Deck 4: The shot: mise-en-scene

Question 1

When filmmakers choose to control lighting, they typically use

A) different colors of lighting.
B) a soft, yellow, incandescent light.
C) natural sources of lighting.
D) a light that is as purely white as possible.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

A major example of a nonrealistic and expressionistic set design is

A) Greed.
B) Intolerance.
C) The Spider's Stratagem.
D) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A "prop" is an object in the setting that

A) has a function in the action of the film.
B) helps the actors remember their lines.
C) supports large pieces of scenery.
D) serves as a filler to make a set look complete.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The system of lighting widely used in classical Hollywood filmmaking is known as

A) three-point lighting.
B) five-point lighting.
C) cast-shadow lighting.
D) omnidirectional lighting.

Question 5

Perspective diminution suggests depth by

A) making parallel lines seem to intersect.
B) creating false perspective by placing taller characters closer to the camera and shorter characters farther off.
C) implying that the elements which are smaller in the shot tend to be farther away.
D) reducing the cues for perspective so that the space appears relatively shallow.

Question 6

Frontal lighting has a tendency to

A) create shadows.
B) distort images.
C) eliminate shadows.
D) sculpt a character's features.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a term for a type of directional lighting?

A) top lighting
B) underlighting
C) overlighting
D) backlighting

Question 8

"Frontality" of staging means that

A) a character is placed in the extreme foreground of the shot.
B) a character is facing toward the camera.
C) one character blocks spectators' views of another character.
D) a character is moving toward the foreground.

Question 9

Aerial perspective suggests depth by

A) making more distant planes seem hazier than closer ones.
B) creating a high angle that makes parallel lines meet at the horizon.
C) composing a shot that makes the sky dominate the image.
D) filming from directly above a character or a setting.

Question 10

In classical Hollywood, an actor who was typecast

A) typically played similar characters in different films.
B) was directed to avoid portraying a specific stereotype.
C) was directed to conform to audiences' expectations.
D) usually represented a social class or historical movement.

Question 11

In a film, when actors engage in conversation, they usually

A) look directly at each other and seldom blink.
B) glance away often as they gather their thoughts.
C) blink frequently to show that they are interested in the conversation.
D) focus their gaze directly at the camera.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a motif in the mise-en-scene in Buster Keaton's Our Hospitality?

A) a sampler embroidered "Love Thy Neighbor"
B) a fish-on-a-line motif
C) a gun rack
D) a dog-on-a-leash motif

Question 13

The aspect of lighting that refers to the relative intensity of illumination is called

A) density.
B) quality.
C) direction.
D) color.

Question 14

Film scholars use the term mise-en-scene to describe the director's control over

A) where the film will be shot.
B) what appears in the film frame.
C) what actors will appear in the film.
D) how long shooting will last.

Question 15

In a film, a "highlight" refers to

A) a significant scene that may become part of a movie trailer.
B) acting that exceeds the director's expectations.
C) the climax of the story developed in the film.
D) lighting that produces a patch of brightness on a surface.

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT considered part of a shot's mise-en-scene?

A) the actors' movements
B) the camera's angle on the action
C) objects visible in the distance
D) the shadows

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a type of lighting in the three-point lighting system?

A) rack light
B) backlight
C) key light
D) fill light

Question 18

Georges Méliès was

A) an early director of fantasy films.
B) an important French set designer of the 1930s.
C) the director of Our Hospitality.
D) the first historian to study mise-en-scene in the cinema.

Question 19

Stop-action involves

A) having actors stand in the same spot where they were at the end of one shot while the lighting is adjusted for the next shot.
B) halting the filming in one set and moving on to another while shooting out of continuity.
C) one actor in a scene refraining from any obvious movement after delivering a line so as not to call attention away from the actor who is responding.
D) animating an object by changing its position between each frame shot.

Question 20

According to Film Art, a film actor's performance style is most affected by

A) the microphone placement.
B) the camera distance.
C) the aspect ratio.
D) the lighting.

Question 21

Films shot in the studio have mise-en-scene, whereas films made entirely on location do not.

Question 22

"Fill" light is used to create deep shadows.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a way in which a film suggests volume in a space?

A) planes
B) shape
C) shading
D) movement

Question 24

In Hollywood studio filmmaking, the lights are kept in the same position throughout a scene, no matter where the camera is placed.

Question 25

Animated films, like live-action films, have mise-en-scene.

Question 26

Movement is an important depth cue because it suggests

A) size diminution.
B) balance of composition.
C) aerial perspective.
D) both volumes and planes.

Question 27

"Performance capture" focuses on filming

A) the whole body.
B) the face.
C) background images.
D) unexpected events.

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT a term used to describe how far away from the camera a plane is?

A) near ground
B) foreground
C) background
D) middle ground

Question 29

The two most basic types of light in a scene are the key and the rim.

Question 30

The term key light refers to

A) subdued lighting.
B) background lighting.
C) the primary light source.
D) a natural light source.

Question 31

In shallow-space composition, the closest and most distant planes appear

A) blurred.
B) only slightly separated.
C) significantly separated.
D) indistinguishable.

Question 32

Marlon Brando's performance in On the Waterfront was considered a major example of realistic acting in its day.

Question 33

Georges Méliès's "Star-Film" studio was designed to give him control over every aspect of mise-en-scene.

Question 34

Unplanned events that are filmed by accident are not part of the mise-en-scene of a shot.

Question 35

"High-key" lighting is typical of Hollywood filmmaking.

Question 36

Depth cues that create the illusion of depth requiring input from only one eye are

A) monochromatic.
B) monotone.
C) monolithic.
D) monocular.

Question 37

When a filmmaker employs a limited palette, he or she uses

A) a simple setting with few props.
B) only a few colors in the same range.
C) a small cast of actors.
D) only one or two camera angles.

Question 38

The easiest way for a filmmaker to achieve compositional balance is to

A) focus on figures on the right or the left.
B) make the shot as wide as possible.
C) center the frame on the human body.
D) counterweight two or more elements.

Question 39

Which statement about film acting is TRUE?

A) Unlike stage actors, film actors must usually overplay their roles.
B) Film actors typically act in a more restrained manner than stage actors.
C) Film actors must adjust their movements based on camera distance.
D) Film actors are less concerned with facial expressions than stage actors.

Question 40

"Edge" lighting is a type of backlighting used to make characters stand out against a background.

Question 41

Discuss which compositional elements (moving objects versus static ones, color, balance, and size) guide your eye around the screen in the shots in the clip.Be as specific as possible in your descriptions.

Question 42

"Hard" lighting reveals well-defined shadows and crisp textures.

Question 43

In modern cinema, makeup is usually applied in such a way that it will not be noticed.

Question 44

Discuss how Michelangelo Antonioni uses mise-en-scene through time and space to tell the story in his film L'Avventura.

Question 45

Most of the gags in Our Hospitality depend on shallow-space compositions.

Question 46

Describe and discuss the functions of the mise-en-scene in the shot or shots.Mention at least one example of each of the four major categories of mise-en-scene.

Question 47

According to Film Art, realism is the most useful standard for evaluating actors' performances.

Question 48

When balancing the shot, filmmakers assume that the viewer will concentrate on the lower half of the projected frame.

Question 49

Since the advent of sound, it is less important for actors to use their eyes, brow, and mouth to express character emotions.

Question 50

Soft, high-key lighting is associated with mystery stories, crime films, and films noir.

Question 51

Discuss which depth cues (overlap, aerial perspective, size diminution) are used to create an illusion of three-dimensional space in these shots.

Question 52

Discuss the problems with using realism as a criterion for evaluating films, giving specific examples from any of the films shown for this class.

Question 53

Setting plays a less significant role in the cinema than it does in the theater.

Question 54

Select a moment from relatively recent film, such as Silence of the Lambs or Jerry Maguire, and discuss how meaning is conveyed purely through the actor's physical self.

Question 55

"Warm" colors tend to attract the spectator's eye more than "cool" colors.

Question 56

German Expressionist films, such as The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari, are characterized by realistic mise-en-scene and subtle, psychologically based acting.