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Simmons ENGL 158: Test #2
Terms for editing, sound, documentary, and avant garde/experimental film units
82
Film, Theatre & Television
Undergraduate 1
11/11/2009

Additional Film, Theatre & Television Flashcards

 


 

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Term
structuralist film
Definition
explores the material properties of cinema -- film strips, sound waves, cameras, lenses.

EXAMPLE:
Serene Velocity -- zooming in and out to create a pulsing effect
Term
pace
Definition
duration or individual shots; refers to how quickly one follows the next (diff. from pace of plot)
Term
hollywood montage
Definition
depicts passage of time using quick sets of cuts or dissolves or wipes
Term
documentary film
Definition
(presumably) presents real objects, persons and events; often focuses on historical or contemporary events or topics

EXAMPLES
Supersize me: documentary on effects of a fast food diet
Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter: documentary on history (women in WWII)
Term
ADR
Definition
stands for automatic dialogue replacement -- a technique for recording dialogue in post-production (instead of direct sound)
Term
shock cut/hard cut
Definition
juxtaposes two images whose differences create a jarring or "shocking" effect -- do not necessarily follow logical order
Term
soviet montage
Definition
jarring cuts (often shock/hard cuts) associated with political films in the Soviet Union in the 1920s.
Term
city symphony
Definition
genre that combines experimental and documentary film
Term
actualites
Definition
early films that documented everyday events, such as workers leaving a factory or a grocery store line.
Term
direct cinema
Definition
American version of French "cinema vérité": documentary style that aims to depict "real life" by getting rid of voice overs and using handheld cameras with shaky frames
Term
eyeline match
Definition
orientation of a shot where character's line of vision is audience's line of vision
Term
Vorkapich sequence
Definition
HOLLYWOOD montage that focuses on a specific theme--i.e. Citizen Kane, breakfast montage or jigsaw puzzle montage
Term
abstract film
Definition
abandons human figures altogether, breaks expectations on what film should be or should look like

EXAMPLE
Black ice (Brakhage, 1994_
Term
cutaway
Definition
Term
reaction shot
Definition
depicts a character's reaction to something the viewer also sees or has seen
Term
score
Definition
musical accompaniment written for a specific film
Term
180 degree rule (or Axis of Action)
Definition

Used in continuity editing for camera placement.  

 

Two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. The cameras should be positioned so that the positions are not flipped.

 

[image]

Term
offscreen space
Definition
a part of the story world implied but not seen on camera
Term
ethnographic documentary
Definition
A type of documentary whose purpose is to present the way of life of a culture or subculture.
Term
looping
Definition
also called ADR. ADR is achieved by cutting several identical lengths of film and having actors record dialogue repeatedly
Term
self-reflexive film
Definition
calls into question the nature of cinematic truth
Term
Kuleshov effect
Definition
mental phenomenon in which viewers connect two sequential shots even if they have nothing to do with each other.

also, effect makes them derive more meaning from two shots than a single shot.
Term
on-the-nose dialogue
Definition
dialogue that restates the obvious -- or rather, that restates what the image or action on the screen shows
Term
tableau shot
Definition
long shot in which the frame mimics what viewers would see if they were watching a play
Term
experimental/avant-garde film
Definition
concentrates on or experiments with unconventional forms and images ranging from abstract sounds, image patterns to exploring dream worlds or hallucinations. They are not bound by conventions of narrative form. Primary goal is NOT to tell a story...they rarely do, and are all about the interpretation of images/sounds presented.
Term
surrealist cinema
Definition
often reconstructed the world to resemble a dream driven by dark desires. It poked fun at borgeouis values through form and content. Mainly focused on the unconscious.
Term
split screen
Definition
Two or more shots physically divided in one screen
Term
direct sound
Definition
sound recorded on location
Term
cross-cutting/parallel editing
Definition
cuts back and forth between actions in separate spaces; actions are assumed to be going on at the same time
Term
cinema vérité
Definition
French for "cinema truth": technique known in english as direct cinema -- uses handheld cameras and gets rid of voiceovers to capture "real life situations"
Term
Foley artists
Definition
members of sound crew who create seemingly "natural" sounds post-production (clothes rustling, footsteps
Term
pop score
Definition
using popular music as opposed to original music as the score
Term
compilation film
Definition
takes found or preexisting footage and reinterprets it in a new context to generate innovative ideas
Term
mixing
Definition
process of blending the three elements of a sound track (dialogue, music, and effects) in post-production
Term
classical style
Definition
a style associated with hollywood filmmaking of the studio and post-studio eras, in which efficient storytelling - rather than gritty realism or aesthetic innovation - is of paramount importance
Term
major studios
Definition
Five vertically integrated corporations that have greatest amount of power over film production, distribution, and exhibition: 20th century fox, mgm, paramount, WB, and RKO
Term
minor studios
Definition
smaller studios that do not own distribution/exhibition rights, such as Columbia, Universal, and United Artists
Term
star system
Definition
system initially developed for creating and promoting stars
Term
clarity
Definition
part of hollywood style guidelines that says viewers should not be confused about space, time, and events
Term
clarity
Definition
part of hollywood style guidelines that says viewers should not be confused about space, time, and events
Term
unity
Definition
classic hollywood style: cause and effect connections are direct and complete
Term
goal-oriented characters
Definition
classic hollywood style: characters are active and invite identification
Term
closure
Definition
classic hollywood style: loose ends tied up, often in romantic way
Term
overlapping dialogue
Definition
sound design that blends the speech of several characters talking simultaneously, used to create spontaneity but may confuse audience
Term
production code
Definition
a list of rules prohibiting certain images and scenarios created near end of 1920s; ceased being enforced by mid 1960s
Term
art cinema
Definition
cinema with a more serious intellectual purpose than classical style; has a more sophisticated approach
Term
italian neorealism
Definition
influential post-war era cinema -- social and economic context defined style
Term
third cinema
Definition
cinema movement stemming from Europe's newly independent former colonies. Films in the third cinema movement took on political stance that favored liberation and cultural decolonization
Term
interpellation
Definition
coined by Louis Althusser -- the way in which a society creates its subjects/citizens through ideological (as opposed to repressive) state apparatuses which include education, religion, the media, and family
Term
apparatus
Definition
Term
interpellation
Definition
coined by Louis Althusser -- the way in which a society creates its subjects/citizens through ideological (as opposed to repressive) state apparatuses which include education, religion, the media, and family
Term
apparatus
Definition
the theory that the film's technical medium (cameras, lenses, projectors) are also inherently ideological

Cinema's specific physical and mechanical attributes produce specific form of spectatorship
Term
self-reflexive films
Definition
films following apparatus theory -- they constantly remind audience that they are watching a film so that the audience is not caught up in just the story
Term
hollywood ten
Definition
refers to the ten Hollywood writers who refused to cooperate with the house committee on un-american activities' attempts to drive out communism -- cited for contempt of congress
Term
hollywood blacklist
Definition
individuals prevented from working in the film industry because of suspected communist activity
Term
race films
Definition
films made by and for black audiences
Term
blaxploitation
Definition
action film cycle of late 1960s and early 70s that featured bold, rebellious black characters
Term
star
Definition
stars (as opposed to actors) acquire public images over the course of a career; star images are constructed by studio heads, publicity outlets, talent agencies, and the stars themselves
Term
star vehicles
Definition
productions that deliberately show star's persona
Term
star persona
Definition
a public identity created by a star's performances, as well as press coverage, publicity, promotion, reviews, and "personal information"
Term
promotion
Definition
refers to the materials intentionally released by a studio in order to market a particular film. They often construct a star persona.
Term
subculture
Definition
stars often appeal to these, or these groups may appropriate star images. (ex Judy Garland >> Gay community: void between onscreen and offscreen ;life represents "artificiality of all-american wholeness"
Term
the western
Definition
genre that features deserts, western landscape, land disputes, male heroes, outlaws, etc
Term
film noir
Definition
genre that often is shot in black and white; uses femme fatales, plays with darkness and shadow; often set in a city
Term
action
Definition
genre that produces excitement over violence (blowing things up, killing enemies. 2 main components: male heroics and over-the-top violence
Term
hard-boiled detective film
Definition
film noir style focused on detective work
Term
integrated musicals
Definition
a musical in which some musical numbers are not motivated by the narrative: characters sing and dance for an offscreen audience (Chicago, Grease)
Term
revisionist
Definition
genre film that radically modifies accepted genre conventions for dramatic effect
Term
auteur theory
Definition
theory that proposes a director is the "author" of a film
Term
studio-era auteur
Definition
directors who have a certain style but do not necessarily make blockbuster films -- many are independent
Term
blockbuster auteur
Definition
director who makes blockbuster films but also have a signature
Term
oeuvre
Definition
overall body of a director's work
Term
vertical integration
Definition
describes situation in which a few powerful companies controlled the film industry from the top down
Term
block booking
Definition
forcing exhibitions to rent a studio's less lucrative films along with sure box office successes
Term
horizontal integration
Definition
the alignment of complimentary businesses and allowing companies to expand "across" the entertainment industry
Term
outsourcing
Definition
the practice of hollywood studios contracting out post-production work to individuals or other companies outside the US
Term
synthespians
Definition
computer-generated actor that some speculate will replace regular actors
Term
runaway productions
Definition
films shot out of US for economic reasons
Term
blockbuster
Definition
large-budget film whose strategy is to swamp the competition through market saturation
Term
high concept film
Definition
post-studio era film designed to appeal to the broadest possible audience by fusing a simple story line with major movie stars
Term
roadshadowing
Definition
a marketing strategy of screening a blockbuster prior to general release only in premier theaters
Term
theatrical window
Definition
the length between the theatrical release of a film and the date it becomes available to public
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