Film Studies Exam 1

Yup

What are the 3 Phases of Production?

Preproduction, Production, Post Production

What is the “Rule of Thirds”?

Imaginary Tic Tac Toe Board across a film that highlight the strongest focal points where the lines intersect

What is Depth of Field?

A measure of how much an image is in focus

True or False: Mise-En-Scene usually involves some planning?

False: It ALWAYS requires careful thought and attention to detail across all films

What does Mise-En-Scene mean, and what can it refer to?

Placing on Stage; It can refer to Setting, Costumes, Makeup, Lighting, Staging / Blocking, Behavior of Characters or Props

Medium Shot (MS)

A “Medium” level shot, usually from the waist up to the head, helps show expression and body language.

Close up (CU) 

A Close shot of a specific character or object to emphasize it more, focuses on one specific detail.

Extreme Wide Shot (EWS)

A camera shot that shows landscape or environment in it’s entirety, emphasis on larger scale of the setting.

Medium 2 Shot

Particularly a shot that places 2 characters within the same frame, similar to a medium shot. 

Over the Shoulder Shot

Self Explanatory; Camera sits on the shoulder to convey what is happening from the characters perspective, usually to emphasize dialogue, adds an intrigue to the foreground. Can bring a closeness or Intensity.

Point of View

Shows the audience a direct view from the character, a first person perspective; helps the audience see the character more “putting them in your shoes”"

Typical Film Structure (Not Hero’s Journey) 

Setup, Complication, Payoff

Andrew Sarris - Auteur Theory

Since the director controls the audio and the visual
elements of the film, then she or he is the “author”
of the film.

Pauline Kael - Collaborative Process

Directors rely on production members like
screenwriters, actors, cinematographers, editors
and sound designers to create a movie.

David Morris Kippen - Schreiber Theory

The screenwriter (not the director) is most
influential in the success or failure of a film

Can you label Back Fill and Key? (Be honest) 

Okay cool, go study or like don’t 

_____ AND _______ YOUR AUDIENCE

KNOW, RESPECT

Can you accurately label fields of experience / encoder and decoder…?

Totally

What are the Formal Elements of Film? (Big 5)

Mise-en-Scene, Cinematography, Editing, Narrative, Sound

Whip pan

Characters appear as if the camera is being wildly “whipped” around. Camera rotates so quickly that it becomes a blur. 

Every single shot in a film must be _________

Motivated to be effective

What is the 180 Degree Rule?

Keeps the camera on the side of an axis to keep a focus on the characters, a guideline regarding the position of characters on a screen.

Plan Américain or American Shot

A shot to show a character from the waist up (With particular emphasis on showing their gun or holster). Can sometimes be multiple characters.

Continuity editing (Think Requiem for a Dream)

cuts together a continuous and clear narrative action. Continuity editing relies on matching screen direction, position, and temporal relations from shot to shot.

Parallel editing

cuts between two or more scenes that often happen simultaneously but in different locations.

Elliptical editing

cuts out all of the ‘unnecessary’ action to reduce screen time. This technique allows narratives to span large spatial and temporal distances without the need to follow dull action.

What are the Four distinctions of sound in film

Realism, Stretched Realism, Hyper Realism and Surrealism

What is the difference between Diegetic sounds and Non Diegetic

Digetic means the sound comes from within the films world and Non Digetic means that it comes from the outside and heard only by the audience.

A film is created 3 times

Screenwriting, Directing and Editing