Film Terms Ch 5

Front 1

principle photography

Back 1

shooting the principal actors and scenes

Front 2

production

Back 2

whole process of shooting a film, primarily period of principle photography

Front 3

first unit

Back 3

those who work with the director and the principal actors

Front 4

second unit

Back 4

focus on a film's action sequences, special location work, background shots, stunt work, and so on.

Front 5

credits

Back 5

list all those responsible for making a film.

Front 6

producer

Back 6

sees that a film gets made. provides the money (personal or studio funds) and makes major decisions about the production, such as who will star and for how much money. The role is both creative and financial, and involves hiring those who will make the film and under what terms. primarily work between the source of money and those with the creative talent who make the film.

Front 7

executive producer

Back 7

often does the early work on a film: secure rights to a script, option the services of a star, or make a deal with a studio for the film.

Front 8

line producer

Back 8

keeps track of costs, keeps the movie on schedule, and approves expenses

Front 9

development

Back 9

usually begins with a writer who has an idea for a film, but the "concept" comes at times from a producer or a director. When a "property" is approved for production, development ends.

Front 10

script

Back 10

a written description of the action and dialogue

Front 11

treatment

Back 11

first step for script. a short version with characters and events which often reads like a short story with some dialogue.

Front 12

director

Back 12

has primary responsibility for choosing what will be filmed in each take (and the number of takes), for directing the action, for determining camera placements, and for selecting which takes to use. work is creative and practical.

Front 13

first assistant director (first AD)

Back 13

helps the director do whatever might be needed. chores are estimating times for specific shots, doing initial blocking of the actors and camera during rehearsals, working with the extras, breaking down the script (to determine production requirements for a day's shooting), and getting people to the right place at the right time.

Front 14

second assistant director (second AD)

Back 14

helps out the first A.D. often works with crowds (both those hired for a film and those which show up to watch location shooting).

Front 15

cinematographer (director of photography or D.P.)

Back 15

decides on lighting, chooses the camera, lenses, film stock, and filters, and works with the director to line up the placement, movement, and angles of the camera.

Front 16

camera operator

Back 16

actual operation of the camera is usually done

Front 17

first assistant cameraman

Back 17

sets and readjust¬s the focus when the camera moves

Front 18

second assistant cameraman (loader)

Back 18

holds the clapboard to coordinate the start of shots and also takes care of both raw and exposed film stock.

Front 19

script supervisor

Back 19

keeps careful notes of what happens during the production.The notes cover the kinds of things easy to forget from one day's shooting to the next: camera set-ups, lenses and apertures used, and the dress of actors (including marks on the face or other visible features that need to remain consistent). also times rehearsals precisely and helps with many of the details of the filming.

Front 20

production designer

Back 20

works closely with the director and cinematographer to develop the "look" for a film, coordinating the costumes, sets, and props.

Front 21

costume designer

Back 21

chooses or designs the clothing the actors will wear.

Front 22

editor

Back 22

assembles the various visual and audial components into a coherent and effective whole. A number of people usually do this job.

Front 23

supervising editor

Back 23

coordinates and supervises the process.

Front 24

film editor

Back 24

edits the workprint and voice tracks

Front 25

negative cutter

Back 25

edits the negative so that it precisely matches the final workprint. (The release prints--which you see in the theater--are made from the negative.)

Front 26

sound editor

Back 26

coordi¬nates the music and effects tracks

Front 27

actors

Back 27

the most recognizable element of movies. The actors blend their own dimensions (of face and body as well as personali¬ty) with the qualities of the fictional character they will play.

Front 28

technique actors

Back 28

study how a person behaves--and appears--in various situations and then imitate that behavior on camera. think their way through roles.

Front 29

method actors

Back 29

try to "become" the character they play, tapping deep feelings from within. feel their way though roles.

Front 30

principals

Back 30

the primary speaking roles

Front 31

lead

Back 31

roles played by those with the most significant parts.

Front 32

bit player

Back 32

has a small speaking part

Front 33

extras

Back 33

play characters without names and only rarely with lines

Front 34

character actor

Back 34

who rarely plays a lead, is an actor with distinctive features or manners, and who seems to fit a popular conception of a certain kind of person such as a grandparent, a teacher, a boss, or a secretary.

Front 35

star

Back 35

always the lead. has widespread public recognition, which draws people to see any movie in which the star appears.

Front 36

grips, key grip, best boy grip/first assistant grip

Back 36

do just what you might guess: pick things up. They move the equipment (such as dollies or cranes), backdrops, cables for moving cameras, or set walls, as well as put up and take down sets.

Front 37

gaffer (key electrician), best boy gaffer, electricians

Back 37

in charge of electrical work on a set, setting up and getting power to lights, and checking the color temperature of lamps.

Front 38

operators

Back 38

work on the set as electricians during a shoot.

Front 39

riggers

Back 39

who work on setting up cable and big lights before shooting.

Front 40

foley artist

Back 40

produces customized sounds for the sound editor to mix.

Front 41

camera vérité (which means "camera truth")

Back 41

is a candid camera style of filmmaking using hand-held cameras, natural sound, grainy high contrast black and white film, and the appearance of no rehearsal and only basic editing.

Front 42

film noir ("dark film")

Back 42

describes a kind of film made in Hollywood in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It presents an urban environment of corruption and crime that is brutal and violent. The settings are bleak with heavy shadows and sharp black-and-white contrasts. Much of the imagery is nocturnal, with light reflecting from rain-slicked streets.

Front 43

expressionism

Back 43

relies on mise en scène to suggest internal psychological states. thought that internal states could be manifested in the image rather than simply by an actor's portrayal.

Front 44

neorealism

Back 44

used authentic settings, showed the lives of ordinary people (played often by nonprofessional actors), portrayed realistic social problems in ways that emphasized the patterns of daily life, and relied on simple episodic plots revealed by unobtrusive camera and editing techniques. Although acted, the films looked like documentaries.

Front 45

The New Wave (Nouvelle Vague)

Back 45

began in the late 1950s in France with the efforts of a group of young filmmakers to try new techniques and subjects. plots that are loose and innovative, primarily location or exterior shooting, an irreverent and somewhat unsentimental treatment of character, use of lightweight cameras and equipment allowing spontaneous and sometimes improvised shooting, unusual editing and use of film space and time, and often extensive camera movement, including handheld camera, with long takes.