Film Form and Cinema Basics
The individual squares of a film strip
What are frames?
The element of cinema which can be divided into 4 different categories: setting/props, costume/makeup, lighting, and staging/performance.
A type of concise, smooth editing which adheres to the conventions of classic Hollywood cinema
What is continuity editing?
A concept that states that a director is the "primary author" of a film and maintains a distinct style throughout his or her filmography
What is auteur theory?
A category of film which is outside of the box and seeks to do something never done before.
What is experimental cinema?
The many cinematic components combined to make the finished product (a polished film)
What is film form?
What is form?
The filmmaker films more frames per second to create a certain effect
What is slow-motion?
A relationship between shots which juxtaposes two spaces to imply they are part of a whole area
What is a spatial relationship?
Any noticeable technique used in a film
What is a salient technique?
A documentary mode commonly used for making an argument for those without a voice (this could be an animal or a minority group)
What is an expository documentary?
The standard frame rate in film today
What is 24 frames per second?
What is low-key, hard lighting?
A type of editing which is composed only of close-up shots and avoids any establishing shot.
What is constructive editing?
This occurs when a genre experiences a burst of popularity for a short window of time (ie: zombie flicks)
What is a cycle?
A type of animation which involves drawing on celluloid
What is cel animation?
Any and all events presented on screen in a film
What is plot?
A type of film space which determines the symmetry of and the shapes within a shot
What is screen space?
Any sound which is not part of the film's world, but that the audience hears (ie: orchestral score)
What is non-diegetic sound?
A spooky mask in a horror move is a great example of this.
What is iconography?
A documentary approach which uses archival footage and imagery to create a movie
The filmmaker may choose to manipulate time or keep the chronology of events in his/her film the same.
What is temporal order?
The camera moves with its subject or follows their path of action. It may also switch perspectives mid-shot without the need for a transition.
What is mobile framing?
When sound either carries over from a previous scene or arrives before its corresponding visual information
What is a sound-bridge?
A reoccurring idea, symbol, or other element which is unique to one movie
What is a motif?
The filmmaker makes the audience aware of the filmmaking process during his documentary
What is a reflexive documentary?