precise point at which shot
A ends and shot B begins
Editing - ANSWERSjoining together of discrete shots gives movies the power to choose what the
viewer sees and how that viewer sees it at any given moment; editor combines and coordinates
individual shots into a cinematic whole
Close-Up - ANSWERSA shot that often shows a part of the body filling the frame—traditionally a
face, but possibly a hand, eye, or mouth.
Fade In/Fade Out - ANSWERSTransitional 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 - ANSWERSA shot that is made with the camera below the action and that
typically places the observer in a position of inferiority.
, Cutting On Action - ANSWERSA continuity editing technique that smoothes the transition
between shots portraying a single action from different camera angles. The editor ends the first
shot in the middle of a continuing action and begins the subsequent shot at approximately the
same point in the matching action
Protagonist - ANSWERSThe primary character whose pursuit of the goal provides the structural
foundation of a movie's story
Form - ANSWERSThe means by which a subject is expressed. The form for poetry is words; for
drama, it is speech and action; for movies, it is pictures and sound; and so on.
Content - ANSWERSThe actual subject matter and "meat" of the movie.
Motif - ANSWERSA recurring visual, sound, or narrative element that imparts meaning or
significance
Theme - ANSWERSA shared, public idea, such as a metaphor, an adage, a myth, or a familiar
conflict or personality type
Realism - ANSWERSAn interest in or concern for the actual or real; a tendency to view or
represent things as they really are.
Anti-Realism - ANSWERSA treatment that is against or the opposite of realism. However, realism
and antirealism (like realism and fantasy) are not strict polarities.
Verisimilitude - ANSWERSconvincing appearance of the truth; when you are convinced
characters and story are real
Answers 2025/2026
Implicit Meaning - ANSWERSAn association, connection, or inference that a viewer makes on
the basis of the given (explicit) meaning conveyed by the story and form of a film. Closest to our
everyday sense of the word meaning.
Explicit Meaning - ANSWERSEverything that a movie presents on its surface; the obvious
meaning of the movie.
Shot - ANSWERSunbroken span of action captured by an uninterrupted run of a motion-picture
camera- that allow visual elements to rearrange themselves and the viewer's perspective itself
to shift w/o any composition; cannot exceed the length of the film stock in the camera
Cut - ANSWERSA direct change from one shot to another; that is, the precise point at which shot
A ends and shot B begins
Editing - ANSWERSjoining together of discrete shots gives movies the power to choose what the
viewer sees and how that viewer sees it at any given moment; editor combines and coordinates
individual shots into a cinematic whole
Close-Up - ANSWERSA shot that often shows a part of the body filling the frame—traditionally a
face, but possibly a hand, eye, or mouth.
Fade In/Fade Out - ANSWERSTransitional 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 - ANSWERSA shot that is made with the camera below the action and that
typically places the observer in a position of inferiority.
, Cutting On Action - ANSWERSA continuity editing technique that smoothes the transition
between shots portraying a single action from different camera angles. The editor ends the first
shot in the middle of a continuing action and begins the subsequent shot at approximately the
same point in the matching action
Protagonist - ANSWERSThe primary character whose pursuit of the goal provides the structural
foundation of a movie's story
Form - ANSWERSThe means by which a subject is expressed. The form for poetry is words; for
drama, it is speech and action; for movies, it is pictures and sound; and so on.
Content - ANSWERSThe actual subject matter and "meat" of the movie.
Motif - ANSWERSA recurring visual, sound, or narrative element that imparts meaning or
significance
Theme - ANSWERSA shared, public idea, such as a metaphor, an adage, a myth, or a familiar
conflict or personality type
Realism - ANSWERSAn interest in or concern for the actual or real; a tendency to view or
represent things as they really are.
Anti-Realism - ANSWERSA treatment that is against or the opposite of realism. However, realism
and antirealism (like realism and fantasy) are not strict polarities.
Verisimilitude - ANSWERSconvincing appearance of the truth; when you are convinced
characters and story are real
